What is not commonly known is that Paul’s letters were written roughly between the years 50 c.e. and 65 c.e. (C.E. means “common era” and in scholarly circles has replaced A.D. – anno domini – Latin meaning “year of our Lord).  And even though in Galatians chapter 1 he mentions that he spent 15 days with James, the brother of the Lord, there’s no mention of Jesus’ birth. That raises some interesting questions.

The first of the gospels to be written was Mark in roughly the year 70 c.e.  It opens with the baptism of Jesus by John.  Again, nothing about Jesus’ birth.

The second gospel to be written was Matthew in roughly the year 80 c.e., about 50 years after the crucifixion and 80 years after Jesus’ birth.  The birth narrative of Jesus is found in Matthew chapters 1 and 2. In this account, the Holy Family has to flee into Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod.

The third gospel, Luke, was written in roughly 90 c.e. and it too has a birth narrative.  This is the account that most people are familiar with, maybe because part of it is spoken by Linus in the classic “Charlie Brown Christmas” from the 1960’s.  This is the account where the shepherds are startled by angels singing “glory to God in the highest!”

The two accounts, it should be noted, were not written by eyewitnesses, nor do they tell the same story.  More questions.

John, the fourth gospel was written around 100 c.e. and does not contain a birth narrative.  Rather, it opens with Jesus being identified as the Word of God, with God from the beginning.  This word “became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Why bring this up?  Not to discount the beautiful story, but to encourage critical study of the Bible.  It’s an amazing text about people’s encounter with the divine.  The encounter with the divine in the Nativity is not only about the birth of Jesus, it is about your birth and the birth and re-birth of the Christ in you.

That being said, we have to consider that any writings that have survived into the modern age have had significant challenges to their survival.  First, they had to be hand copied and second they had to some how survive for 2,000 years in climates, that in many instances, were not conducive to their survival.  At least we have some documents, and those documents are telling.

Flavius Josephus

Flavius Josephus was a Jewish historian who is most famous for his book Jewish Antiquities in which he wrote about the Jewish-Roman wars.  In his writing from the year 78 c.e. (common era, formerly referred to as A.D.), he makes two references to Jesus one of which is is considered authentic, the second is questionable.  Note that this is about 50 years after the crucifixion.

The first from Jewish Antiquities 20.9.1:

“but the younger Ananus who, as we have said, received the high priesthood, was of a bold disposition and exceptionally daring; he followed the party of the Sadducees, who are serve in judgment and above all the Jews, as we have already shown.  As therefore Ananus as of such a disposition, he thought he had now a good opportunity, as Festus was now dead, and Albinus was still on the road; so he assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as lawbreakers, he delivered them over to be stoned.”

History records that Ananus was a high priest who unlawfully ordered the death of James, the brother of Jesus, “the so-called Christ.”  That was in 62 c.e.  This entry does indicate that Jesus as the Christ was known to Josephus.

Whether or not the second reference is authentic is debated by scholars because of its credal tone.  Josephus was a Jew who did not join the Jesus movement; however, the languaging of this section makes it suspicious.  Another bit of history is helpful here as well.  During the Jewish-Roman war, Josephus was captured by the general Trajan.  When brought before Trajan, Josephus claimed he had a vision that Trajan would become emperor.  His life was spared, and Trajan did not forget the prophecy.  When, in fact, Trajan did become emperor, he provided Josephus with a stipend and a job.  To Jews he was considered a traitor, and his writings we not copied by Jews, but by pagans or Christians.

Jewish Antiquities 18.3.3

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it can be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.  he drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles.  hew as the Christ, and when Pilate, a the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him a the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him.  And the tribe of Christians so named for him are not extinct at this day.”

Clearly the tone of this entry reads more like a statement of faith than a recounting of history.  Many scholars argue this is the hand of a Christian believer, rather than a Jewish historian.

Pliny the Younger

The oldest extant pagan reference to Christians comes from the Roman historian and governor Pliny the Younger.  (His uncle is referred to as Pliny the Elder.)  In his correspondence to the Roman emperor Trajan from the year 112 c.e. there is a question about the legality of putting to death Christians who do not recant their faith.  Pliny asks the Emperor for direction.  Jesus, as a person, is not specifically noted

Tacitus

Three years later in 115 c.e. the Roman historian Tacitus makes a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus in his writings.  In his Annals, he mentions the blaming of Christians by the Emperor Nero for the burning of the city of Rome.

Tacitus Annals 15:44

“…Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.  Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius a the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome…”

Note:  the “superstiton” was the sighting of the post-resurrection risen Jesus.

