Welcome to the Harbor Unitarian Universalist Congregation

The service today is a continuation of an occasional series on the sources of our Unitarian Universalist faith. We often preach on the seven principles that incorporate our values. However, seldom do we look at the six sources of these values. Both are printed in your Order of Service.

Earlier I have examined the first and fifth source, and the Christian half of the fourth source--Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves. Today I examine the Jewish half of that source.

You will note in our reading today that Jeremiah was a reluctant prophet. "I am not a good speaker", he said, when Yahweh told him he was destined from before his conception to be a prophet. "I am too young." However, Yahweh was familiar with reluctant prophets, and did not take "I'd rather not" for an answer. "Don't be afraid," he said. "I will put my words into your mouth, and you will prophesy to the nations."

Now, this was not the first reluctant prophet Yahweh called. Do you remember the story of Moses and the Burning Bush? Moses also said he could not speak well. And Yahweh had an answer for him. " Your brother Aaron will assist you," he said. And thus Moses became the leader (with assistance) who, according to the Biblical story, freed the Israelites.

We think of ourselves as a prophetic faith. Much of that history comes from our Jewish ancestors. Today we are examining The Age of Prophets.

This week Grand Rapids hosted the Ten Commandments. Not just any Ten Commandments--this was the icon made famous by Judge Roy Moore, who erected it in an Alabama State courthouse. He was ordered to remove it by the Supreme Court, refused, and subsequently lost his job. This huge granite slab with the Ten Commandments is currently on tour in the United States.

Do you know what the very first Commandment is? Thou shalt have no other gods before me. When the ancient Israelites told the story of their founding, this was the most important part of their identity. In a larger culture that recognized many gods, the Israelites were monotheist. Most historians of the Bible think that monotheism developed gradually. They think that the no other gods before me phrase recognized that other nations had other gods. The unspoken name of the god of the Israelites, which we have variously translated as Yahweh, or the Lord, or God, has transmuted into the monotheist claim of the singular God.

Thus, the primary role of the ancient Israelite prophets was to remind the people that there was only one God, and that he was a jealous God. Time after time the Israelites were tempted away by other gods, who were, after all, present in the land of Caanan before the invading Israelites and their upstart Yahweh arrived in the land. There was Baal, a rain god, who was very important for pastoralists in a dry land. And there was the little goddess, Asherah, the goddess of fertility, who was very attractive to Hebrew women, whose worth was measured by the number of sons they produced.

Scholars tell us that the very fact that it was so often necessary for the prophets to remind the Israelites of God's singularity shows us that the transition from multiple gods who took care of differing problems to a single God of infinite power took a long time. Baal, Asherah and Yahweh coexisted uncomfortably for centuries. It took the work of the prophets, who spoke for Yahweh, combined with a difficult history of invasion, enslavement, survival and rebuilding to per-suade the Hebrews to embrace monotheism completely.

The second thing the prophets were called upon to do was to remind the people of their covenant with Yahweh. According to the Exodus story, here is what Yah-weh, speaking through Moses, promised the Hebrew people. "I am the LORD. I shall free you from your labors and deliver you to slavery. I shall rescue you with outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I shall adopt you as my people, and I shall be your God. You will know that I, the LORD, am your God, the God who frees you from your labors in Egypt. I shall lead you to the land which I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I shall give it you for your possession. I am the LORD."

Thus the LORD, or Yahweh, promised to give the Land of Caanan, or modern Israel, to the Hebrews in return for their adoration. However, the Israelites were also required to obey the commandments of Yahweh.

The Ten Commandments were only the beginning of Yahweh's laws. If you wish to read Exodus, chapters 20 forward, you will find many of them listed. (And if you wish to read the fine details, ad infinitum, they are in Leviticus.) They define the relationship of the Hebrews to Yahweh, to other people and to the land. They show a great concern for fair treatment, especially for powerless people. There are laws regarding how one must treat slaves, how one must compensate for accidental losses, and how one must treat widows and orphans. For example, in chapter 22 of Exodus, verses 22 - 24, we read; "You must not wrong a widow or a fatherless child. If you do, and they appeal to me, be sure that I shall listen; my anger will be roused and I shall kill you with the sword; your own wives will be-come widows and your children fatherless."

