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We delved into the topics of State of the Union: Progressive Christianity, the Eucharist, Kindness and Awakenings.
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State of the Union:
Progressive Christianity
Jim Burklo
... just what is progressive Christianity? More to the point, who are progressive Christians?
State of the Union: Progressive Christianity by Jim Burklo
(This is abridged from a sermon I gave at the United Church of Simi Valley, CA, on 1/31.) I begin by saying that I’m hardly the only one qualified to give this address. Any of you in this congregation could do it, because you are living out progressive Christianity every day. You can at least give a short version of this State of the Union: progressive Christianity is alive and well at UCC Simi Valley!
I’m here to give a version of this State of the Union that gives at least a hint of how things are going with this movement globally. And I do it to offer you spiritual encouragement and enrichment. Because understanding our religious identity feeds our spirituality. Knowing who we are in the realm of faith and spirituality helps us to express our religious experiences. And being able to express our spirituality helps us to experience it in our hearts. Language follows experience, but it also induces and inspires experience as well. It’s a feedback loop that helps us keep the faith and feel the presence of God.
So let’s get started at the beginning: just what is progressive Christianity? More to the point, who are progressive Christians?
I’ve been pondering this question for about two decades now, and have been coming up with “tag lines” by way of answers. Here’s my list:
Progressive Christians keep the faith and drop the dogma.
For us, God is Love, not a Guy in the Sky.
Since God and Nature are one, science is a way to learn about God.
We do Christianity without pelvic issues.
Faith is about deeds, not creeds.
We take the Bible seriously because we don’t have to take it literally.
Spiritual questions are more important to us than religious answers.
The morality of what happens in the war-room and the board-room matters more to us than what happens in the bedroom.
Other religions can be as good for others as our religion is good for us.
Our church parking lot is for cars, not brains.
God is bigger than our ideas about God.
God evolves, and so does our religion.
If you have more “tag lines” to add to my list, please let me know! Like everything else in progressive Christianity, it’s a work in progress. But it boils down to this: God is love. Love’s power is attractive and persuasive, not dictatorial and judgmental. Jesus taught us how to practice divine compassion. We gather to support each other in following his example. This is the heart of progressive Christianity. The rest is commentary!
Here I offer an overview of history, to ground us in understanding the present situation of our branch of the faith. We might give it a birthdate: 1651. That is the year that Thomas Hobbes, the British political philosopher, publicly concluded that the books of Moses in the Bible could not have been written by Moses. Over the next century and a half, biblical scholars arrived at the same conclusion, and developed what’s called the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory posits that originally there were at least four versions of the first five books of the Old Testament. These versions were cobbled together into one narrative. One piece of evidence for the Documentary Hypothesis is the fact that there are two rather different creation stories in Genesis. They came from two of the at least four original versions of the Torah. The 19th century German biblical scholar, Julius Wellhausen, was a well-known proponent of this theory, and his work got wide circulation.
The Christian clergy who embraced Wellhausen’s work began to understand that the Bible should not be read as a book of definitive facts and eternally-valid moral prescriptions, but rather as a mythic and poetic record of humanity’s spiritual and social evolution. Pastors who embraced the emergence of science, and the emerging field of biblical textual criticism, preached that Christianity had to evolve and change in light of new knowledge. Many of these pastors also had a strong concern for social justice as a central concern for Christian faith. They preached in the churches of the mainstream, mainline Protestant establishment in Britain, Germany, America, and elsewhere.
But there were plenty of Christian leaders who reacted vigorously against the Documentary Hypothesis and all that it implied. Starting in 1910 in America, these defenders of biblical literalism and traditional beliefs started to codify their ideas into essays that became a book entitled “The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth”. It was produced right here in southern California. Those who supported the message of the book were called fundamentalists, and later evangelicals. The Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, pitting supporters of the theory of evolution versus six-day creationists, was a rallying point for the fundamentalist movement. But it also placed fundamentalism in a cultural backwater. Fundamentalism went into a period of relative quiescence for decades, developing its own schools and institutions that avoided contact with the polluting influences of mainstream culture and thought. This network of churches and institutions was diffuse but intertwined. It had all the advantages and disadvantages of subculture: strong institutions with a constituency of people with a strong identity resulting from social isolation.
That began to change in the 1970’s and 1980’s when evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity went to bed with the Republican Party. In 1983, fundamentalist Bob Jones University lost a court case in which the school was denied federal student aid because it banned interracial relationships or marriages. Fundamentalists were outraged that the government would intervene in what they considered to be a matter of freedom of religion. This outrage was wedded to that of Southern white racists defeated by the civil rights movement. This activated evangelicals and fundamentalists to participate in the political process. Now empowered by the ascendant conservative political movement, conservative Christianity began to have hope that it could conquer America. Abortion had never before been a real concern for evangelicals, but the Roe v. Wade decision led them to pay attention to it and make it part of their crusade for pelvic purity.
Until the early 1980’s, religious discourse in America had been almost entirely what is called the “civil religion” – a vaguely Judeo-Christian rhetoric that avoided any doctrinal details. But suddenly politicians were being subjected to doctrinal tests that they’d never faced before. Liberal-minded people were horrified that the barbarians were now at the gates. The public perception of Christianity was dominated by biblical literalism, religious exclusivism, contradiction to science, and opposition to abortion and homosexuality. Those who had more progressive Christian views were embarrassed to be publicly identified with the faith, for fear of being identified as fundamentalists. Many liberal politicians gave up using the rhetoric of the civil religion for fear of being painted the same way. In the age of astronauts, the good name of the Christian faith was hijacked by past-ronauts who longed for the good old days when everybody thought the world was flat and that fossils were just God’s clever way of artificially antiquing the earth so it would look older than it really was.
The megachurch phenomenon exploded in evangelical Christianity, just as many mainstream, mainline churches were imploding. It seemed like the more liberal end of the spectrum was wasting away with the unstoppable onslaught of growing, vigorous conservative churches.
Christians who weren’t fundamentalists languished, feeling misunderstood by the wider culture. And then along came John Shelby Spong. In 1991, he wrote a book called “Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism”. He was an Episcopal bishop in the US who went on the airwaves and said it in no uncertain terms: Jesus did not physically rise from the dead. This gospel story is vitally important as a myth that expresses the transformational power of love. The miracle stories in the Bible are not to be taken literally or factually. Much of the inspiration for Spong’s message came from a book called “Honest to God”, written in 1963 by an Anglican bishop, John Robinson. Mincing no words, Spong took Robinson’s progressive theology and blasted it like a torpedo at the evangelical ship. Outraged conservatives blasted back, but all that did was to put progressive-minded Christians back on the map.
In the early 1990’s, Jim Adams retired as the rector of St Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. He’d been preaching the message of Robinson and Spong for his entire career. As a retirement project, he wrote a “welcome statement” that encapsulated the message, and spread it to his friends and former parishioners. Here’s the current version of it:
By calling ourselves progressive Christians, we mean we are Christians who…
1. Believe that following the path and teachings of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Oneness and Unity of all life;
2. Affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey;
3. Seek community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to:
Conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
Believers and agnostics,
Women and men,
Those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
Those of all classes and abilities;
4. Know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe;
5. Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes;
6. Strive for peace and justice among all people;
7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth.
8. Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.
The enthusiastic response that his statement drew from Christians worldwide led Jim to establish The Center for Progressive Christianity, now known as ProgressiveChristianity.org. In 1999, I joined its board of directors. In 2000, my first book, Open Christianity, was published: it was an exposition of progressive Christian theology and practice. Other writers put out books that defined and described our movement.
ProgressiveChristianity.org began in the early days of the internet, and I often wonder if we could have been nearly as effective as we were without our website, which attracted a rapidly-growing audience. The organization had, and still has, a miniscule budget, yet somehow it has been able to have an impact far beyond the scale of its resources. Our current president, Fred Plumer, and his daughter, Deshna Ubeda, have greatly expanded the website’s resources. Hundreds of congregations became affiliates in the US. Branches of our movement opened in Britain, Canada, and Down Under.
