Worship
Sermon Teachings
Isaiah 2:1-5 – The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come and say: “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that God may teach us the Divine ways and that we may walk in God's path.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. The Lord shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Matthew 26:51-56– [Judas arrived with the religious leaders who were heavily armed to arrest Jesus] When they came on him – grabbed him and roughed him up. One of those with Jesus pulled his sword and, taking a swing at the servant of the Chief Priest, cut off his ear. Jesus said, “Put you sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords. Don't you realize that I am able right now to call on my Abba God, and twelve companies – more if I want them – of fighting angels would be here, battle ready? But if I did that, how would the Scriptures come true that say this is the way it has to be?” Then Jesus addressed the mob: “What is this – coming after me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I have been sitting in the Temple teaching, and you never so much as lifted a hand against me. You've done it this way to confirm and fulfill the prophetic writings.”
In our Lenten study book, Rabbi Wolpe poses the favorite question of modern critics of religion and faith, “Does religion cause violence?” In short, Obviously religions cause violence, wars, injustice, abuse of civil and human rights, and other assorted atrocities, after all, they are human contrivances in institutional form. This chapter is Wolpe's longest and most pleasingly balanced and insightful essay. His interdisciplinary, inter-religious review of the development, history, and connection between institutional religions and personal motivations, reveal how religions ignore, or actively oppose violence, or engage in teachings and activities that promote human destructiveness.
Institutional religions that believe they are the full and final expressions of Divine truth are, as history proves, most likely to employ violence and partner with similar political powers. Presently, the imperialistic agenda of Islamic Fundamentalism uses its interpretation of the Qur'an to justify violent acts of mass destruction to create an Islamic continent. The triumphalist teachings of organized Christianity clearly establish that the Nazi genocide would not have been possible without the explicit complicity of organized Christianity and its leaders.
The harmful side of institutional religions can also be expressed in forms of violence that oppress women, subjugate children, and in political and economic practices that prevent equal access to the benefits of society or enslave peoples whose personhood is denied by religions and societies. To be LGBT today is to know the violent rejection of many religious institutions and the damning judgment of very many religious people.
Rabbi Wolpe asks the important contextual questions, “What sort of world did religion come into, and what did it make of that world? What is the world like when we take religion out of it?” We are an exceptionally well educated, well-read, well-informed, and conscientious congregation. We can generally if not specifically respond to the rabbi's important contextual questions. So, let's shift the field of emphasis, turning the rabbi's question into our answers illustrated by the constructive values of this church and the positive qualities we personally seek to live, day-by-day.
The Bible is laced with stories of war, violence, and brutality on the part of human beings. Biblical writers go farther, ascribing violence to the command of God or, worse, by the hand of the Almighty. We do not justify or rely on these narratives as the bases for theology or religion, and we do not to ascent to them as personal theological tenants.
We consciously try to partner with God and Christ to be whole persons in a badly broken world. We try to be fair, honest, integrous, and just in all of our business and personal dealings. Our individual faith tenants and our participation in church are grounded on the biblical and psychological truth that there is a good and real Self that will sustain our heartfelt desire to live in peace, practice loving kindness, and walk humbly with God while holding Christ at the center of our souls.
We try to do the inner work essential to a life of meaning, purpose, faith, and peace. We seek to discern the voice of Christ's Spirit and the callings of God rather than blindly adhering to the voices of authority, infallible teachings, and demands for conformity to beliefs and practices that violate our intuitive sense of what is right and good. We find here the safety and security that honors our vulnerabilities and holds our wounds.
We are committed to peacemaking on all fronts. Through deeply discerning spiritual practices that help us understand the purposes of God, we may arrive at times when we must support or take part in just wars and times when we exercise conscience and decline to support or fight. Either decision of conscience is honored as trustworthy and faithful.
We do not subscribe to elements of Scripture that marginalize people for reasons of gender, age, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, or human condition. We honor the fact that both women and men are created in the image of God and by the Word of God are “Good!” We try to keep our thoughts, words, and actions from being violent, demeaning, or abusive. Instead we do our best to nurture psychological, physical, and spiritual health, and though it's tough going sometimes, we try to practice self-compassion and self-care.
We recognize the eternal cosmic struggle between good and evil but we do not surrender our hope or cease working for a better world and a kinder humanity just because others conjure up violence and human destructiveness. We know that our greatest power in this struggle is to show up, be present, and live our day-to-day lives with dignity, inner calm and outer peace, empathy, and tireless hope, in spite and because of global crises.
If you practice faith here, you cherish the diversity of spiritual practices and also all good-willed, peace-loving institutional religions. We do not believe that we possess the ultimate truths of God, but we do treasure this church as a place to frame and work on our faith, doubts, questions, values, and wounds. We work to mend the world and model peaceful understanding and cooperation in partnership with Kol Shofar, Rodef Shalom, the Muslim communities – the vast majority of which in Marin reject terrorism, imperialism, and violence – Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Baptists, Sufis, humanists, the Zen Center, Spirit Rock, and members of the Interfaith Council. We are all in this life and world together and we are confident that God will sort out the issue of “We've got the truth” later, if it's truly necessary.
The foregoing illustrations are the answers we give to the hard and true question, “does religion cause violence?” We live our days by faith not the sword, by inner Divinely inspired wisdom not external authority, by engagement rather than indifference or complicity. Our faith and beloved community are a presence for good, they help each of us to be better, happier, and more loving and kind. We will not surrender our consciences and souls to any systemic tyranny or institutional violence – we belong, heart, mind, body, and soul to God and to Christ.
MEDITATION
Picture yourself going into the heart of your soul and there you meet your true and good Self. Sit with that Self ----- Thank it for being present and hear it say to you, “I want to be a big part of your life.” ----- As you look into that true and good Self, see God or Christ at the center of that Self ----- Hear yourself say to your true and good Self, “I belong heart, mind, body and soul to you, to God and Christ.”
Hear the Latest Sermon
Listen online or download to your MP3 player!Â
