[Uucf-bible] Easter for UU Xians?
Ed Flowes
edflow2 at edflowers.net
Sat Mar 6 07:06:22 EST 2010
To Cecil: A South Georgia AMEN!
--- On Fri, 3/5/10, Bohanon, Cecil E. <cbohanon at bsu.edu> wrote:
> From: Bohanon, Cecil E. <cbohanon at bsu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Uucf-bible] Easter for UU Xians?
> To: "biblical conversation, study, and spirituality" <uucf-bible at lists.uua.org>
> Date: Friday, March 5, 2010, 5:16 PM
> I've enjoyed these posting: here are
> my two cents worth:
>
> If Jesus is truly risen-and not just risen in the
> metaphorical sense of being remembered-then the world is not
> what the modern or post-modern mind thinks it is.
>
> If Jesus is truly risen-then Jesus is more than an ethical
> leader, he is above all others and his spiritual authority
> cannot be denied.
>
> If Jesus is truly risen-we will all rise to God's
> judgment.
>
> This is scary stuff because it is flesh and blood real. It
> commands an immediate response, not an "I'll file this away
> with other nice thoughts about a good life."
>
> Just before Christmas a classmate of my 11-year old son was
> in a terrible car accident that took the life of his older
> brother. The boy's sister wrote a beautiful heartfelt poem
> that declares she will see her lost brother-that she and
> Darrin will dance together once again.
>
> If one does not believe in an afterlife, the girl's musings
> are simply the grief stricken fantasy of teen age girl. But
> if Jesus is truly risen-they are real.
>
> Easter is where the Christian rubber meets the road. Hedge
> as much as you will, be as open-minded and metaphorical and
> allegorical as you like, but at some point it either is or
> it isn't. Christian don't know how it is-but they proclaim
> it is; that Darrin and Abby will dance together once again.
>
> Cecil Bohanon
> Christian Universalist-Episcopalian
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: uucf-bible-bounces+cbohanon=bsu.edu at lists.uua.org
> [mailto:uucf-bible-bounces+cbohanon=bsu.edu at lists.uua.org]
> On Behalf Of revronrobinson at aol.com
> Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 11:54 AM
> To: biblical conversation, study, and spirituality
> Subject: Re: [Uucf-bible] Easter for UU Xians?
>
> Fantastic resource carol thanks
> Ron
>
>
>
> On Mar 4, 2010, at 8:54 AM, "Carol Stamatakis" <cheshirecat at nhvt.net>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > Hi Ron -
> >
> > I thought I would use this opportunity to share a
> collection of
> > postings
> > from one of the UUCF lists from 2005, when the former
> minister of my
> > church, who is not a Christian, was struggling to find
> meaning in
> > Easter.
> > With her permission, I posted her dilemma, and many
> members of the
> > list
> > responded. Some of the responses were quite
> inspirational, so I
> > saved and
> > formatted them into a document and look for
> opportunities to share
> > them.
> > The comments of Clint David were particularly moving
> to me.
> >
> > Ron - Maybe some edited version of this (and any other
> discussion it
> > might
> > generate) could be published in Good News or on the
> web site. I cut
> > and
> > pasted it below. If you or anyone else would like this
> document sent
> > as a
> > word attachment, please contact me off-line.
> >
> > Carol
> >
> >
> > A Non-Christian UU Minister's Dilemma over Easter
> >
> > A dialogue from The Unitarian Universalist Christian
> Fellowship
> > Listserv *
> > March 2005
> >
> > From:
> Carol Stamatakis <Cms78 at alumni.cwru.edu>
> > Subject: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> > Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005
> 12:43:41 -0500
> >
> >
> > I am posting below a recent column by the minister of
> my church
> > expressing
> > her personal dilemma over Easter. I sought her
> permission to post it
> > on
> > this list serve as I thought the responses might be
> helpful to her and
> > perhaps to members of the list serve. Your responses
> could also
> > indirectly
> > benefit people in our congregation.
> >
> > Sue is a sensitive and compassionate woman who has
> been very good
> > for our
> > church. She has been supportive of my and others'
> efforts to offer
> > programs of interest to UU Christians or those who
> wish to better
> > understand
> > Christianity.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Carol
> >
> >
> > Rev. Sue Phillips
> > Keene Unitarian Universalist Church
> > Minister's Column
> > March 2005
> >
> > Easter is right around the corner and I must admit
> that I want to take
> > cover, to go away for a long vacation and return once
> it's over. I'm
> > mad
> > at Easter because it is coming so early this year! I
> want it to be
> > later
> > so I have more time to figure it out. I never know how
> to think about
> > Easter, much less what to feel about it: all of my
> ambivalence about
> > historical Christianity, all of my pent-up
> biblical-literary
> > criticism,
> > all of my residual anger at the violent imagery of
> Christianity, comes
> > rising up this time of year right along with the Son.