In southern California, John Cobb, the process theologian now retired from Claremont School of Theology, and George Regas, now retired as rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena, organized what is now known as Progressive Christians Uniting about 20 years ago, with a focus on regional campaigns for LGBT inclusion, criminal justice reform, action against climate change, and other issues. I now serve on its board of directors and produce resources for its webpages. PCU is now bursting out as a national-level organization under our impressive new, young executive director, Dr. Timothy Murphy. PCU’s focus continues to be both theological and activist, grounding our constituent churches with resources for reflection and empowering them to take action for public policy change. In addition to PCU, many other regional groups formed to support and encourage progressive Christians: the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology, the Plymouth Center in Minneapolis, and Faith and Reason in Houston, to name a few.
My focus was on the San Francisco Bay Area, where I spoke at many churches and talked with many pastors to get them engaged in our network. Some churches and pastors balked when I told them how important it was to be explicit about their progressive identity in their signage and publicity. Churches have a tough time seeing themselves from the outside. One UCC church in particular sticks in my memory. I think I spoke there about five times to persuade them to join the network and go public as a progressive church. But they just didn’t like that “progressive” word – they weren’t used to it – it made their version of Christianity a “marked” one, and that made them uncomfortable. They’d say “Of course we agree with everything your group is about. That’s obvious to anybody who belongs to this church! It goes without saying!” But in fact it does not go without saying for those outside the church who might want to come in if they knew what was really going on inside. Most people in America, Christians and non-Christians alike, think that Christianity is about homophobia and six-day creationism. The only way they are going to know that you are different is if you tell them, overtly and succinctly, that you are really quite different. Finally, that church came around and went public, and it turned out to be painless. It turned out to benefit the church, attracting people to it.
This kind of conversation went on in churches around the country. More and more of them claimed the identity, put it on the signs in front of their churches, put it in their publicity. Finally, the press started to notice. The wider culture began to make reference to a category of Christians called progressive.
A turning point in our movement happened at the election in November 2004. An important base of George Bush’s support had been evangelicals, so the media was aflutter with punditry about conservative Christians. Jim Wallis, a politically liberal evangelical, was interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR around the time of the election. She introduced him as a “progressive Christian”. A lot of us were grossed out that Terry Gross would give him that appellation, given that his theology was so old-school. It wasn’t until a few years ago that he finally, grudgingly, endorsed same-sex marriage, for example. But at the same time, that was the moment when we knew that our terminology had come into its own. People were starting to talk about us, by name. And in the world of media and culture, this was a huge boost. More and more churches and even seminaries and denominations took on this identity, making it more identifiable. Patheos.com, an interfaith website, set up a Progressive Christian portal.
By that time, also, our movement had evolved. We started out with an oppositional orientation. We positioned ourselves as an alternative to evangelicalism. We blew holes in the hull of fundamentalism. But a negative identity only goes so far. It was time to create a positive identity, and to develop a culture of faith of our own. Hymn writers in New Zealand came up with beautiful new tunes with wonderful lyrics that reflected progressive theology. Progressive Christian authors began to focus more on spirituality and contemplative practices: my own writing reflects this trend. Many of our progressive churches, by clearly claiming this identity, began to flourish, attracting new members who brought wonderful gifts to their congregations. I was the pastor of College Heights Church, UCC, in San Mateo when we got a new member, Polly Moore. She was a mathematician who retired early from a bio-tech firm and was ready for a new career. She went to seminary and then volunteered to run the Liturgy Project for ProgressiveChristianity.org. She’s assembled a trove of worship materials and hymns for use by progressive churches around the world, which you can see at the website.
In the last several years, our movement has grown by another means: convergence. The wider culture has made a huge shift toward acceptance of gay and lesbian people, accelerating tremendously just in a few years. With that shift has come a growing disgust among young people with evangelical institutions. Conservative pelvic issues are driving them out of evangelical churches in droves. In America, among US-born young people, evangelical Christianity is in rapid decline. Most of the growth in mega-churches comes from depopulating micro-churches – not from conversion. In fact, as I see every day at the University of Southern California, efforts by evangelicals to evangelize are increasingly counterproductive. There is a growing population of recovering evangelicals who still love Jesus but are burned out on the backward-looking theology and social conservatism of their heritage. A network of what is called “emergent” or “convergent” churches is beginning to converge with our progressive Christian movement. A lot of folks involved in this network show up at the Wild Goose Festival in N. Carolina every summer; it is modeled on the Greenbelt festival in Britain. A number of conferences have been held that have brought together progressives with exiled evangelicals to share strategies and resources. I predict that this trend will continue, and it will significantly swell the scale of our movement. “Emergent” Christians seem to get more progressive with time.
Three years ago, I hosted Rob Bell for a talk at USC. He was a famous mega-church pastor who woke up one day and realized that nobody is going to hell. For this apostasy, he was derided by the evangelical establishment. He left his church in Michigan and moved here to southern California. “Love Wins”, his book about his revelation, got him onto the cover of Time Magazine in 2011. At USC, he mesmerized about 400 recovering evangelicals with his message of Christian inclusion. As he and I walked to dinner afterward, I told him I wanted to introduce him to the world of progressive Christians. “Yeah, I’ve heard about them, but gosh, they’re so quiet, you hardly hear about them,” he said. He is a perfect exemplar of the emerging progressive Christian: he doesn’t quite know that he is one, but he’s catching on! There is a culture gap: he has left the theology behind, but he still talks and acts like an evangelical preacher. This cultural convergence is going to take some time. But I predict that people like Rob Bell are going to bring earnest enthusiasm, vibrant spirituality, and mastery of media to the progressive Christian movement.
Around the world, across America, you will find truly impressive progressive Christian congregations. I went to Grand Rapids, Michigan last May to preach at Fountain Street Church for Pluralism Sunday. It’s a grand old sandstone edifice downtown. It’s always been progressive: it has an old stained glass window depicting Charles Darwin, after all! But now it’s a remarkable community, big and growing, that makes room for Christians and non-Christians alike. It has a major focus on the arts, contemplative spirituality, and progressive public engagement. Another church a lot like it is Plymouth Congregational in Minneapolis, a big, vibrant downtown church with a powerful progressive influence on the city and the whole state.
Go to St Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco and you’ll be blown away by a lively progressive community of artists and musicians and activists who worship in an eastern-style sanctuary with a mural of dancing haloed saints above the communion table. Among them are Martin Luther King, John Coltrane, and Dorothy Day, all depicted in an ancient style of church art. The congregation dances around the table before the eucharist.
Go to All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena, one of the flagship progressive churches of America – a big and lively congregation with a social witness that extends far beyond its neighborhood. Go to Countryside UCC Church in Omaha, a thriving congregation famous for its jazz worship: it’s about to move into a new facility that it will share with a Muslim group and a Jewish synagogue.
Go to the church where I’m a member – Mt Hollywood Congregational UCC in the Los Feliz neighborhood of LA. I love my church! It’s full of musicians, artists, actors, writers – and fun. It’s a small church with a relatively large population of children. It’s multiracial, multicultural, and has diversity of sexual orientation. There are power-packed little progressive churches like it all over the country. Churches that have no pretense about becoming or acting like mega-churches. Churches that believe that small is beautiful. Churches that let their neighbors know who they are, and who they aren’t, so that people who want to join them can find them.
This is a taste of the State of the Union for progressive Christianity. And where better to taste it than here, at UCC Simi Valley, a thriving example of what this movement is all about! I hope that by being aware of your place in the larger picture, you’ll do more to claim your space here in Simi Valley, and make your church visible and welcoming to the growing number of people who want to practice your kind of faith!
JIM BURKLO
Website: JIMBURKLO.COM Weblog: MUSINGS Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
See the GUIDE to my articles and books
Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California
READ ON ...
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The Words of the Eucharist
... just what is progressive Christianity? More to the point, who are progressive Christians?
State of the Union: Progressive Christianity by Jim Burklo
(This is abridged from a sermon I gave at the United Church of Simi Valley, CA, on 1/31.) I begin by saying that I’m hardly the only one qualified to give this address. Any of you in this congregation could do it, because you are living out progressive Christianity every day. You can at least give a short version of this State of the Union: progressive Christianity is alive and well at UCC Simi Valley!
I’m here to give a version of this State of the Union that gives at least a hint of how things are going with this movement globally. And I do it to offer you spiritual encouragement and enrichment. Because understanding our religious identity feeds our spirituality. Knowing who we are in the realm of faith and spirituality helps us to express our religious experiences. And being able to express our spirituality helps us to experience it in our hearts. Language follows experience, but it also induces and inspires experience as well. It’s a feedback loop that helps us keep the faith and feel the presence of God.