In this recording, we find a Roman who seems to verify the story of the crucifixion under Pontius Pilate and that the stories of the risen Christ seemed to have been spreading.  Tacitus does not record anything about what Christus (Jesus) taught, and we have to note that this document dates from roughly 85 years after the crucifixion.

Although these three authors are ancient by our standards, none of them was contemporary with Jesus.  Paul, as we saw in the prior entry, wrote roughly 25 years after the crucifixion, but did not know Jesus the man.

What are we to do with this information?  My answer:  embrace it.  Ultimately, faith is not a matter of history.  It is much deeper than that.  We sometimes say in Unity, quoting the great storytellers of indigenous peoples, “This story may not have really happened, but it is a True story.”  So as we examine the teachings of Jesus, we must ask ourselves, what is the Truth that is being taught?  How does it relate to my life?

Additionally, we have to ask ourselves who wrote the story?  And why?

More on that next time…

On October 7 I began teaching the class “Jesus and His Teachings” at First Unity of St. Petersburg.  In this class, we’re exploring the man Jesus and his teachings from a variety of angles – most notably  history and New Thought metaphysics.  In this series of posts, I’ll be presenting what I have shared in class and providing links so that you can further your own study on the topic.  Please note that you could, and many have, earned a PhD in this topic! Fortunately, there is an amazing array of resources available to laypeople to guide your independent study.

The first question to address when studying Jesus is:  What do we really know about the historical person Jesus? In other words, beyond the Bible, what records exist that document his existence?  To some people, merely asking the question is tantamount to heresy, but to those of us Unity, we understand that asking questions leads to greater understanding.

The short answer to the question is: not much. Since most people are familiar with the Bible, let’s start with that; however, I’ll put the Gospels and the writings of Paul in chronological order (the order in which they were written).  This order is generally accepted among both academicians and theologians.  What you’ll immediately note is that the order is different than what is found in the Bible.

The letters of Paul:    mid 50’s – mid 60’s c.e. (c.e. = common era)

Mark: about 70 c.e.

Matthew: about 80 c.e.

Luke/Acts: about 85 c.e. (Same author of both books.  Acts is generally believed to be a continuation of Luke)

John:  about 90 c.e.

Here are some facts of note:

• Although Paul says in Galatians 1:18-24 that he spent 15 days with “James, the Lord’s brother,” Paul never mentions the details of Jesus’ birth or death.  All he says about Jesus’ birth is that “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” Galatians 4:4-5.  In other words, Jesus was born a Jew (under the law) and had a mother.  In fact, Paul’s theology is based on his experience of the risen Christ, not the teachings of Jesus the man. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that “Christ died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day raised.”  No details about the betrayal, trial, etc.
• Mark doesn’t mention details of Jesus’ birth either.  And, Mark’s gospel ends with the crucifixion; however, Mark has two endings.  The second ending is believed to be a later addition to the original.  The shorter version is believed to be how the gospel was written.
• Matthew and Luke have the birth narratives and genealogies.  Matthew’s genealogy goes back to King David.  Matthew is making the point that Jews who follow Jesus are truly in alignment with the prophecy that the Messiah will come from David’s lineage.  Luke’s genealogy goes back to Adam, making Luke’s point that Jesus is related to everyone.  Luke has a more universal tone than the other gospels.
• Also note that 90% of the content of Mark is repeated verbatim in both Matthew and Luke.
• Mark, Matthew and Luke are called synoptic gospels from the Greek term meaning “with the same eye, or perspective.”  They tell the story of Jesus’ life and ministry from similar perspectives.
• John is so different in its perspective that it is often considered a “mystical” interpretation of the life of Jesus.  It was also written nearly 70 years after the crucifixion.  There is no birth narrative in John; however, it opens with an apparent identification of Jesus as the “word” who was with God from the beginning.
• Forty years passed between the crucifixion of Jesus and the writing of the first gospel, Mark.  So, the stories of Jesus were passed orally for 40 years before they were written.
• None of the gospel writers was a disciple or an eyewitness to the life of Jesus.  This is the biggest misconception people have about the Bible.

To sum up the above, the Bible gives scant information about the historical man Jesus.  In the next entry, we’ll examine what historical non-Bible references say about the man Jesus.

“Christ in you, your hope of glory.”  Colossians 1:27

If ever there was one single statement that sums up the Unity movement, this is it.  It comes from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, and although the verbiage is decidedly Christian, the archetypal truth it expresses in universal.  The sages and mystics, ordinary people and heroes have all said in some way or another that deep within every one of us is that “something” that can propel any of us to overcome anything, to manifest our dreams, and to change the world.

The challenge we as human being run into is that many of us were not, and are not, encouraged to find this inner champion; no, rather we’re taught to look outside ourselves for strength, validation and direction.  For a time, the world may actually provide these things, but after awhile they may be withdrawn.