Many of the rules listed are specific to the land of ancient Israel both in time and place. They were formulated in a society that was tribal in culture. The people were traditionally pastoralists who were transitioning to an agricultural society. Thus, many of the rules are outdated. Few of us have to worry if our ox will gore the neighbor, or his pregnant wife or his slave. However, many of the rules were concerned with basic justice issues. While some of the rules had to do with economics, they expressed a concern that economic decisions be fair and equitable.

So, when a Jeremiah was called forth to speak God's words, the words were concerned with treating people fairly. He berated the rich and powerful, and those who worshipped Baal. Here is Jeremiah 2:29 - 34:

"Why argue your case with me? You are rebels, every one of you. This is the word of the LORD. In vain I punished your people--the lesson was not learnt; your sword devoured your prophets like a ravening lion. Have I shown myself to Israel as some wilderness or waterless land? Why do my people say, 'We have broken away; we shall come to you no more?'

Will a girl forget her finery or a bride her wedding ribbons? Yet times without number my people have forgotten me. …

Yes, and there is blood on the corners of your robe--the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them housebreaking. For all these things I shall punish you."

In this passage Yahweh speaks through Jeremiah, condemning the Israelites for straying from his worship, and for mistreating the poor. And he speaks of punish-ment.

Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem just before, during, and for a short while after the Babylonians conquered the city and destroyed the temple. He interpreted this event as the just punishment Yahweh meted out because of the unfaithfulness of his people. Today we would probably name this as "blaming the victim." However, at the time his work helped the Hebrews find meaning in the disaster.

He, and those writing in his name, interspersed threats of righteous punishment with messages of hope and consolation. Always the LORD called his people back to him, pleading for their love and esteem. Jeremiah did not have an easy life, nor an easy vocation.

So, what do Jeremiah and the other Hebrew prophets have to do with modern liberal religion? Classic Unitarianism developed because minister scholars studied the Bible and could not find satisfactory evidence of the doctrine of the trinity. They moved to an affirmation of the unity of God. They were radical monotheists, along with Jews and Muslims. Today, we embrace a variety of theologies, which range from atheism to earth-based spiritualities that may embrace polytheism. However, in the development of our faith, we moved from understanding God as a trinity to God as radically one.

We also understand ourselves as a prophetic faith. We have been concerned with helping the widow and orphan, just as were the ancient prophets of Israel. I use the term widow and orphan metaphorically to stand for all those suffering people with little or no power who are oppressed by systems of injustice, or by individuals or events that deprive them of basic necessities. We too, have prophets who spoke or acted to change society to bend toward justice.

I name Theodore Parker, who spoke out against slavery when many other churchmen found it uncomfortable or impolitic to do so. Parker founded a church in Boston that nurtured abolitionists who struggled for years to rid this country of our deepest societal sin. He helped runaway slaves on their route to Canada and freedom. He was nearly lynched by a mob as he struggled to help one such slave to a ship ready to set sail for freedom land.

One member of his congregation was John Brown, a fiery eyed prophet who took his passion to Kansas in the struggle to keep that territory free from the taint of slavery. Brown and his small militia saved Lawrence, Kansas from a raid by pro-slavers bent on murder and mayhem. Later he planned the failed raid to free slaves at Harper's Ferry. He wrote Parker that if it had been white folks he was trying to free, he would have been hailed as a hero. Instead, he was hanged.