So let’s get started at the beginning: just what is progressive Christianity? More to the point, who are progressive Christians?
I’ve been pondering this question for about two decades now, and have been coming up with “tag lines” by way of answers. Here’s my list:
Progressive Christians keep the faith and drop the dogma.
For us, God is Love, not a Guy in the Sky.
Since God and Nature are one, science is a way to learn about God.
We do Christianity without pelvic issues.
Faith is about deeds, not creeds.
We take the Bible seriously because we don’t have to take it literally.
Spiritual questions are more important to us than religious answers.
The morality of what happens in the war-room and the board-room matters more to us than what happens in the bedroom.
Other religions can be as good for others as our religion is good for us.
Our church parking lot is for cars, not brains.
God is bigger than our ideas about God.
God evolves, and so does our religion.
If you have more “tag lines” to add to my list, please let me know! Like everything else in progressive Christianity, it’s a work in progress. But it boils down to this: God is love. Love’s power is attractive and persuasive, not dictatorial and judgmental. Jesus taught us how to practice divine compassion. We gather to support each other in following his example. This is the heart of progressive Christianity. The rest is commentary!
Here I offer an overview of history, to ground us in understanding the present situation of our branch of the faith. We might give it a birthdate: 1651. That is the year that Thomas Hobbes, the British political philosopher, publicly concluded that the books of Moses in the Bible could not have been written by Moses. Over the next century and a half, biblical scholars arrived at the same conclusion, and developed what’s called the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory posits that originally there were at least four versions of the first five books of the Old Testament. These versions were cobbled together into one narrative. One piece of evidence for the Documentary Hypothesis is the fact that there are two rather different creation stories in Genesis. They came from two of the at least four original versions of the Torah. The 19th century German biblical scholar, Julius Wellhausen, was a well-known proponent of this theory, and his work got wide circulation.
The Christian clergy who embraced Wellhausen’s work began to understand that the Bible should not be read as a book of definitive facts and eternally-valid moral prescriptions, but rather as a mythic and poetic record of humanity’s spiritual and social evolution. Pastors who embraced the emergence of science, and the emerging field of biblical textual criticism, preached that Christianity had to evolve and change in light of new knowledge. Many of these pastors also had a strong concern for social justice as a central concern for Christian faith. They preached in the churches of the mainstream, mainline Protestant establishment in Britain, Germany, America, and elsewhere.
But there were plenty of Christian leaders who reacted vigorously against the Documentary Hypothesis and all that it implied. Starting in 1910 in America, these defenders of biblical literalism and traditional beliefs started to codify their ideas into essays that became a book entitled “The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth”. It was produced right here in southern California. Those who supported the message of the book were called fundamentalists, and later evangelicals. The Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, pitting supporters of the theory of evolution versus six-day creationists, was a rallying point for the fundamentalist movement. But it also placed fundamentalism in a cultural backwater. Fundamentalism went into a period of relative quiescence for decades, developing its own schools and institutions that avoided contact with the polluting influences of mainstream culture and thought. This network of churches and institutions was diffuse but intertwined. It had all the advantages and disadvantages of subculture: strong institutions with a constituency of people with a strong identity resulting from social isolation.
That began to change in the 1970’s and 1980’s when evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity went to bed with the Republican Party. In 1983, fundamentalist Bob Jones University lost a court case in which the school was denied federal student aid because it banned interracial relationships or marriages. Fundamentalists were outraged that the government would intervene in what they considered to be a matter of freedom of religion. This outrage was wedded to that of Southern white racists defeated by the civil rights movement. This activated evangelicals and fundamentalists to participate in the political process. Now empowered by the ascendant conservative political movement, conservative Christianity began to have hope that it could conquer America. Abortion had never before been a real concern for evangelicals, but the Roe v. Wade decision led them to pay attention to it and make it part of their crusade for pelvic purity.
Until the early 1980’s, religious discourse in America had been almost entirely what is called the “civil religion” – a vaguely Judeo-Christian rhetoric that avoided any doctrinal details. But suddenly politicians were being subjected to doctrinal tests that they’d never faced before. Liberal-minded people were horrified that the barbarians were now at the gates. The public perception of Christianity was dominated by biblical literalism, religious exclusivism, contradiction to science, and opposition to abortion and homosexuality. Those who had more progressive Christian views were embarrassed to be publicly identified with the faith, for fear of being identified as fundamentalists. Many liberal politicians gave up using the rhetoric of the civil religion for fear of being painted the same way. In the age of astronauts, the good name of the Christian faith was hijacked by past-ronauts who longed for the good old days when everybody thought the world was flat and that fossils were just God’s clever way of artificially antiquing the earth so it would look older than it really was.
The megachurch phenomenon exploded in evangelical Christianity, just as many mainstream, mainline churches were imploding. It seemed like the more liberal end of the spectrum was wasting away with the unstoppable onslaught of growing, vigorous conservative churches.
Christians who weren’t fundamentalists languished, feeling misunderstood by the wider culture. And then along came John Shelby Spong. In 1991, he wrote a book called “Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism”. He was an Episcopal bishop in the US who went on the airwaves and said it in no uncertain terms: Jesus did not physically rise from the dead. This gospel story is vitally important as a myth that expresses the transformational power of love. The miracle stories in the Bible are not to be taken literally or factually. Much of the inspiration for Spong’s message came from a book called “Honest to God”, written in 1963 by an Anglican bishop, John Robinson. Mincing no words, Spong took Robinson’s progressive theology and blasted it like a torpedo at the evangelical ship. Outraged conservatives blasted back, but all that did was to put progressive-minded Christians back on the map.
In the early 1990’s, Jim Adams retired as the rector of St Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. He’d been preaching the message of Robinson and Spong for his entire career. As a retirement project, he wrote a “welcome statement” that encapsulated the message, and spread it to his friends and former parishioners. Here’s the current version of it:
By calling ourselves progressive Christians, we mean we are Christians who…
1. Believe that following the path and teachings of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Oneness and Unity of all life;
2. Affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey;
3. Seek community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to:
Conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
Believers and agnostics,
Women and men,
Those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
Those of all classes and abilities;
4. Know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe;
5. Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes;
6. Strive for peace and justice among all people;
7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth.
8. Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.
The enthusiastic response that his statement drew from Christians worldwide led Jim to establish The Center for Progressive Christianity, now known as ProgressiveChristianity.org. In 1999, I joined its board of directors. In 2000, my first book, Open Christianity, was published: it was an exposition of progressive Christian theology and practice. Other writers put out books that defined and described our movement.
ProgressiveChristianity.org began in the early days of the internet, and I often wonder if we could have been nearly as effective as we were without our website, which attracted a rapidly-growing audience. The organization had, and still has, a miniscule budget, yet somehow it has been able to have an impact far beyond the scale of its resources. Our current president, Fred Plumer, and his daughter, Deshna Ubeda, have greatly expanded the website’s resources. Hundreds of congregations became affiliates in the US. Branches of our movement opened in Britain, Canada, and Down Under.
In southern California, John Cobb, the process theologian now retired from Claremont School of Theology, and George Regas, now retired as rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena, organized what is now known as Progressive Christians Uniting about 20 years ago, with a focus on regional campaigns for LGBT inclusion, criminal justice reform, action against climate change, and other issues. I now serve on its board of directors and produce resources for its webpages. PCU is now bursting out as a national-level organization under our impressive new, young executive director, Dr. Timothy Murphy. PCU’s focus continues to be both theological and activist, grounding our constituent churches with resources for reflection and empowering them to take action for public policy change. In addition to PCU, many other regional groups formed to support and encourage progressive Christians: the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology, the Plymouth Center in Minneapolis, and Faith and Reason in Houston, to name a few.
