"Hosanna, Hey Sanna!"
A Palm Sunday sermon by Rev. Charles Blustein Ortman
April 5, 2009
READINGS ANCIENT AND MODERN:
Our ancient reading this morning is from the Book of Matthew
in Christian scripture:
A very large crowd* spread their cloaks on the road, and others
cut branches from the [palm] trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the
name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!'
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking,
'Who is this?' The crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus
from Nazareth in Galilee.'
Our second and modern reading is from the Tibetan Dalai Lama
from his Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1989:
Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries
or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular
job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts
within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace
with those around us.
When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace
with neighboring communities, and so on. When we feel love and kindness
towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for,
but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. And there
are ways in which we can consciously work to develop feelings of
love and kindness. For some of us, the most effective way to do
so is through religious practice. For others it may be non-religious
practices. What is important is that we each make a sincere effort
to take our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment
we live in seriously.
SERMON:
Dateline Jerusalem; April 1, 33CE: The crowds in the streets went
wild today, as Jesus of Nazareth entered the capitol city. The throngs,
undeterred by his rather unusual mode of transportation (which might
be described as ass backwards), began spreading cloaks, garments
and palm leaves on the ground, providing an impromptu red carpet
for his arrival. Children climbed on their parents' shoulders and
high into nearby trees to gain a glimpse of this new Aramaic idol.
Palm branches were also stripped from their trunks, providing and
undulating, shimmering banner-like effect. As the Messiah approached
each new segment of the crowd, onlookers feverishly waved whatever
they had in hand. They picked up the chant: "Hosanna, hosanna,
hosanna in the highest! Hossana, hey sanna, sanna, sanna, ho! Hosanna
in the highest."
Details of this story seem to be rapidly developing. Through the
upcoming week, we will be sending reporters to cover the swiftly
shifting events as they occur in the upper room, at the Garden of
Gethsemane and on the steps of the provincial courthouse, itself.
Stay tuned for further broadcasts in this series that we are calling,
"Live from Golgotha."
Dateline Washington DC; January 20, 2009: Crowds amassed in this
capitol city today, lining the National Mall. Even the arterial
streets and avenues of the District of Columbia were packed beyond
capacity, as Barack Obama prepared to take the oath of office. Throngs
began to gather in the sub-freezing temperatures long before the
first rays of sunlight struck the massive Capitol dome. Shortly
before the opening of the inaugural ceremony, risers constructed
for the occasion in front of the Capitol, began to fill with celebrities,
luminaries, politicians and foreign dignitaries of every stripe.
The city was awash in a sea of humanity. Glittering placards could
be seen everywhere, bearing bits of prayers, or the initials "USA,"
or the name "Barack Obama." Parents hoisted their young
onto their shoulders, so that children might get even a chance to
see this new and popular president - so that those youngsters might
have a chance of remembering this historic moment. Following the
swearing in ceremony and the inaugural lunch, the President set
out by motorcade for his new residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
When he and the First Lady emerged from their limousine to walk
a portion of the route, the unprecedented crowds broke into a frenzied
chant that could have been heard all the way to Bethesda, Maryland,
"Obama! Obama! Obama," they cheered! "Obama, hey
bama, bama ho, bama hey, bama Obama! Obama in the highest!"
Details of this story seem to be fast developing. We have sent
reporters around the globe to cover rapidly shifting events. Stay
tuned for further broadcasts in this series that we are calling,
"Live from America: In Search for the Redemption of Hope."
Theologically speaking, I'm not sure we've come such a very long
way in the past 2,000 years. We were suckers for a savior back then,
and we are still rather gullible now. What is it about the Knight
in Shining Armor, the Magic Negro or the Messiah that we find so
compelling? I'm afraid, truth be told, we already know the answer.
It's the same answer to questions like: Where is the magic pill
or process that will make me lose weight? What is the winning lottery
number that will get me an address on easy street, that will get
me out of debt? How do I learn the magical incantations that will
make me be lovable or normal, or... you fill in the blank.