We have modern prophets also. The Rev. James Reeb answered Martin Luther King's call for clergy to support his march from Selma to Montgomery. Reeb was attacked and beaten with an ax handle. He died of his wounds. When King pulled back to regroup, he again called for support. The Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Association was meeting in Boston. They recessed their meeting to fly to Selma and join King, along with many Unitarian and Universalist ministers. One of them was my friend, Gordon Gibson, retiring this year from his pulpit in Elkhart, Indiana. Gordon is writing part of the history of Unitarians and Univer-salists in the Civil Rights movement, so those examples of modern prophetic action will not be forgotten.

I believe that the prophetic voices modeled by the great Jewish prophets con-tinue to influence our faith today. Justice is the only concept that is lifted up twice in our Seven Principles. We covenant to affirm and promote justice, equity and compassion in human relations, and the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. Justice is seldom achieved without prophets who are willing to name the injustice, and who then rouse others to act to correct it.

In the last 40 years, members of our faith have taken active roles in several prophetic movements. Some ministers and churches were very active in the anti-Vietnam war movement. Some churches served as sanctuaries during the struggles in Central America. Some churches opposed the war in Iraq, and hosted peace groups, and still do. Some of our churches have pursued racial justice issues and reconciliation between the races. Because we embrace a diversity of opinions about these and other issues, the appropriate actions to bring about justice often require a great deal of discussion.

The role of a prophet is uncomfortable today, just as it was in 587 B. C. E. when Jeremiah challenged his neighbors and friends. And yet it is as necessary now as it was then.

To speak out for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people brings the wrath of right-wing ideologues pouring forth. I am proud that the leaders of my faith have spoken and acted on this issue.

The lead plaintiff for the lawsuit in Massachusetts that brought legalized gay marriage to that state was a Unitarian Universalist. Our headquarters in Boston, located next door to the State Capitol, carried a banner in favor of gay marriage. And the president of our Association, the Rev. Bill Sinkford, performed the marriage of the lead plaintiff after the State Court ruled that it was legal to do so.

The right to marry is a symbol of many rights that are denied our gay friends and family members. It is right in the middle of the culture wars that have divided our nation for at least the last two decades. As such, it is an uncomfortable place to be. To speak out in favor of it places one on the firing range of public dissension.

Recently I met and talked with a teacher at Muskegon High School. She asked if she could give my name to the student/teacher coalition that is attempting to start a gay/straight alliance there. "It was difficult," she said. "When they put up fliers about the first meeting, some of them were taken down by teachers, who said, 'I'm broad-minded, but I'm not that broad-minded.'" When I stopped pounding my head on the table, I told her to please have them call me. I don't know exactly what, if any, role I can play in their endeavor, but at least I can express my support.

Our Jewish friends continue to work for justice. One of our members sent me an essay from the Jewish World Review by Lenore Skenazy. She wrote that she managed to ignore the Darfur catastrophe UNTIL her rabbi gave a sermon about a national four-day Darfur letter-writing campaign.

So she called up the coalition sponsoring the program, Save Darfur. She learned three things:

"First: Yes, there is a war going on in Darfur. The government is bombing its own villagers, by helicopter. The government's allies, a group called the Janjaweed, kill the villagers, too, in horrible ways.

Second: (She lists) the ways. (They are very nasty. I don't want to assault your ears with them at this time.)

Third: … (H)ere's what you can do: Join Save Darfur's "100 Hours of Con-science." Through Sunday, (that's today) you and I are asked to write letters to Congress and the President urging them to 'Do Something.'"

The coalition believes that China is the key. China purchases most of the Sudanese oil that is part of the underlying reason for this tragedy. They believe that if President Bush were to call the Chinese leadership, the situation could be solved. (http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0305/skenazy031705.php3)

The tradition of prophetic voices and actions continues from ancient Israel. Modern Jews speak out and write letters and make telephone calls. And our faith, inspired by the example of our Jewish forbears also continues to bear witness to injustice, and to struggle for justice.

As we go forth, let us remember this Jewish gift from the sources of our faith. Let us find strength in the example of prophets, ancient and modern. Let us lend our strength to the struggles that call to us in our day. "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing sea."

Amen.
Blessed Be.
Shalom.
Saalat.