My focus was on the San Francisco Bay Area, where I spoke at many churches and talked with many pastors to get them engaged in our network. Some churches and pastors balked when I told them how important it was to be explicit about their progressive identity in their signage and publicity. Churches have a tough time seeing themselves from the outside. One UCC church in particular sticks in my memory. I think I spoke there about five times to persuade them to join the network and go public as a progressive church. But they just didn’t like that “progressive” word – they weren’t used to it – it made their version of Christianity a “marked” one, and that made them uncomfortable. They’d say “Of course we agree with everything your group is about. That’s obvious to anybody who belongs to this church! It goes without saying!” But in fact it does not go without saying for those outside the church who might want to come in if they knew what was really going on inside. Most people in America, Christians and non-Christians alike, think that Christianity is about homophobia and six-day creationism. The only way they are going to know that you are different is if you tell them, overtly and succinctly, that you are really quite different. Finally, that church came around and went public, and it turned out to be painless. It turned out to benefit the church, attracting people to it.
This kind of conversation went on in churches around the country. More and more of them claimed the identity, put it on the signs in front of their churches, put it in their publicity. Finally, the press started to notice. The wider culture began to make reference to a category of Christians called progressive.
A turning point in our movement happened at the election in November 2004. An important base of George Bush’s support had been evangelicals, so the media was aflutter with punditry about conservative Christians. Jim Wallis, a politically liberal evangelical, was interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR around the time of the election. She introduced him as a “progressive Christian”. A lot of us were grossed out that Terry Gross would give him that appellation, given that his theology was so old-school. It wasn’t until a few years ago that he finally, grudgingly, endorsed same-sex marriage, for example. But at the same time, that was the moment when we knew that our terminology had come into its own. People were starting to talk about us, by name. And in the world of media and culture, this was a huge boost. More and more churches and even seminaries and denominations took on this identity, making it more identifiable. Patheos.com, an interfaith website, set up a Progressive Christian portal.
By that time, also, our movement had evolved. We started out with an oppositional orientation. We positioned ourselves as an alternative to evangelicalism. We blew holes in the hull of fundamentalism. But a negative identity only goes so far. It was time to create a positive identity, and to develop a culture of faith of our own. Hymn writers in New Zealand came up with beautiful new tunes with wonderful lyrics that reflected progressive theology. Progressive Christian authors began to focus more on spirituality and contemplative practices: my own writing reflects this trend. Many of our progressive churches, by clearly claiming this identity, began to flourish, attracting new members who brought wonderful gifts to their congregations. I was the pastor of College Heights Church, UCC, in San Mateo when we got a new member, Polly Moore. She was a mathematician who retired early from a bio-tech firm and was ready for a new career. She went to seminary and then volunteered to run the Liturgy Project for ProgressiveChristianity.org. She’s assembled a trove of worship materials and hymns for use by progressive churches around the world, which you can see at the website.
In the last several years, our movement has grown by another means: convergence. The wider culture has made a huge shift toward acceptance of gay and lesbian people, accelerating tremendously just in a few years. With that shift has come a growing disgust among young people with evangelical institutions. Conservative pelvic issues are driving them out of evangelical churches in droves. In America, among US-born young people, evangelical Christianity is in rapid decline. Most of the growth in mega-churches comes from depopulating micro-churches – not from conversion. In fact, as I see every day at the University of Southern California, efforts by evangelicals to evangelize are increasingly counterproductive. There is a growing population of recovering evangelicals who still love Jesus but are burned out on the backward-looking theology and social conservatism of their heritage. A network of what is called “emergent” or “convergent” churches is beginning to converge with our progressive Christian movement. A lot of folks involved in this network show up at the Wild Goose Festival in N. Carolina every summer; it is modeled on the Greenbelt festival in Britain. A number of conferences have been held that have brought together progressives with exiled evangelicals to share strategies and resources. I predict that this trend will continue, and it will significantly swell the scale of our movement. “Emergent” Christians seem to get more progressive with time.
Three years ago, I hosted Rob Bell for a talk at USC. He was a famous mega-church pastor who woke up one day and realized that nobody is going to hell. For this apostasy, he was derided by the evangelical establishment. He left his church in Michigan and moved here to southern California. “Love Wins”, his book about his revelation, got him onto the cover of Time Magazine in 2011. At USC, he mesmerized about 400 recovering evangelicals with his message of Christian inclusion. As he and I walked to dinner afterward, I told him I wanted to introduce him to the world of progressive Christians. “Yeah, I’ve heard about them, but gosh, they’re so quiet, you hardly hear about them,” he said. He is a perfect exemplar of the emerging progressive Christian: he doesn’t quite know that he is one, but he’s catching on! There is a culture gap: he has left the theology behind, but he still talks and acts like an evangelical preacher. This cultural convergence is going to take some time. But I predict that people like Rob Bell are going to bring earnest enthusiasm, vibrant spirituality, and mastery of media to the progressive Christian movement.
Around the world, across America, you will find truly impressive progressive Christian congregations. I went to Grand Rapids, Michigan last May to preach at Fountain Street Church for Pluralism Sunday. It’s a grand old sandstone edifice downtown. It’s always been progressive: it has an old stained glass window depicting Charles Darwin, after all! But now it’s a remarkable community, big and growing, that makes room for Christians and non-Christians alike. It has a major focus on the arts, contemplative spirituality, and progressive public engagement. Another church a lot like it is Plymouth Congregational in Minneapolis, a big, vibrant downtown church with a powerful progressive influence on the city and the whole state.
Go to St Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco and you’ll be blown away by a lively progressive community of artists and musicians and activists who worship in an eastern-style sanctuary with a mural of dancing haloed saints above the communion table. Among them are Martin Luther King, John Coltrane, and Dorothy Day, all depicted in an ancient style of church art. The congregation dances around the table before the eucharist.
Go to All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena, one of the flagship progressive churches of America – a big and lively congregation with a social witness that extends far beyond its neighborhood. Go to Countryside UCC Church in Omaha, a thriving congregation famous for its jazz worship: it’s about to move into a new facility that it will share with a Muslim group and a Jewish synagogue.
Go to the church where I’m a member – Mt Hollywood Congregational UCC in the Los Feliz neighborhood of LA. I love my church! It’s full of musicians, artists, actors, writers – and fun. It’s a small church with a relatively large population of children. It’s multiracial, multicultural, and has diversity of sexual orientation. There are power-packed little progressive churches like it all over the country. Churches that have no pretense about becoming or acting like mega-churches. Churches that believe that small is beautiful. Churches that let their neighbors know who they are, and who they aren’t, so that people who want to join them can find them.
This is a taste of the State of the Union for progressive Christianity. And where better to taste it than here, at UCC Simi Valley, a thriving example of what this movement is all about! I hope that by being aware of your place in the larger picture, you’ll do more to claim your space here in Simi Valley, and make your church visible and welcoming to the growing number of people who want to practice your kind of faith!
JIM BURKLO
Website: JIMBURKLO.COM Weblog: MUSINGS Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
See the GUIDE to my articles and books
Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California
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The Words of the Eucharist
Kurt Struckmeyer
... the ancient practice of the Eucharist is being impacted by the postmodern world in which many traditional doctrines of the church are being questioned and reevaluated.
The Words of the Eucharist by Kurt StruckmeyerThis post is a response to a recent article on Tony Robert’s blog by guest blogger Lenora Rand, titled “New Communion Words”.
Rand reflects on her experience distributing communion at the Wild Goose Festival, an annual gathering that focuses on justice, spirituality, music and the arts. The festival is “rooted in the Christian tradition” and is popular among progressive Christians and many involved with the emerging church movement. The name Wild Goose comes from a Celtic metaphor for the Holy Spirit.
Rand said:
I was . . . suddenly so uncomfortable with the words I have always known to say during communion. As they were coming out of my mouth, my head was swirling with questions about whether these particular words adequately reflected my beliefs anymore.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
I started thinking about it afterwards though. Wondering, what do I really believe about atonement? And about this sacrament? What else could I say with conviction during communion?
Rand is raising the issue of how the ancient practice of the eucharist is being impacted by the postmodern world in which many traditional doctrines of the church are being questioned and reevaluated.
When looking at a question of theology and church practice, I always think it is helpful to go back and look at the biblical texts that are at the root of the discussion. Let’s look at what Paul and the gospel writers have to say about the eucharist.
Paul was the earliest New Testament writer. He wrote his first letter to the community at Corinth in Greece around the year 54 CE, a little over 20 years after the death of Jesus. He shared the eucharistic tradition he had learned from members of a Hellenistic Christ cult in Damascus, Syria (although he presents this as a personal revelation from the risen Christ to bolster his authority as an apostle):
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is [broken] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
[Note: The word “broken” is not found in some early texts.]