Any meaningful goal we set for ourselves – whether out of desire or need- will require us to draw on this inner fount of strength.  The commitments we make in life will often be challenged, but the Spirit within is mightier than circumstances.

We come to a place like Unity in order to affirm one another in our empowerment, not to affirm weakness.  My commitment, as is the commitment of the Unity movement, is to continue to affirm what is good in the world, what is good in people, and by doing so to draw it out to be made manifest.

In the course of First Unity’s Spirit Expressing 2010 program we have encouraged people to clarify their mission statements.  Mine, which I’ve had for several years has served me well:

I am a man of power, surrendered to the Holy Spirit, dedicated to teaching Truth principles and the establishment of peace on earth.

What’s yours?  The world needs you to be your best self, to be a part of the solutions to the problems you see and to allow Christ in you expression.

Peace be with you!

First Unity honors the creative process as a spiritual practice.  We provide the teachings and environment that encourage individuals to experience the divine through a variety of artistic endeavors and experiences.

Often when people think about spiritual practices, they think of prayer, meditation, contemplation, Scripture study… and these things are indeed spiritual practices; however, as artists of all kinds will acknowledge, engaging in the creative process is also a spiritual practice.  Within the Unity Movement, the creative process and the creative power of thoughts and words have a place of high regard in our teaching.

Everyone has some kind of creative talent.  Everyone is an outlet for the creative power of God.  The problem we often run into is that we start judging what we’ve made as good or bad, discounting the fact that life is an evolving process.  Our practice is to allow Spirit to flow through us.  The first thing is to simply allow – and enjoy! – the expression of our creativity.

In November, First Unity will host 11:11 – Three Days of Spiritual Art, Music and Performance in which all participants will have the opportunity to engage in a variety of spiritually-inspiring creative endeavors.  If you’re ready to have your mind and heart opened to a new vibration of spiritual practice, visit the website to find out more.

Androcles and the Lion

Androcles and the Lion, a fable by Aesop

A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about there he came upon a Lion lying down moaning and groaning. At first he turned to flee, but finding that the Lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up to him. As he came near, the Lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog. Then the Lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to bring him meat from which to live. But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the Lion were captured, and the slave was sentenced to be thrown to the Lion, after the latter had been kept without food for several days. The Emperor and all his Court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the Lion was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognized his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog. The Emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story. Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the Lion let loose to his native forest.

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

The fable found above, though thousands of years old, highlights the unexpected blessings that come from sacred service – service rendered from a consciousness of appreciation of the worth and value of life, all life.

At First Unity, we’ve adopted a vision statement that directly relates to this:

First Unity encourages people to lead through sacred service.  We recognize that service to others in our community and our world promotes a consciousness of oneness.

All the great spiritual teachings of the world emphasis the importance of serving others.   Hindu statesman Mahatmat Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”  Baptist Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent question and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”  But what do you say?  How are you serving others?

OMNI - A Service About Everything

In Week 4 of First Unity of St. Petersburg’s Spirit Expressing curriculum, we examine the idea of being Leading Edge.  Here’s the vision statement for our community about that:

First Unity is known as a leading edge and dynamic community around the world.  Through innovative use of the arts, technology and human resourcefulness, our community models excellence in all we are and do.

Really, leading edge is about leadership.  Leaders capture a vision – often a vision no one else has seen; or if they have, no one else has dared to act on.  First Unity, in many ways, has leadership in its DNA.  One example of that is the 2nd Friday of the month OMNI service.  OMNI has been described as “the hippie service, ” “the Unity rave,” “the cultural creatives service.”  No two OMNI services are alike in form, yet in each one there is a powerful Unity message of love and empowerment.

Theodore Levitt said, “Creativity is thinking up new things.  Innovation is doing new things.”  Powerful and effective leaders are also innovators, and the OMNI service is just one way that the consciousness of innovation and leadership is demonstrated at First Unity.  So here’s the take away message:  anyone and everyone can be (or already is) a leader.  The whole Unity message conveys that idea.  The truth is that it is in everyone’s DNA!

People participate in faith communities for a variety of reasons – some because “that’s just what my family has always done;” some because they are seeking social standing in the community; and some because of a genuine desire to experience the Divine, and the church (or the temple, or the mosque, or the – you get the picture) is a a venue known for inviting people into an awareness of God.  And there are many more reasons beyond these three.

Owing to the fact that the Unity movement is relatively new (established in 1889), not a lot of people have been born into it.  That being the case, something or someone has served to induce members of Unity communities to attend services, classes and programs at Unity churches and centers.  Attending Unity, more often than not, is an intentional act.