The answer to all of these questions - and it is a very scary answer
- the answer is there is no outside magic that can save us. There
is only the magic and the potential magic in each of our hearts,
our capacity to embrace our own lives and to reach out beyond ourselves
to embrace others. The true magic of this world is the magic of
the heart. Our own can be aligned with the magic of other hearts,
and then it becomes an even greater force to reckon with.
I would cast no aspirations upon the legacy of Jesus. Jesus is
just alright by me! His message was not that he was to be revered
as a god. His message was first - the Kingdom of Heaven is within;
and second - love your neighbor as yourself. And I'm not saying
that Barack Obama is any Jesus, but I am saying he's being placed
on that same, slippery, messianic slope that the other guy walked.
We might even find a parallel between the Stations of the Cross
that Jesus walked, and the impossible banking and market disaster
that Obama must negotiate. But the very clear message from both
of them is -- this is not about me; it is about you.
If we are going to be saved, if we are going to save one another
and this planet, it will be because we - each of us - will have
elected to be a part of the saving process. Nobody else can do that
for us. Vicarious atonement, the thought that one person's suffering
can assuage the karma of another, is a theological construct of
another age. It is one we might well consider that we can no longer
afford. We can't afford it if we want to save what's left of this
world for our future generations.
There is a story in our own Universalist history that points to
theological differences between what I would call outdated ideas
of vicarious atonement and still unachieved notions of personal
and corporate atonement and responsibility; between seeing humanity
as a hapless bunch of patsies for a vengeful god, or as a collection
of responsible participants within a loving creation. There were
two men who shared the title of, "Father of Universalism."
They were John Murray and Hosea Ballou.
John Murray believed that all of humanity was saved to everlasting
salvation as the result of, and not until atonement for the original
sin committed in the Garden of Eden, was achieved for us through
the death of Jesus. For Murray, it was through this vicarious atonement,
achieved through the suffering, crucifixion and death of Jesus,
by which the angry father god was assuaged and reconciled to man.
There were no chosen people in this model. Redemption was for all,
but it was earned by one.
Hosea Ballou believed that all of humanity was saved to everlasting
salvation as well. But he believed that it was because of the existence
of a loving creator and a much loved creation. For Ballou, creation
itself was the demonstration of love. A vengeful or hateful damnation
was never at risk. Experiencing, expressing and sharing love was
the possibility promised by life, and Jesus was the preeminent example
of the manifestation of that possibility. Some of us might not articulate
our theologies in the same way Ballou did, but few of us would deny
that the greatest opportunity we have in this life is to participate
in the experience, in the expression and in the sharing of love.
I think Jesus would have gotten along very well with Hosea Ballou.
The Kingdom of Heaven is within - love your neighbor as yourself.
It makes great sense in theory, but when you try to apply it in
the real world - well, look what happened to Jesus. Somehow when
you go beyond the bounds of applying brotherly and sisterly love
to your, "own group," you become a traitor. Messiahs always
fall. The strength of their legacy depends on the ability of their
message to transcend the boundaries of I and thou.
Several years ago, as I've mentioned before, I applied for and
was granted status as a Conscientious Objector. It was a process
that worked from the inside out. I was already serving in the U.S.
Naval Reserve as a Hospital Corpsman when I applied for my discharge.
There were some 20 or so hearings and meetings that I endured on
my way out. It was grueling and the only person who I dealt with
in this process, who had any sympathy for my efforts to take a stand
against the violence of militarism, was the base chaplain. In his
report, that became part of the massive portfolio that accompanied
my case, which was sent to the Pentagon, the chaplain concluded
that he had no reason to doubt my word or anything that I'd said
at face value. And then he went on, recommending that I be stationed
stateside and not be granted C.O. status because I was, in his words,
"…suffering from a messiah complex." It was audacious,
this Christian clergyman was saying, for me to take religious principles
to heart and apply them to the enemy. It was unpatriotic and should
not be condoned by the military, under any circumstances.