This, of course, is the familiar language of the communion liturgy.
The earliest gospel is Mark’s account, written about 70 CE, at least 16 years after Paul’s letter.
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many.” (Mark 14:22–24)
[Note: The word “new” is not found in some early texts.]
Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels next, sometime about 85–90 CE, another 15 to 20 years after Mark.
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26–28)
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19–20)
Here is a summary of the eucharistic formulas:
This is my body that is [broken] for you. (Paul)
Take; this is my body. (Mark)
Take, eat; this is my body. (Matthew)
This is my body, which is given for you. (Luke)
This cup is the new covenant in my blood. (Paul)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many. (Mark)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew)
This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke)
John’s gospel, written about 100 CE, does not portray the last supper. Yet John’s Jesus comments on the practice of eating his body and blood.
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:47–58)
[Note: The phrase “will live forever” found in both paragraphs in the NRSV is a distortion of the Greek text that says “will live into the age,” meaning the new age of the kingdom of God, not an eternal life in heaven. Likewise, the phrase “eternal life” is the “life of the new age” in Greek. Unfortunately, we are often misled by translators with a theological agenda.]
The historical questions and disputes around the eucharist center on whether these metaphors (bread of life, my body, my blood) are a physical reality. Is this a memorial feast (“do this in remembrance of me,” according to Paul) or is Christ actually present in the bread and wine? Roman Catholics believe in “transubstantiation” (the bread and wine actually become the flesh and blood of Christ in a reenactment of his sacrificial death) while the Lutheran perspective is “consubstantiation” (Christ’s presence is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine, yet they physically remain bread and wine). Calvinists do not believe that the physical body of Christ is present, but is merely a spiritual presence.
So, what does the eucharist mean today in the postmodern setting, and how should we practice its celebration for inclusivity? That is essentially what Lenora Rand was struggling with.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
The Lutheran liturgy has a slight variation on the words used by Rand:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Are these words of distribution the most theologically sound and the most appropriate today? It depends.
How we practice the eucharist depends on which gospel message we are responding to and basing our faith on. The “gospel of Jesus” proclaims the good news that the kingdom of God is breaking into our world and is now present among us. It is a social gospel that announces good news to the poor, the suffering, the marginalized, and the oppressed. The “gospel of Paul” proclaims a different good news—that the sacrificial, atoning death of Jesus fundamentally changes everything in relation to God. For Paul, this creates the possibility of a new multicultural community based on faith alone, and is not restricted to a single ethnic or religious background. These are different gospels, different kinds of good news.
In light of this distinction, I believe that the traditional words of institution are theologically sound for a worship experience shaped by the gospel of Paul. But how would we celebrate a eucharist based on the gospel of Jesus?
The kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus is a vision of how the world would be if God, not Caesar or Herod, sat on the throne. It is a vision of the governing style of God as an antidote to the ancient domination system based on wealth, power, exclusivity, and violence. It is a focus on the creation of a just society. When a church is committed to the vision of Jesus, the eucharist can take on new meaning. It can be seen as a feast of justice, not a sacrament of sacrificial atonement.
Roman Catholic Liturgist Gabe Huck has said,
The Eucharist can become a kind of product created for individual spiritual customers. [But] It’s supposed to have a transforming effect on us so that we leave church determined to do something. We should be seeing the world in a different way and have different priorities because of the Eucharist. It should affect what we do with our time, how we spend our money, how we look for a job, how we vote.[1]
According to Huck, there are five elements of social justice that can be found in the Eucharistic meal.
First, it is a meal of liberation. In three of the gospels it is linked to Passover—which is a celebration of liberation from oppression.
Second, it is an egalitarian meal. It recalls Jesus’ table fellowship with the marginalized and outcast. At a table where Jesus is the host, everyone is accepted and welcomed.
Third, it is a shared meal for a sharing community. In the early church, the eucharist was celebrated as part of a real meal shared by a compassionate community that dedicated their goods and lives to meeting each other’s needs. At least one day a week, all were fed. The eucharist is a call to share our food, so that no one is hungry. It is a call to share our talents and resources on behalf of those in need.
Fourth, it is a sample and foretaste of God’s reign of love. In celebrating the eucharist we are anticipating the day when all the world will be fed because of our compassionate actions for greater justice. The eucharistic meal should encourage and empower us to live the vision of God’s reign today. It should give us the strength to willingly accept the consequences of living that vision no matter what the cost.
Fifth, it is a sign of transformation. In the eucharist, we are reminded that the body of Christ was broken. The term “body” is both singular and plural. In this community gathered around this meal, we become, as the Apostle Paul suggested, a living metaphor for the body of Christ. The Eucharist is an invitation to us to go forth from the meal to break our own bodies and shed our own blood in the service of others, and the communal nature of the meal reminds us that we are not alone in this ongoing struggle for a just society and world.
Martin Luther wrote in 1519:
When you have partaken of this sacrament, therefore, or desire to partake of it, you must in turn share the misfortunes of the fellowship . . . all the unjust suffering of the innocent, with which the world is everywhere filled to overflowing. You must fight, work, pray and—if you cannot do more—have heartfelt sympathy.[2]
So what words of distribution would be most appropriate to a eucharist focused on justice, liberation, equality, sharing, transformation, and service? Perhaps that’s for the poets among us to determine. My own contribution would be something like this, taken from my funeral liturgy which conceives of God as love:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
__________________________________________
The eucharistic prayer:
L: For the power of love in human life and history,
we give thanks and praise.
Long ago our ancestors knew love’s power
and they became the tellers of love’s tale.
Love bound them in covenant,
teaching them to live in community
with compassion and concern
for the poorest among them.
Yet centuries of domination and violence
shaped a different kind of community
based on selfishness and inequality.
In the struggle against oppression,
Jesus became the face of love,
showing us the way to abundant life.
In word and deed, he announced
love’s new reign of justice, reconciliation, and peace.
Filled with the courage and passion of love’s spirit,
he gave his life to challenge the unjust systems of this world.
On the night of his betrayal and arrest,
as he shared a meal with his friends,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his followers, saying:
“Share this bread among you; this is my body which will be broken for justice.
Do this to remember me.”
When supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Share this wine among you; this is my blood which will be shed for liberation.
Do this to remember me.”
God of love, spirit of compassion,
bless us and this bread and wine.
May this meal be food and drink for our journey—
renewing, sustaining, and making us whole.
When we eat this bread and drink from this cup
we experience again the presence of Jesus in our midst.
The table is ready. All are welcome. Come, for the feast is spread.
As the bread and wine are shared, these words are said:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
The blessing after the meal:
L: May this meal nourish us and refresh us,
may it strengthen us and renew us, may it unite us and keep us in God’s gracious love, now and forever. Amen
L: Let us pray.
God of love, we give you thanks for satisfying our hungry hearts with this meal.
Send us from here to reveal your love in the world.
Inspire in us the resolve and the courage, the compassion and the passion,
to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Amen
Dismissal:
L: Go forth in service, remembering the words of brother Martin: to fight, work, and pray for the unjust suffering of the innocent in our world.
__________________________________________
[1] Gabe Huck, a former director of Liberty Training Publications, as quoted by Robert J. McClory, “Let’s Put the Eucharist to Work,” U.S. Catholic, June 12, 2008. See online article at http://www.uscatholic.org/church/prayer-and-sacraments/2008/06/lets-put-eucharist-work
[2] Martin Luther, “The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods,” 1519, published in Luther’s Works, Volume 35: Word and Sacrament I (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960).
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Kind, Tenderhearted, Forgiving – 30 Second Video
... the ancient practice of the Eucharist is being impacted by the postmodern world in which many traditional doctrines of the church are being questioned and reevaluated.
The Words of the Eucharist by Kurt StruckmeyerThis post is a response to a recent article on Tony Robert’s blog by guest blogger Lenora Rand, titled “New Communion Words”.
Rand reflects on her experience distributing communion at the Wild Goose Festival, an annual gathering that focuses on justice, spirituality, music and the arts. The festival is “rooted in the Christian tradition” and is popular among progressive Christians and many involved with the emerging church movement. The name Wild Goose comes from a Celtic metaphor for the Holy Spirit.
