Sermon: Uncovering Multiplicity

The following was a sermon delivered at the First Church in Salem, Unitarian Universalist on 24 April 2022. Feel free to listen to the audio or read the transcript below (or both!).

That last reading from One Corinthians was a weird reading to have in a Unitarian Universalist service, right? I almost never hear UU preachers bring Paul of Tarsus into the conversation. Paul, an icon of the Christian tradition and a centrally important figure to the emergence of Trinitarian Christianity. This might be even more confusing to those of you who know that I am an atheist Unitarian Universalist. You might go so far as to challenge the relevance of such a passage to the Unitarian Universalist tradition. Personally, I do largely reject the theology of resurrection within the text. But that is inconsequential to the task at hand. So, what is important about this passage? It stands as an entrance point into engaging the diversity of belief within the early Jesus movement. As we move together, hopefully we will begin to see how our non-creedal and non-doctrinal religion here at First Church can learn and draw upon ancient sources to understand the spiritual work we are engaging.

So, will you bear with me for a moment as we engage some brief history?

One Corinthians 15:3-9, is a piece of a letter that gives us a lens into the world of the early Jesus movement, beyond its theological claims about the resurrection. It’s what scholars refer to as an “uncontested” letter, which is to say practically all scholars acknowledge that this letter was written by Paul sometime in the 40s of the Common Era.

This part of the letter, commonly called an ancient creed, a pre-Pauline creed in scholarly terms, presents Paul’s recounting of what he deems important to the early Jesus movement. There are a few quite interesting elements, for example: Paul completely dismisses Jesus’ entire life. The important details in Paul’s thought begin with a dead Jesus. The central aspect of this passage revolves around the resurrection appearances of Jesus. New Testament scholars think about how Paul adapted this creed to fit his own purposes. The most substantial change he likely makes is the addition of the ending: “And last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”[1] Paul inserts himself as one who witnessed the resurrected Jesus. This letter from Paul to the assembly in Corinth can be viewed as a defense of Paul’s authority to proclaim the evangelion, the gospel, of Jesus.

Phew! Everyone with me so far? Exams can be turned in following the service.

In this passage, Paul defends himself as an authoritative figure who is teaching the true meaning of Christianity, as he sees it. Why would he need to defend himself if everyone was already on the same page? Perhaps there were multiple ways people were approaching the traditions of Jesus, even a mere fifteen years after his death.

Since Paul never knew the man Jesus, and there are others at the time (like apostle Peter and James) who did and were living and preaching, Paul needed to show where he got the nerve to teach things that are sometimes quite contradictory to the teachings of those who knew Jesus. Paul spoke specifically of Jesus post death; the resurrected Christ-figure was central. For Peter and James, the life of Jesus was not to be dismissed so easily, as one might expect from those who knew him before his death. Paul emphasized the loosening of Jewish tradition amongst Gentiles in the community. Peter and James were in stark disagreement, emphasizing that Jewish tradition was of central importance for all followers of Jesus.

All right. Let’s take a moment to look at another instance where this ancient multiplicity presents itself. In Revelation, another New Testament book one is unlikely to hear from Unitarian Universalist pulpits, we can witness this diversity, this multiplicity of opinions, faiths, and beliefs within early Jesus communities again. Written by John of Patmos, Revelation contains seven letters to congregations in Asia Minor. In the first letter, to the congregation at Ephesus, John writes on behalf of the angel of God:

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false.[2]

Here, we see John of Patmos celebrating the Ephesians for their rejection of what he calls “false apostles.” Who were these folk? During the first century there was a wide dispersion of what scholar Heidi Wendt calls freelance ritual experts.[3] In this passage, scholars seem to suggest that John is possibly responding to experts proclaiming the teachings of Paul and Pauline traditions that were emerging from the letter we heard earlier. Throughout the text of Revelation, there are many passages which seem to be directly addressing and condemning some of the traditions proclaimed by Paul.

