Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection: Jesus of Nazareth

Leslie-Anne Bain
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Palo Alto, CA

I am so very thrilled to be standing here today. I hope you will listen with an open heart and an open mind, and perhaps dare yourself to take a fresh look at a very old story.

My wisdom source is Jesus of Nazareth, a guide I have followed since I was 16 years old.

Looking back, I realize the path that led me to Jesus was unorthodox. And because I took the road less traveled, so to speak, I don’t share the same views as many mainstream Christians. But that doesn’t mean I am alone in my beliefs: I take pride in knowing that great and famous men like Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and even Gandhi walked down the same road long before I ever stumbled upon it.

To make a long story short, you might say I found Jesus the UU way: by conducting a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. I diligently read and studied the Bible, then tried to decide for myself what it actually meant. I have always felt free to honestly ask questions and reach my own conclusions.

Eventually I came to see logic, beauty, and incredible power in the words uttered by Jesus himself, words like “love your neighbor,” “turn the other cheek,” and “judge not lest you be judged.” I was captivated by His teachings, and dedicated my life to Him.

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson was also moved by the words of Jesus? He called them “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man”. In fact, he decided to cut every sentence Jesus spoke from the Bible so that he could paste those words — and only those words — into a brand new volume. Try to picture that: the beloved author of the Declaration of Independence sitting with a razor in one hand and a pot of glue in the other. Jefferson’s book is now called The Jefferson Bible. And you can buy your own copy, like I did, if you are so inclined.

Did you know that Gandhi was inspired by Jesus? The movie starring Ben Kingsley contains a great scene where Gandhi explains his understanding of the phrase “turn the other cheek”. Keep in mind that while he’s speaking, he’s deliberately walking into the path of a menacing group of thugs; he seems to be speaking these words to explain why he’s doing such a crazy thing to his new acquaintance (who just so happens to be a minister): “I suspect he meant you must show courage — be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect increase. I think Christ grasped that and I have seen it work.”

Gandhi goes on to teach this principle to his followers in India, and they successfully use it to free their country from British rule. Now that, my friends, shows the amazing power of love. But make no mistake: Gandhi was not a pacifist Ð he was rankled by injustice, and was driven to fight for change. Gandhi called on his followers to be ’soldiers for peace’, and fully understood that, like all other soldiers, some would be injured and some would even die for their cause.

I want to end by talking about a nit-picky lawyer from the book of Luke. But before I do, you need to know that back in Mark chapter 12, Jesus was asked a bunch of trick questions by Jewish leaders who viewed him as dangerous and wanted to “entrap him”. Their last question was essentially “What is the most important commandment from God?” Jesus replied with such a good answer that their questioning stopped: He essentially said: “Love God; Love Your Neighbor”.

Now the story of the lawyer begins in Luke 10.25 when he asks, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Did you hear that? I want you to pay attention to what comes next because you might hear Jesus’ own thoughts about the nature of salvation. The lawyer asked “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ answer is, again, “Love God; Love Your Neighbor”.

But this answer wasn’t good enough for the lawyer, so he asked “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus goes on to tell the strange and thought-provoking Parable of the Good Samaritan. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to tell that story just now — please catch me later if you’ve never heard it, it may just be the BEST story in the entire Bible.

My religious philosophy is pretty much summed up by five little words:

Love God. Love Your Neighbor.

I’ve found that many UUs seem to share this philosophy too; they just use different words to express it. So I now worship at a delightful church known as UUCPA.

Some UUs don’t embrace the word “God”. To them I offer this alternative wording:

“Love the Spirit of Life. Love Your Neighbor”

In my view, there is no higher wisdom than in these words. I am convinced we’d have Heaven on Earth if we only had the will to obey this command. But I need to save my explanation about that claim until another day …

 

Reflection: Wilderness by Sonja Dieterich