Rand said:
I was . . . suddenly so uncomfortable with the words I have always known to say during communion. As they were coming out of my mouth, my head was swirling with questions about whether these particular words adequately reflected my beliefs anymore.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
I started thinking about it afterwards though. Wondering, what do I really believe about atonement? And about this sacrament? What else could I say with conviction during communion?
Rand is raising the issue of how the ancient practice of the eucharist is being impacted by the postmodern world in which many traditional doctrines of the church are being questioned and reevaluated.
When looking at a question of theology and church practice, I always think it is helpful to go back and look at the biblical texts that are at the root of the discussion. Let’s look at what Paul and the gospel writers have to say about the eucharist.
Paul was the earliest New Testament writer. He wrote his first letter to the community at Corinth in Greece around the year 54 CE, a little over 20 years after the death of Jesus. He shared the eucharistic tradition he had learned from members of a Hellenistic Christ cult in Damascus, Syria (although he presents this as a personal revelation from the risen Christ to bolster his authority as an apostle):
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is [broken] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
[Note: The word “broken” is not found in some early texts.]
This, of course, is the familiar language of the communion liturgy.
The earliest gospel is Mark’s account, written about 70 CE, at least 16 years after Paul’s letter.
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many.” (Mark 14:22–24)
[Note: The word “new” is not found in some early texts.]
Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels next, sometime about 85–90 CE, another 15 to 20 years after Mark.
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26–28)
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19–20)
Here is a summary of the eucharistic formulas:
This is my body that is [broken] for you. (Paul)
Take; this is my body. (Mark)
Take, eat; this is my body. (Matthew)
This is my body, which is given for you. (Luke)
This cup is the new covenant in my blood. (Paul)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many. (Mark)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew)
This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke)
John’s gospel, written about 100 CE, does not portray the last supper. Yet John’s Jesus comments on the practice of eating his body and blood.
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:47–58)
[Note: The phrase “will live forever” found in both paragraphs in the NRSV is a distortion of the Greek text that says “will live into the age,” meaning the new age of the kingdom of God, not an eternal life in heaven. Likewise, the phrase “eternal life” is the “life of the new age” in Greek. Unfortunately, we are often misled by translators with a theological agenda.]
The historical questions and disputes around the eucharist center on whether these metaphors (bread of life, my body, my blood) are a physical reality. Is this a memorial feast (“do this in remembrance of me,” according to Paul) or is Christ actually present in the bread and wine? Roman Catholics believe in “transubstantiation” (the bread and wine actually become the flesh and blood of Christ in a reenactment of his sacrificial death) while the Lutheran perspective is “consubstantiation” (Christ’s presence is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine, yet they physically remain bread and wine). Calvinists do not believe that the physical body of Christ is present, but is merely a spiritual presence.
So, what does the eucharist mean today in the postmodern setting, and how should we practice its celebration for inclusivity? That is essentially what Lenora Rand was struggling with.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
The Lutheran liturgy has a slight variation on the words used by Rand:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Are these words of distribution the most theologically sound and the most appropriate today? It depends.
How we practice the eucharist depends on which gospel message we are responding to and basing our faith on. The “gospel of Jesus” proclaims the good news that the kingdom of God is breaking into our world and is now present among us. It is a social gospel that announces good news to the poor, the suffering, the marginalized, and the oppressed. The “gospel of Paul” proclaims a different good news—that the sacrificial, atoning death of Jesus fundamentally changes everything in relation to God. For Paul, this creates the possibility of a new multicultural community based on faith alone, and is not restricted to a single ethnic or religious background. These are different gospels, different kinds of good news.
In light of this distinction, I believe that the traditional words of institution are theologically sound for a worship experience shaped by the gospel of Paul. But how would we celebrate a eucharist based on the gospel of Jesus?
The kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus is a vision of how the world would be if God, not Caesar or Herod, sat on the throne. It is a vision of the governing style of God as an antidote to the ancient domination system based on wealth, power, exclusivity, and violence. It is a focus on the creation of a just society. When a church is committed to the vision of Jesus, the eucharist can take on new meaning. It can be seen as a feast of justice, not a sacrament of sacrificial atonement.
Roman Catholic Liturgist Gabe Huck has said,
The Eucharist can become a kind of product created for individual spiritual customers. [But] It’s supposed to have a transforming effect on us so that we leave church determined to do something. We should be seeing the world in a different way and have different priorities because of the Eucharist. It should affect what we do with our time, how we spend our money, how we look for a job, how we vote.[1]
According to Huck, there are five elements of social justice that can be found in the Eucharistic meal.
First, it is a meal of liberation. In three of the gospels it is linked to Passover—which is a celebration of liberation from oppression.
Second, it is an egalitarian meal. It recalls Jesus’ table fellowship with the marginalized and outcast. At a table where Jesus is the host, everyone is accepted and welcomed.
Third, it is a shared meal for a sharing community. In the early church, the eucharist was celebrated as part of a real meal shared by a compassionate community that dedicated their goods and lives to meeting each other’s needs. At least one day a week, all were fed. The eucharist is a call to share our food, so that no one is hungry. It is a call to share our talents and resources on behalf of those in need.
Fourth, it is a sample and foretaste of God’s reign of love. In celebrating the eucharist we are anticipating the day when all the world will be fed because of our compassionate actions for greater justice. The eucharistic meal should encourage and empower us to live the vision of God’s reign today. It should give us the strength to willingly accept the consequences of living that vision no matter what the cost.
Fifth, it is a sign of transformation. In the eucharist, we are reminded that the body of Christ was broken. The term “body” is both singular and plural. In this community gathered around this meal, we become, as the Apostle Paul suggested, a living metaphor for the body of Christ. The Eucharist is an invitation to us to go forth from the meal to break our own bodies and shed our own blood in the service of others, and the communal nature of the meal reminds us that we are not alone in this ongoing struggle for a just society and world.
Martin Luther wrote in 1519:
When you have partaken of this sacrament, therefore, or desire to partake of it, you must in turn share the misfortunes of the fellowship . . . all the unjust suffering of the innocent, with which the world is everywhere filled to overflowing. You must fight, work, pray and—if you cannot do more—have heartfelt sympathy.[2]
So what words of distribution would be most appropriate to a eucharist focused on justice, liberation, equality, sharing, transformation, and service? Perhaps that’s for the poets among us to determine. My own contribution would be something like this, taken from my funeral liturgy which conceives of God as love:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
__________________________________________
The eucharistic prayer:
L: For the power of love in human life and history,
we give thanks and praise.
Long ago our ancestors knew love’s power
and they became the tellers of love’s tale.
Love bound them in covenant,
teaching them to live in community
with compassion and concern
for the poorest among them.
Yet centuries of domination and violence
shaped a different kind of community
based on selfishness and inequality.
In the struggle against oppression,
Jesus became the face of love,
showing us the way to abundant life.
In word and deed, he announced
love’s new reign of justice, reconciliation, and peace.
Filled with the courage and passion of love’s spirit,
he gave his life to challenge the unjust systems of this world.
On the night of his betrayal and arrest,
as he shared a meal with his friends,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his followers, saying:
“Share this bread among you; this is my body which will be broken for justice.
Do this to remember me.”
When supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Share this wine among you; this is my blood which will be shed for liberation.
Do this to remember me.”
God of love, spirit of compassion,
bless us and this bread and wine.
May this meal be food and drink for our journey—
renewing, sustaining, and making us whole.
When we eat this bread and drink from this cup
we experience again the presence of Jesus in our midst.
The table is ready. All are welcome. Come, for the feast is spread.
As the bread and wine are shared, these words are said:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
The blessing after the meal:
L: May this meal nourish us and refresh us,
may it strengthen us and renew us, may it unite us and keep us in God’s gracious love, now and forever. Amen
L: Let us pray.
God of love, we give you thanks for satisfying our hungry hearts with this meal.
Send us from here to reveal your love in the world.
Inspire in us the resolve and the courage, the compassion and the passion,
to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Amen
Dismissal:
L: Go forth in service, remembering the words of brother Martin: to fight, work, and pray for the unjust suffering of the innocent in our world.
__________________________________________
[1] Gabe Huck, a former director of Liberty Training Publications, as quoted by Robert J. McClory, “Let’s Put the Eucharist to Work,” U.S. Catholic, June 12, 2008. See online article at http://www.uscatholic.org/church/prayer-and-sacraments/2008/06/lets-put-eucharist-work
[2] Martin Luther, “The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods,” 1519, published in Luther’s Works, Volume 35: Word and Sacrament I (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960).