So, we are, again, seeing disputes within the early Jesus movement. Paul proclaims the relaxing of Jewish traditions amongst gentiles. John of Patmos, possibly following in the footsteps of the apostle James, takes an opposite point of view, reinforcing the centrality of Jewish tradition and law to salvation. Here we continue to see the perpetual multiplicities within the early Jesus movement. The diversity of belief becomes even more apparent when we look at the apocryphal gospels, the texts that didn’t make it into what we now call the New Testament, gospels like Thomas, Mary, Peter, and Judas.

So, you’re probably sitting there saying something like: John… John, John, John, what’s the point? Where are you going with this? Good questions! My question for you is, what can our covenantal tradition take from understanding the early Jesus movement as a tradition of multiplicity? That is, in recognizing the wide diversity of approaches to Jesus, what can we take as inspiration for our own tradition?

Unitarian Universalists hold up our covenantal religion. We heard a little bit of that during our first reading. Our tradition is not grounded in the commonality of our faith but leaves room for diversity and multiplicity.  With Buddhist UUs, Christian UUs, Jewish UUs, Atheist UUs, just here at First Church there is a wide variety of ways people engage with our UU tradition.

When I entered college, I began attending the local Unitarian Universalist congregation. They were undergoing a transition from their long-time minister of 25 years. The congregation had called two ministers, a Buddhist UU and a Christian UU, to serve in the interim as they searched for their newly settled minister.

Now, let me tell you what I was hearing from some of the congregants. I heard descriptions of the fellowship as humanist, atheist, and recovering-Christian oriented. I listened and tried to soak in all that I was hearing as I got to know the congregation. We don’t talk about God. Some would say. We’re a fellowship, not a church. These comments were not unfamiliar to me. Versions of these sentiments are expressed across the spectrum widely within Unitarian Universalist communities. It reminded me of the often-heard refrain that if you’ve been to one UU congregation, you’ve been to one UU congregation.

So, imagine the surprise when one of the interim ministers begins to preach from the New Testament, to rely on Christian theology, and to invoke God regularly. Some congregants complained, but when her tenure came to a close, a new settled minister came.  This new minister, while comfortable with Christian language, was not a Christian herself.  This engagement across beliefs and faiths speaks to the multiplicity of our tradition. The interim minister’s Christian identity moved the congregation away from their staunch humanistic roots into a space that allows for the translation of ideas. When she said “God,” congregants heard spirit, energy, mystery, or that which is greater than I. In a short span of years, the congregation moved to a broader recognition of how our spiritualities, our faith commitments, can be together, interact, and encourage each other’s spiritual growth.

When I entered Boston University’s School of Theology, I was hit by a wave of culture shock. Having spent the better part of a year studying at a Unitarian Universalist seminary amidst mostly fellow non-Christians, I found myself rather unprepared to engage with the reality that I was suddenly in a theological minority. Nearly every student at School of Theology comes out of a Christian tradition, and most are intending to pursue some form of ordained ministry. I spent my first-year acclimating to this new climate. Now, at the end of my second year, I’m still figuring it out. But I’ve slowly begun to better understand how to engage with theologies different from mine, especially those grounded in the Christian tradition.

As Unitarian Universalists, we are committed to freedom of belief and advocate for a responsible search for truth and meaning in our lives. Sometimes, this lack of specificity surrounding our religious tradition will lead people to misunderstand us, thinking that Unitarian Universalists can believe anything they want.  Some might even wonder how it’s possible to be a religious tradition without common belief. I want to push back against these notions.  Unitarian Universalism is a religious tradition with a radically different grounding than the typical Catholic, evangelical, and mainline Christianities which shape much of our understanding of religion. We are not a creedal tradition. We are not a religion bound together by common faith in the traditional sense.

We are a covenantal tradition. We are bound together by our faith in one another and in our commitment to community. We proclaim that what is sacred can be found in relationship, in learning, in questioning, in seeking, and in loving each other.