Fortunately for me, in 1970 the U.S. Supreme Court removed the
religious conviction requirement and allowed objection to be based
on personal moral and ethical systems of belief. My case was ruled
on shortly after that decision by a Pentagon seeking to show good
faith in complying with this Supreme Court mandate. Still, I think
this is a poignant example of how we, as a people, may be willing
to allow someone of celebrity or divine status, which I so obviously
was not, to save us from ourselves. But we are often intolerant
of embracing the idea, which must be much nearer the truth of things,
that if we and our planet are to be saved, we are the ones who'd
best be about the task of saving, ourselves, each other and the
planet. There really is no messiah that can do it for us - not Jesus,
not President Obama, not Thich Nhat Hahn, not even the Dalai Lama.
When we look to others, depend upon them for establishing our own
sense of worth, we forfeit our capacity to redeem for ourselves
the lives we've been given, the pain we've endured, and the beauty
we have been a part of. We can learn much, be inspired by those
great leaders who themselves have learned to access the magic and
the potential magic in their own hearts. Perhaps we can learn from
them to access our own.
But if we abdicate our potential for a life of integrity and intentionality
to one who might accomplish it for us, we have removed ourselves,
at least partially, from the very relationships that create the
stories of our lives. We have given them away to someone who doesn't
need them; we are the ones who need to find meaning in the stories
of our lives. When we place things of greatest value - gods, or
laws, or messiahs - outside of ourselves, we lose touch with our
moral center and with the larger common good.
We all face the same human dilemmas that perplexed our ancient
ancestors and encouraged them to create gods that would ease their
misgivings. Like them, we are here, but briefly, in the midst of
this great mystery, knowing that one day we too must die. However
we might articulate our theologies, we too have our gods that give
us comfort. Sometimes those gods blind us from the truth; sometimes,
some precious times, they lead us to it.
The largest God I can imagine is Love, a force or energy that holds
in it both truth and a want of being. We are a manifestation of
that God and have the capacity to be agents of that compassion for
being and for one another. To do God's will is to act in loving
ways.
And so we might ask, do we arrive at this place and time eager
to wave a palm? Or, are we ready and willing to turn over a new
leaf? The choice is ours. The possibility of redemption is ours
- no one else's.
A messiah is one who saves things. Things are saved if they have
value. We are each called to be savers, to be saviors, to believe
in the inherent worth and dignity of every person - beginning with
ourselves, and ending... well, never ending. We are the ones who
are here to save ourselves, each other, and the planet.
The late Studs Terkel, in the foreword to the book, "This
I Believe," wrote: "And yet there is something which I
believe with no uncertainty. There is something we can do while
we're alive and breathing on this planet. It is to become an activist
in the pursuit of a world in which it would be easier for people
to behave decently... Being an activist is self-explanatory: you
take part in something outside [and beyond] yourself."
May we likewise be blessed with the surety of such faith. May we
be activists in creating lives - in creating a world - that has
been redeemed by the magic, which lies inside us, the magic of our
hearts. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.
Dana Greeley, late Unitarian minister and the last president of
the American Unitarian Association, as well as the founding president
of the Unitarian Universalist Association, following the merger
with the Universalist Church, wrote:
We need to dream great dreams and to be dedicated to them,
And to know that life is sacred,
And to live heroically and courageously,
And to love others.
Religion is born with us when we are born.
It cannot atrophy; only its forms can decay.
Religion is a prophetic vision and the joy of life.
I pray that we may more and more know ourselves
And share together that vision and that joy.
Dateline Montclair, New Jersey; April 5, 2009: There were no idols
worshiped at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation this morning.
The people attending worship gathered, listened to the inspiring
and uplifting music, and considered their role in participating
in the ongoing miracle of creation. The congregation prayed for
hope and the spirit of dedication that they might indeed be the
ones they have been waiting for.
It may well be frightening to be so responsible for our own lives,
but we are in good company with one another here.
We are the ones who need to dream.
We are the ones who need to know.
We are the ones who need to act, to be activists.
We are the ones who need to live and to love,
to redeem and to save.
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