READ ON ...
---------------------
Kind, Tenderhearted, Forgiving – 30 Second Video
Lenora Rand
What kind of world do you want to be a citizen of?
Kind, Tenderhearted, Forgiving – 30 Second Video by ProgressiveChristianity.org
1 // What kind of world do you want to be a citizen of?
2 // What difference would kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness make on the lives of the people around you?
// KIND, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING //
Spoken & Written by Lenora Rand
Music by Podington Bear
Footage from VideoBlocks
Edited by Jim Kast-Keat
View the complete transcript: http://thirtysecondsorless.net/kind
Follow Thirty Seconds or Less on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThirtySOL
Follow Thirty Seconds or Less on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ThirtySOL
READ ON ...
---------------------
Weekly Liturgy
Week of: January 31, 2016
Awakenings
Metanoia is a word worth learning. The Greek means literally “change your understanding” or “think differently.”
Awakenings
Week of January 31, 2016Metanoia is a word worth learning. The Greek means literally “change your understanding” or “think differently.” In our modern parlance we might say, “Awaken!” Unfortunately, when the New Testament was translated from Greek into English, metanoia came out as “repent.” A perfectly legitimate translation, but certainly not the only one. It helped to send Western Christianity down a rabbit hole of preoccupation with sin, which we have been a long time recovering from.
READ ON ...
What kind of world do you want to be a citizen of?
Kind, Tenderhearted, Forgiving – 30 Second Video by ProgressiveChristianity.org
2 // What difference would kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness make on the lives of the people around you?
// KIND, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING //
Spoken & Written by Lenora Rand
Music by Podington Bear
Footage from VideoBlocks
Edited by Jim Kast-Keat
View the complete transcript: http://thirtysecondsorless.net/kind
Follow Thirty Seconds or Less on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThirtySOL
Follow Thirty Seconds or Less on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ThirtySOL
READ ON ...
---------------------
Weekly Liturgy
Week of: January 31, 2016
Awakenings
Metanoia is a word worth learning. The Greek means literally “change your understanding” or “think differently.”
Awakenings
Week of January 31, 2016Metanoia is a word worth learning. The Greek means literally “change your understanding” or “think differently.” In our modern parlance we might say, “Awaken!” Unfortunately, when the New Testament was translated from Greek into English, metanoia came out as “repent.” A perfectly legitimate translation, but certainly not the only one. It helped to send Western Christianity down a rabbit hole of preoccupation with sin, which we have been a long time recovering from.
READ ON ...
---------------------
---------------------
Borders Written by Matt Carriker by Polly Moore
Spiritual growth always happens most when we cross borders,
in whatever form those borders take.
God did not create borders.
Humans did.
God created difference; humans have created division.
God’s call is for us to live in unity amidst diversity;
Oneness though we are not the same.
Borders do not exist for God.
When we cross borders, we live into the Kingdom of God;
the way of Love;
the path of Light.
That way is a path of ever-expansive love;
of ever-widening compassion that casts out fears, prejudices, and judgments.
This is a path that must be chosen often, lest we forget;
a path of regular awakenings, lest we fall back asleep.
---------------------
Song of Simon Magus (Acts 8) by Jim BurkloEggs won’t stick on my magic frying pans
Spots won’t grow on my wonder-creamed hands
To my tactics Samaria is blinded by my spell
I’ve even charmed myself from knowing how I sell
Calm down, Philip, you needn’t curse my deed
Just turn me down like advertisements you don’t want to read
My television never said the spirit wouldn’t sell
The hands that do the magic carry money just as well
Though you despise my offer, I want that power still
What money cannot purchase, perhaps my patience will
May I make more vulgar offers while I’m tagging along?
Or must I become someone else before I can belong?
---------------------
Goodness Uplifts Wisdom by Richard Holdsworth1 The roots of decency spread deep in the earth of Goodness, and no turmoil can disturb them.
2 In the eyes of the selfish, the upright appear to be unhinged; their humility is seen as weakness,
3 and their separation from us seems to prove their folly; but they are at peace.
4 In the judgment of others they act disturbed; but their hope is full of promises.
5 Having faced challenges, they received great benefit, because when Goodness tested them they learned from it and became stronger;
6 While trapped in their anguish, Goodness tried them; and with an unstinting gift, Goodness empowered them.
7 In their serenity they sparkle, and run marathons through adversities.
8 They will manage reactions and overcome distractions and Goodness will direct their decisions, always.
9 Those who trust in Goodness understand truth, and the faithful stand in compassion, because loveliness and tolerance are theirs, and Goodness uplifts wisdom.
Derived from Wisdom 3:1-9---------------------
Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.
---------------------
Events and Updates
Be Ready for Your Lenten Practice
With these two special e-courses:
The Spirituality of the Gospels for Lent 2016
By Thomas Moore
February 10 – March 27, 2016
The Gift of Life
By Thomas Keating, Mary Anne Best, and Susan Rush
February 10 – March 25, 2016
Be Ready for Your Lenten Practice
“God for whose sake we clean and adorn our hearts in this season of Lent, help us remember this day that the goal of all our ascetical effort is celebration. Fill the room we make in our hearts with the festive joy of your presence.”[Br. David Steindl-Rast]
For this upcoming season of Lent, which begins on Wednesday, February 10, make room for joy with these two special e-courses:
The Spirituality of the Gospels for Lent 2016
By Thomas Moore
February 10 – March 27, 2016
Using his fertile imagination, Moore offers fresh interpretations to enliven your spiritual life. Sayings by and stories about Jesus model a path of love, empathy, sharing, sensuality, and treating all people well. Sign up now or give as a gift:
Sign-Up Here
The Gift of Life
By Thomas Keating, Mary Anne Best, and Susan Rush
February 10 – March 25, 2016
Explore the gift of life in all its phases as ways to evolve and be transformed in and through Christ. Topics include suffering, judgment and mercy, the mystery of God, and homecoming. Sign up now or give as a gift:
Sing-Up Here
Images
Start:
February 10, 2016
End:
March 27, 2016
Location:
Online Courses
Contact:
Mary Ann Brussat
Organization:
Spirituality & Practice
Website:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/10168/the-spirituality-of-the-gospels-for-lent-2016/key/tcpc
Email:
brussat@spiritualityand practice.com
READ ON ...
---------------------
View all upcoming events here!
News
Job Listings
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Email
YouTube
Our mailing address is:
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Pt. Fosdick Dr. NW#80
Gig Harbor, Washington 98335, United States
---------------------
Question & Answer for Thursday, 28 January 2016 - "Preferred commentaries?" A New Christianity for a New World with Bishop John Shelby Spong on the News and Christian Faith of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR
Question & Answer
John Bowers, a Disciples of Christ Minister, writes via the Internet:
Question:
I am a Disciples of Christ minister and I often cite and use your insights in preparing sermons. I was wondering if you have any preferred commentaries that you consider exegetically sound.
Answer:
Dear John,
The short and quick answer to your question is No! At least there is no single volume commentary or even a single series of commentaries on every book of the Bible that I would recommend. Most ministers or churches in the last half of the 20th century have in their personal or church libraries a set of books called The Interpreter’s Bible. They are not bad, but they are also not profound and by now are badly dated. Nonetheless you can find in that series something about every book in the Bible. Not many people are going to write commentaries on Obadiah, Haggai or Nahum, but the Interpreter’s Bible covers them all.
This is not to say that there are not some great commentaries. There are, but they tend to represent the life work of one scholar. When I was preparing my book on the Fourth Gospel, there were two Johannine commentaries that when I completed them, I felt as if I had been on holy ground. The two authors were C. H. Dodd and Rudolf Bultmann. I was thrilled by the commentary of Gerhard von Rad on Genesis and Ernst Haenchen on Acts. Michael Goulder’s work on Luke feeds me daily.
I am fortunate to live near Drew University with its outstanding theological library, which helps Methodist clergy in their preparation for Methodist ministry in the Drew University Theological School. This theological school’s librarian, Jesse Mack, can help me to find almost anything I want in that library. My recommendation to young clergy – older ones too – is that you work on one book of the Bible every year and that you choose to aid you in that study an outstanding commentary on that book and quite literally master that book and that commentary. At the rate of dedicating just thirty minutes a day to this study, you can complete and master that book of the Bible in the course of a year, even the longest books of the Bible. I’ve already mentioned my favorites on some biblical books. Ask the faculty of the theological seminary where you trained to suggest their favorites on some of the other books of the Bible.