We are not all on the same path.  We are not all looking through different windows, each refracting the light differently, but ultimately at the singular sacred beyond.[4] We are all on a diverse array of paths heading towards the unknown. And yet, we together are one. As a mentor of mine, Rev. Hope Johnson wrote, “We are one, a diverse group of proudly kindred spirits, here not by coincidence but because we choose to journey together.”[5] We are a chosen community that is filled with multiplicity.

As we gather here, we have chosen to seek truth through community, through relationship with one another. We know that our beliefs and faith commitments vary. That is not just the beauty of our tradition, it’s the lifeblood. 

My faith and beliefs were formed and created through my interactions with others. Often, my interactions with others as they spoke about their beliefs. It was through these discussions, with many of you, and through community, here at First Church, that I came to understand what I believe about the world. I mean to say that these conversations helped me uncover what is in my heart.  It is through community that I was able to live more fully into myself.  As the hymn from Alicia Carpenter prays: “Here, we have gathered, gathered side by side… May all who seek here find a kindly word; may all who speak here feel they have been heard.”[6]

We began our service today with a bible reading, which seems quite natural here at First Church. At many other UU congregations, bible readings are rare and practically unheard of. We are in a tradition where a UU can be someone who finds meaning, hope, value, truth, and love in the New Testament while another may have never read a word from it. Our historically Christian congregation leans into that history and finds community and strength from our theological ancestors. We are the inheritors of an incredible tradition.

Here, at the First Church in Salem, we are proudly in the tradition of covenantal religion. Francis Higginson, the first Teacher here, wrote one of the earliest congregationalist covenants, and we still say that original covenant today.[7] We have it engraved on the wall right there.  This church was founded on the idea of covenant, on the idea of relationship. Now, that’s not to say that our ideas about relationship, covenant, and God haven’t changed. They certainly have. But we remain committed to relationship, nonetheless.

The seven principles are another covenant we commit to within our tradition. They are a living and breathing document which binds us together on our shared journeys.  If you’re interested in learning more about the work of exploring covenant, relationship, and purpose within Unitarian Universalism, I’d encourage you to get involved with the Article II Study Commission which is in the process of reviewing the section of the Unitarian Universalist Association Bylaws which contain the seven principles, six sources of faith, our statement of inclusion, and our freedom of belief statement. If you want more information on this, feel free to chat with me after the service.

As we continue to move forward with our collective discernment, our shared journeying, I hope we can remember our commitments to multiplicity and relationship. I want to bring us back to the words of Rev. Hope Johnson:

We are one, a diverse group of proudly kindred spirits, here not by coincidence but because we choose to journey together. We are active and proactive. We care deeply. We live our love as best we can.

We are one, working, eating, laughing, playing, singing, storytelling, sharing, and rejoicing, getting to know each other, taking risks, opening up, questioning, seeking, searching, trying to understand, struggling, making mistakes, paying attention, asking questions, listening, living our answers, learning to love our neighbors, learning to love ourselves, apologizing and forgiving with humility, and being forgiven through grace, creating the beloved community together. We are one.[8]

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Notes:

[1] 1 Cor. 15:8 (NRSV)

[2] Rev. 2:2 (NRSV)

[3] Heidi Wendt, At the Temple Gates: The Religion of Freelance Experts in the Roman Empire (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).

[4] This is a rejection of the Cathedral of the World metaphor espoused by Forrest Church. See Forrest Church, The Cathedral of the World: A Universalist Theology (Boston: Beacon Press, 2009); Forrest Church, “The Cathedral of the World,” UU World, 2 November 2009, https://www.uuworld.org/articles/cathedral-world.

[5] Hope Johnson, “We Are One,” Unitarian Universalist Association, accessed 22 April 2022, https://www.uua.org/worship/words/affirmation/we-are-one.

[6] Alicia Carpenter, “Here We Have Gathered,” hymn, in Singing the Living Tradition (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 1994), number 360.

[7] Susan Richie, “The Salem Covenant and the Enlarged Covenant: 1629, 1636,” in A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism: Volume One- From the Beginning to 1899, edited by Dan McKanan (Boston: Skinner House Books, 2017), 36.

[8] Hope Johnson, “We Are One.”