According to the dictionary, the word intention means, “an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.”  Since Unity is a spiritual movement, the intentionality behind attending a service or class is to grow spiritually, and “Growing with Intention” is a core value of First Unity of St. Petersburg.  Not only is it a collective value, but a personal value for the individual members.

To that end Unity churches and centers offer a wide variety of programming to inspire individuals to examine and grow their own belief systems.  It isn’t unusual to have a service like our World Day of Prayer service on September 9 in which elements from Ramadan and Rosh Hashanah were both featured.  Is all of Spirit contained within one faith tradition?  We think not and seek out the richness of Spirit in all the world’s traditions.

We’re blessed to live in a country in which our freedom of religion is guaranteed.  So, in the spirit of religious freedom, I encourage everyone to learn about the world’s faiths and be open to gifts they have to offer.

Margaret Mead once said, “Always remember that you are absolutely unique.  Just like everyone else.”

True enough.  In week 3 of the 7 week Spirit Expressing program at First Unity of St. Petersburg, we are reflecting on the core value of inclusion and diversity.  Participants in the home study groups are asked to reflect on questions like these:

Have you ever found yourself to be a minority?  How did it feel?

How do you treat minorities when you are in the majority?

How willing are you to accept yourself just as you are?

The whole notion of inclusion and diversity might be summed up differently be framing it in the context of “acceptance.”  Do you accept people who are different from you?  Do you accept yourself when you don’t live up to some standard or measurement?  And what does acceptance really mean?

The last question, for me, is the easy one.  Acceptance means a willingness to love.  Its one thing to tolerate those who are different from us; its another thing to love them.  Its one thing to tolerate a mistake we made; its another thing to love ourselves even when we are in error.

The history of humankind has not been, well, kind in this arena. Racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry of all kinds, and the like have become part of the landscape of humanity.  All of these things convey the message, “I don’t and won’t love you.”  That’s sad to me.

It happens as well within local communities and families; and even with the face in the mirror.

Fortunately, the great spiritual teachers have offered a new way of being – a way of love.  The Buddha’s teachings are notable for their emphasis on compassion.  I draw my greatest inspiration from the teachings of Jesus, especially his Sermon on the Mount found in the book of Matthew.  He says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven… Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Matthew 5:43, 48.

You needn’t try to be perfect; he’s saying that you already are – just let it out!  Be willing to love and you transform the consciousness of the world.  Your love will necessarily include everyone, including you and those who appear to be in adversarial relationship with you.

So give it a try.  Step out with a willingness to be the light of understanding in the world, and you’ll be amazed at how beautiful the world truly is.

Spirit Expressing 2010

On Sunday, August 29, First Unity of St. Petersburg commenced Spirit Expressing 2010, our annual 7 week series that includes Sunday lessons and home study groups around a particular theme or text.  Historically we’ve studied and processed the wisdom contained in a spiritual book.  Last year it was Soul Currency, by Ernie Chu.

At the conclusion of Spirit Expressing in October 2009, Ernie lead our congregation in a visioning process to determine the future course for First Unity.  What emerged from the processing of that data – a process lead by First Unity Communication and Design Director Ami Bowen -was a new Mission and Vision for our spiritual campus.

As we continued to prayerfully observe the unfolding of our community’s calling, we realized that instead of offering another book for the Spirit Expressing 2010 curriculum, we ourselves would be the curriculum.  The Spirit-given idea was that our new mission and vision would become the curriculum for Spirit Expressing (which you can download by clicking the preceding link).  Senior Minister Rev. Temple Hayes provided the inspired title for this year’s program:  LOVING LIFE – A Journey of Gratitude and Being.  Just as coming to understand Spirit’s calling for First Unity was a loving journey filled with gratitude for how blessed we are as a community, we realized the same process could be engaged by participants of Spirit Expressing 2010 to find that same joy for themselves.

On Sunday, August 29 I presented our new mission statement:  We are a spiritual campus dedicated to teaching and demonstrating principles that inspire people to live their greatest life by discovering Spirit within. Individuals participating in Spirit Expressing groups (or for those working independently at home), are this week answering questions about their life’s calling or mission.  I have come to believe that one’s mission in life (at any given time in one’s life), is revealed by answering three easy questions:

What brings me joy?

What do I find meaningful?

For what am I most grateful?

We will naturally gravitate towards those things that bring us joy; in which we find meaning; and for which we are most grateful.  So I encourage you to download a Spirit Expressing workbook from our website and watch our Sunday lessons live on the website at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings to participate in this experience.  Can’t be with us live on Sunday mornings?  Then visit the video archive on the website so you can get caught up.

I would like to close with some profound words about gratitude by Melody Beattie, author of Codependent No More:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

As you let your Spirit Express, your life is bound to be a “journey of gratitude and being.”