If you master five or six of the great commentaries on five or six of the most significant books of the Bible, your life and ministry will be greatly enriched.
Thank you for your service and my blessings on your work.
John Shelby Spong
Read and Share online here...
Announcements
In Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, Spong annotates the Gospel of Matthew and so provides a blueprint for the Church’s future—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story while still embracing the modern world.
Click here for more information!
Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support@johnshelbyspong.com or 253-507-8678.
---------------------
Our mailing address is:
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Pt. Fosdick Dr. NW#80
Gig Harbor, Washington 98335, United States
---------------------
Borders
Spiritual growth always happens most when we cross borders,
in whatever form those borders take.
God did not create borders.
Humans did.
read morein whatever form those borders take.
God did not create borders.
Humans did.
Song of Simon Magus (Acts 8)
Eggs won’t stick on my magic frying pans
Spots won’t grow on my wonder-creamed hands
To my tactics Samaria is blinded by my spell
I’ve even charmed myself from knowing how I sell
read moreSpots won’t grow on my wonder-creamed hands
To my tactics Samaria is blinded by my spell
I’ve even charmed myself from knowing how I sell
Goodness Uplifts Wisdom
1 The roots of decency spread deep in the earth of Goodness, and no turmoil can disturb them.
2 In the eyes of the selfish, the upright appear to be unhinged; their humility is seen as weakness,
read more2 In the eyes of the selfish, the upright appear to be unhinged; their humility is seen as weakness,
---------------------
Borders Written by Matt Carriker by Polly Moore
Spiritual growth always happens most when we cross borders,
in whatever form those borders take.
God did not create borders.
Humans did.
God created difference; humans have created division.
God’s call is for us to live in unity amidst diversity;
Oneness though we are not the same.
Borders do not exist for God.
When we cross borders, we live into the Kingdom of God;
the way of Love;
the path of Light.
That way is a path of ever-expansive love;
of ever-widening compassion that casts out fears, prejudices, and judgments.
This is a path that must be chosen often, lest we forget;
a path of regular awakenings, lest we fall back asleep.
---------------------
Song of Simon Magus (Acts 8) by Jim BurkloEggs won’t stick on my magic frying pans
Spots won’t grow on my wonder-creamed hands
To my tactics Samaria is blinded by my spell
I’ve even charmed myself from knowing how I sell
Calm down, Philip, you needn’t curse my deed
Just turn me down like advertisements you don’t want to read
My television never said the spirit wouldn’t sell
The hands that do the magic carry money just as well
Though you despise my offer, I want that power still
What money cannot purchase, perhaps my patience will
May I make more vulgar offers while I’m tagging along?
Or must I become someone else before I can belong?
---------------------
Goodness Uplifts Wisdom by Richard Holdsworth1 The roots of decency spread deep in the earth of Goodness, and no turmoil can disturb them.
2 In the eyes of the selfish, the upright appear to be unhinged; their humility is seen as weakness,
3 and their separation from us seems to prove their folly; but they are at peace.
4 In the judgment of others they act disturbed; but their hope is full of promises.
5 Having faced challenges, they received great benefit, because when Goodness tested them they learned from it and became stronger;
6 While trapped in their anguish, Goodness tried them; and with an unstinting gift, Goodness empowered them.
7 In their serenity they sparkle, and run marathons through adversities.
8 They will manage reactions and overcome distractions and Goodness will direct their decisions, always.
9 Those who trust in Goodness understand truth, and the faithful stand in compassion, because loveliness and tolerance are theirs, and Goodness uplifts wisdom.
Derived from Wisdom 3:1-9---------------------
Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.
---------------------
Events and Updates
Be Ready for Your Lenten Practice
With these two special e-courses:
The Spirituality of the Gospels for Lent 2016
By Thomas Moore
February 10 – March 27, 2016
The Gift of Life
By Thomas Keating, Mary Anne Best, and Susan Rush
February 10 – March 25, 2016
Be Ready for Your Lenten Practice
“God for whose sake we clean and adorn our hearts in this season of Lent, help us remember this day that the goal of all our ascetical effort is celebration. Fill the room we make in our hearts with the festive joy of your presence.”[Br. David Steindl-Rast]
For this upcoming season of Lent, which begins on Wednesday, February 10, make room for joy with these two special e-courses:
The Spirituality of the Gospels for Lent 2016
By Thomas Moore
February 10 – March 27, 2016
Using his fertile imagination, Moore offers fresh interpretations to enliven your spiritual life. Sayings by and stories about Jesus model a path of love, empathy, sharing, sensuality, and treating all people well. Sign up now or give as a gift:
Sign-Up Here
The Gift of Life
By Thomas Keating, Mary Anne Best, and Susan Rush
February 10 – March 25, 2016
Explore the gift of life in all its phases as ways to evolve and be transformed in and through Christ. Topics include suffering, judgment and mercy, the mystery of God, and homecoming. Sign up now or give as a gift:
Sing-Up Here
Images
Start:
February 10, 2016
End:
March 27, 2016
Location:
Online Courses
Contact:
Mary Ann Brussat
Organization:
Spirituality & Practice
Website:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/10168/the-spirituality-of-the-gospels-for-lent-2016/key/tcpc
Email:
brussat@spiritualityand practice.com
READ ON ...
---------------------
View all upcoming events here!
News
Job Listings
FacebookTwitterWebsiteEmailYouTubeOur mailing address is:
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Pt. Fosdick Dr. NW#80
Gig Harbor, Washington 98335, United States
---------------------
Question & Answer for Thursday, 28 January 2016 - "Preferred commentaries?" A New Christianity for a New World with Bishop John Shelby Spong on the News and Christian Faith of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR
Question & Answer
John Bowers, a Disciples of Christ Minister, writes via the Internet:
Question:
I am a Disciples of Christ minister and I often cite and use your insights in preparing sermons. I was wondering if you have any preferred commentaries that you consider exegetically sound.
Answer:
Dear John,
The short and quick answer to your question is No! At least there is no single volume commentary or even a single series of commentaries on every book of the Bible that I would recommend. Most ministers or churches in the last half of the 20th century have in their personal or church libraries a set of books called The Interpreter’s Bible. They are not bad, but they are also not profound and by now are badly dated. Nonetheless you can find in that series something about every book in the Bible. Not many people are going to write commentaries on Obadiah, Haggai or Nahum, but the Interpreter’s Bible covers them all.
This is not to say that there are not some great commentaries. There are, but they tend to represent the life work of one scholar. When I was preparing my book on the Fourth Gospel, there were two Johannine commentaries that when I completed them, I felt as if I had been on holy ground. The two authors were C. H. Dodd and Rudolf Bultmann. I was thrilled by the commentary of Gerhard von Rad on Genesis and Ernst Haenchen on Acts. Michael Goulder’s work on Luke feeds me daily.
I am fortunate to live near Drew University with its outstanding theological library, which helps Methodist clergy in their preparation for Methodist ministry in the Drew University Theological School. This theological school’s librarian, Jesse Mack, can help me to find almost anything I want in that library. My recommendation to young clergy – older ones too – is that you work on one book of the Bible every year and that you choose to aid you in that study an outstanding commentary on that book and quite literally master that book and that commentary. At the rate of dedicating just thirty minutes a day to this study, you can complete and master that book of the Bible in the course of a year, even the longest books of the Bible. I’ve already mentioned my favorites on some biblical books. Ask the faculty of the theological seminary where you trained to suggest their favorites on some of the other books of the Bible.
If you master five or six of the great commentaries on five or six of the most significant books of the Bible, your life and ministry will be greatly enriched.
Thank you for your service and my blessings on your work.
John Shelby Spong
Read and Share online here...
Announcements
In Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, Spong annotates the Gospel of Matthew and so provides a blueprint for the Church’s future—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story while still embracing the modern world.
Click here for more information!
Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support@johnshelbyspong.com or 253-507-8678.
---------------------
Our mailing address is:
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Pt. Fosdick Dr. NW#80
Gig Harbor, Washington 98335, United States
---------------------
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