> >
> > Christmas is so much easier somehow, with its cuddly
> little baby,
> > all warm
> > and snug and loved, lying in a manger, surrounded by
> friendly beasts,
> > bathed in starlight. Christmas doesn't have to be
> metaphorical; it's a
> > simple story of promise and hope. It doesn't seem to
> matter as much if
> > that one particular event "really" happened, because
> miraculous births
> > happen every day. I think I understand Christmas.
> >
> > But Easter! The crucifix. The empty tomb. The
> resurrection! It seems
> > dishonest somehow to make of these events a metaphor.
> They are so
> > stark
> > and concrete, and beg to be engaged as literal events.
> It seems to
> > me that
> > Easter is the fulcrum of Christianity - either one
> believes in the
> > literal
> > story of Easter or one doesn't. But questioning the
> story of Easter
> > doesn't absolve nonbelievers of the responsibility to
> understand
> > what this
> > paradigmatic holiday means to believers. This is part
> of why I want to
> > push Easter away. I truly do want to respect the
> deeply held beliefs
> > of my
> > brothers and sisters in faith. If I am to honor them,
> I need to
> > understand
> > the centrality of Christ's resurrection. And yet
> Easter represents all
> > that is hard for me about the faith of my birth and my
> culture.
> >
> > Yet it also feels dishonest to redeem the holiday with
> what my
> > colleague
> > Mark Belletini calls "the purist idea that tries to
> reduce Easter to
> > some
> > ancient ritual that's the real Easter, with 1962 years
> of complex
> > history
> > of the day simply chopped off." I love chicks and
> bunnies as much as
> > the
> > next person (especially if they are Sweet Tarts), but
> I have trouble
> > passing Easter off as a spring festival of rebirth. It
> is that, of
> > course,
> > but it is not only that.
> >
> > In the West, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday
> following the first
> > full
> > moon after the vernal equinox. It's right around the
> corner, and it's
> > coming whether we're ready or not! So perhaps you can
> help me
> > prepare. In
> > the coming weeks, as the chocolate bunnies and pastel
> plastic eggs
> > start
> > filling the aisles, perhaps you will engage the deeper
> questions of
> > the
> > season: how might we honor Easter's complexity, its
> layers of
> > meaning? How
> > can we do justice to both our well earned faithfulness
> and our well
> > earned
> > suspicions?
> >
> > I hope you will share what you discover with me, and
> more
> > importantly with
> > each other. In the mean time, I'll be the one buying
> those pink and
> > purple
> > Sweet Tart chicks and bunnies. That's the only thing
> about Easter I
> > know
> > for sure.
> >
> >
> > From: Penny
> Michaels <PRMichaels at CS.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 3/23/05 11:44:23 AM Central
> Standard Time,
> > Cms78 at alumni.cwru.edu
> writes:
> >
> > << That's the only thing about Easter I know for
> sure. >>
> >
> > She's way ahead of me, Carol. I no longer know
> anything for sure,
> > but that
> > may be part of the aging process. :)
> >
> > I think Sue is making more of it than necessary.
> Easter, for me, is no
> > different than Christmas--"a simple story of promise
> and hope."
> > Resurrection happens every day. Without it, life would
> be completely
> > intolerable. While the blood and gore associated with
> THE
> > crucifixion make
> > it off-putting to many of us, I think the point is
> much larger than
> > the
> > event of death itself. If I can accept a virgin birth
> as metaphor, I
> > have
> > no problem at all with resurrection. The importance of
> the
> > crucifixion, to
> > me, fades completely in the "promise and hope" of
> resurrection. It
> > is, as
> > Martha would say, a good thing.
> >
> > Penny
> >
> >
> > From: Rudy
> Savich <Rsavich at AOL.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> >
> > Easter is the realization that Jesus lives.
> > From: Clinton
> Davis <wagnerian1 at YAHOO.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> > Date: Wed, 23
> Mar 2005 13:25:48 -0800
> >
> >
> > Friends,
> >
> > I would imagine that Easter is
> difficult for those who have become
> > hostile or ambivalent to Christianity. But for
> me, from what I know,
> > Easter is bigger than Christianity. No matter
> what religious
> > tradition I may find myself, I will always believe
> that Jesus lives,
> > and because of that, I know that all of us will live
> too, regardless
> > of whatever else might happen. It is a religious
> truth than is
> > simply too deep-seated to resist. I don't dare
> speculate on how we
> > might live on, but even the Easter story is so varied
> that we don't
> > get much clarification. It is as it should be.
> >
> > However, that being said, I
> don't find Easter valuable unless Good
> > Friday is observed as well. For just as we shall
> all live on, we
> > shall also die, and some of us very horribly
> indeed. Good Friday
> > gives us a chance to remember those who died
> unspeakable deaths for
> > whatever reason. It allows us to reconnect with
> our own personal
> > tragedies as well, and not to flinch or turn away but
> look. When
> > Jews are burned in ovens, when gay people are tied to
> fenceposts to
> > die, when black men are dragged behind trucks to their
> death, it's
> > Good Friday all over again. The earth shakes,
> the sky is darkened,
> > and God dies.
> >
> > But deep in the night, a flame is
> kindled. The light spreads,
> > lives
> > are touched, the earth rejoices. What once was
> dead is alive again,
> > and alive forevermore, and the gates of hell cannot
> contain it. The
> > sun rises in the East, the tomb is empty.
> >
> > This happens to all of us.
> This is Easter. It is no more
> > complicated than that. Jesus stands in for us,
> not to appease an
> > angry God, but because through him we observe our own
> lives and the
> > lives of those around us, and then we are enabled to
> put it all in
> > perspective.
> >
> > Do you then have to buy
> the rest of the Christian package? Hell
> > no. You don't even have to be a Christian to see
> the mythic and
> > religious truth of the Story. You just have to
> be open enough to
> > find truth wherever it is to be found, and this is
> definitely one
> > place it is to be found. There are many others,
> no doubt. But
> > right here, right now, in the next few days, this is
> it. It's the
> > exact time of year to look this one in the face and
> allow ourselves
> > to be moved, as religious people regardless of our
> formal
> > allegiances.
> >
> > This is a precious
> religious practice, given to the whole
> > world for
> > our use, struggling, and enjoyment. Don't miss
> it.
> >
> >
> --Clint
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > From: Rachel
> Nguyen <rachelnguyen at COX.NET>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> >
> > Hi Carol,
> >
> > It is good that your minister doesn't dismiss
> Easter. The fact that
> > it
> > troubles her indicates a certain respect for it, which
> I, of course,
> > think
> > it deserves.
> >
> > Recently, I was surfing the 'net for more information
> about Good
> > Friday
> > observances, and came across and ecumenical discussion
> about it.
> > There
> > was a post from a Pentecostal woman that said that the
> point of the
> > story
> > is the rebirth... not the death. For that
> reason, she doesn't observe
> > Good Friday.
> >
> > I disagree for several reasons.
> >
> > Jesus told us to be willing to take up our crosses
> daily if we want to
> > follow him. Death, in the metaphorical, and
> certainly in the
> > spiritual
> > sense, is a part of this path for me. Jesus'
> death is not just a
> > metaphor, though. It was the physical acting out
> of the process. He
> > really did die on that cross. I can't imagine
> not being willing to be
> > with him in that dark hour. He, who is with me
> at all times and in
> > all
> > places, deserves my love and attention for a few hours
> in HIS time of
> > suffering. (I can't even write that without
> tears in my eyes.)
> >
> > I mentioned in another post that I believe that on the
> day of my
> > baptism I
> > died and was reborn. As I travel this Christian
> path, the line
> > between
> > the two blurs. But it is clear to me, a year and
> a half in, that
> > death is
> > absolutely necessary in order to be reborn. To
> me, the polarity of
> > Holy
> > week is extremely important. I can't imagine the
> yin without the
> > yang. I
> > can't imagine resurrection without the death and I
> can't imagine joy
> > without suffering.
> >
> > My life today is made all the more sweet because I
> know what it was
> > like
> > before.
> >
> > Love,
> > Rachel
> >
> >
> > From: Rudy
> Savich <Rsavich at AOL.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 3/23/2005 4:26:22 PM US Eastern
> Standard Time,
> > wagnerian1 at YAHOO.COM
> writes:
> >
> >> But deep in the night, a flame is kindled.
> The
> >> light spreads, lives are touched, the earth
> rejoices.
> >> What once was dead is alive again, and alive
> >> forevermore, and the gates of hell cannot contain
> it.
> >>
> >
> > Oh Clint. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That is
> just so
> > beautifully put.
> > I've got a lump in my throat the size of an Easter egg
> and tears are
> > pouring down like a warm spring rain. Rudy
> > From: Rachel
> Nguyen <rachelnguyen at COX.NET>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> > Dear Clint,
> >
> > Beautifully said, brother!
> >
> > Love,
> > Rachel
> >
> > From: Carter
> McNeese <carter.mcneese at COX.NET>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> > I disagree with you here, Rachel. It is the
> rebirth, the life, which
> > gives the death meaning. Otherwise Jesus would
> just be another first
> > century Jewish radical that was killed by the
> Romans. The fact that
> > he
> > lives is what is important.
> >
> > The question then becomes how does he live? This
> is the aspect that I
> > have the hardest time with. I simply can not
> accept that there was a
> > bodily resurrection. I know that might not jive
> with some, but if I
> > am
> > completely honest with my self I personally know that
> it can not be
> > true.
> > What I do know is that something happened that
> morning, something
> > that is
> > inexplicable and that seriously changed the lives of
> everyone that was
> > there. Personally
> > I think that whatever happened that one day, he at
> least continues
> > to live
> > on in our thoughts, words and actions. These in
> us are what
> > matters, just
> > like they are what made him special in the first
> century.
> >
> > We could argue all day about all of this, but does it
> really do any
> > good?
> > Probably in the fact that it helps us better
> understand our selves.
> > By
> > the way, I as a theological Unitarian (and
> Universalist) do not
> > believe in
> > the separate divinity of Jesus the man. His
> divinity, if any (which I
> > believe was there), came from his relationship with
> God, i.e. came
> > from
> > without (or within, however you want to think of it)
> but not of his
> > person. (I hope that that makes sense, I am
> really tiered.)
> >
> > By the way, my favorite part of the Holy week story is
> the cleansing
> > of
> > the temple. What is every one else's?
> Also, what is you favorite
> > movie
> > about Holy Week/Easter? For me it is a toss up
> between Jesus Christ
> > Superstar and The Last Temptation of Christ.
> >
> > Just thought that I would throw some fluff questions
> out there for
> > some fun.
> >
> > Yours in Love,
> >
> > Carter McNeese
> > Cell: (850) 499-8020
> > Home: (850) 678-6470
> >
> > I have "sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility
> to every form of
> > tyranny over the mind of man."
> >
> >
>
> -Th.
> Jefferson
> >
> > If the plutocrats begin the program, we will end it.
> >
> >
>
> -Eugene
> V. Debs
> > From: Samuel
> Schaal <SRSCHAAL at AOL.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> >
> > It seems to me that one reason some UUs (and others no
> doubt) have
> > trouble
> > with Easter is the violence and darkness of all the
> pre-Easter stuff.
> > Your minister in fact noted this.
> >
> > I seem to recall many years ago that Bruno Bettleheim
> (sp?) wrote an
> > article in the Atlantic or Harper's about the violence
> of traditional
> > children's literature (think Li'l Red Riding Hood
> pushing the wolf
> > in the
> > oven, or was that another story?) and how some modern
> parents of
> > that era
> > thought it was too violent. He said that such fairy
> tale violence
> > could be
> > understood by kids and actually helped them later deal
> with the
> > violence
> > and difficult nature of life. That stuck with
> me, as I was then
> > engaged
> > with raising young children.
> >
> > Now settled in a Christian church and now in my second
> season of
> > Lent/Easter with them, I think that the violence of
> the Passion story
> > tells a truth about life beyond the historical
> occurrence of Jesus.
> > That
> > violence, and how that violence wasn't final, gives
> Christianity
> > existential depth unlike (I think) any other
> religion. Buddhists
> > wisely
> > say that life is suffering and the goal of life is to
> alleviate
> > suffering.
> > Christians agree, but go one step further.
> They/we say that even
> > when we
> > can't alleviate suffering, as is so often the case,
> there is a
> > benevolence
> > at the very heart of life that ensures that suffering,
> though real,
> > is not
> > final, and that life is of an eternal character.
> >
> > But so much of modern religion (UU especially, though
> other examples
> > abound) is a nice, happy little religion which
> addresses the way we
> > wish
> > things were, not the way things are. Life is
> suffering. But at the
> > heart
> > of suffering is eternal life, a goodness that is
> intimately with us
> > (closer than breathing, nearer than hands and feet)
> and -- most
> > importantly -- knows us and loves us and demands very
> little,
> > actually,
> > except love in return.
> >
> > Blessings of the season to all,
> >
> > Sam Schaal
> >
> >
> >
> > From: Dede
> Mitchell <dedequeens at YAHOO.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> >
> > Clinton,
> >
> > This is beautiful and moving, especially the part
> about Good
> > Friday. I
> > shared it with the minister at a UCC church I've been
> attending and he
> > would like to read it at the Good Friday
> service. Is that okay with
> > you?
> >
> > Blessings,
> > Dede
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > From: Clinton
> Davis <wagnerian1 at YAHOO.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> >
> >
> > Dede,
> >
> > Sure, go ahead. Tell me
> how it goes!
> >
> >
> --Clint
> >
> >
> > From: Dede Mitchell
> <dedequeens at YAHOO.COM>
> > Subject: Re: A non-Christian UU
> Minister's dilemma over Easter
> > Date: Thu, 24
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