Story for healing religious differences

Stories to help by-pass religious exclusivity
A homily given at several faith gatherings
New Church for a New World: A Story

Four holy persons came out of the desert: three men and a woman.

The first holy man said: "I have found the Book of Holy Wisdom that has God’s answer to everything. We will follow it in everything we do." He soon had many disciples, and they distinguished themselves by following the Sacred Book to the letter. The Book was their guide to everything, a code-book of rules for life. They distinguished themselves by their love of this book and their ability to quote it for any occasion. The Book was revered and honored by many. They had many followers.

The second holy man said, "I have found wondrous feelings of Great Devotion in our gatherings. All our talk and songs will help promote and produce these Wondrous feelings.""Many became his disciples, and they distinguished themselves and were well known by their feelings of Great Devotion and their magnificent enthusiastic praying, preaching and singing.. No one could sing and praise God the way they did. Their members were most likely to be transported into feelings of joy and even ecstacy. There were many followers..

The third holy man said, "We shall have Certain Authority of our Creeds and Traditions. We shall also distinguish ourselves by our officials having lines of authority descended from the original followers, and by officials required to be voluntary celibates. We shall centralize our authority in one man who is the appointed successor of the first apostle. "All wore special clothes to distinguish their position, ranks and titles. These holy men were greatly admired and had a large following. They were distinguished by the Correct Concepts of their creeds, their many devotions, the long history of their Traditions and their loyalty to their Supreme Leader.
There were many followers..

The fourth holy person, a woman, said, "We will find this mystery we call God by serving others wherever and whenever we can, with all the riff-raff of the world, especially the poor and suffering, even if we break some of the rules of the Ancients and don't always have special feelings. Furthermore we will make no distinctions among ourselves or others. She said anyone can do this at any time, without being in any way special, and that all people everywhere could find this Mystery of Divine Hospitality in welcoming the Stranger and outsiders. Sacred Books, Holy Devotion, or Following Distinguished Persons and Holy Creeds are useful but not essential." Many came to observe her work, but few imitated her. There was nothing noteworthy in belonging to this group except their kindness and service of others. They distinguished themselves only by their compassion for the needy.

STOP HERE FOR DISCUSSION
Why were the first three more successful in gaining followers than the fourth? Which human needs were the first three appealing to? Which of the groups gave their members feelings of specialness? Why did the third holy man have a large following? Which mystified themselves and their Way? Which of the groups was more likely to have pride and self- righteousness? Which of the groups was more likely to look down upon and disparage those who did not belong to their way? Which might be the hardest to follow? Which offered the most protection against sin and fear, uncertainty and guilt? Following which holy person requires more risk and vulnerability? Which of the holy persons, in your opinion, is the closest to the mission Jesus announced in Luke 4:18; or closest to His life? Which of these paths would others say you are now following by your life? Which group was the “most inclusively catholic?” End of group discussion. Now walk with us back through the door of your imagination for the REST of the story.)

An extraordinary event then happened. An Angel of the Lord appeared to all four, and said, “Come with me and board my Heavenly Spaceship. We are going to another planet to establish a New Church for a New World. They boarded the spaceship and it ascended. As they circled the globe, the Angel asked each to examine the globe beneath to see whether or not their faith was truly healing of the one human family.
After a few minutes, the Angel announced. “Your ways, although good and holy in themselves, are not sufficient for the New Church on the New planet. You have the next hour to see if you can agree on what shall be the sole ritual for the New Church. If you can agree we will proceed to the new planet. If you cannot agree, we are going directly to meet the Face of God and your time of earthly service is completed.”

Now, said the Angel further, “We do not expect you to figure all this out by yourselves without consulting the Spirit and Muses of your own traditions, so we suggest you each and all begin with a time of silent meditation. Then we will give you two tips for when you are ready to converse. One, there are 4-5 elements necessary. Second, we do not expect you to get all five, so we will give you the first, which is “Gather the People.”
Humans have existed on planet earth for more than a million years, but organized religiion only for the last 3-4 thousand years. What is necessary for the New Word, and what might the history of religion teach us. If yoiu were to construct your own Wisdom tradition that is non-exclusive, what form might it take. What would you do on a regular basis?

STOP HERE AGAIN FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION.

Scan down for my suggestions.

The answer for the church of the New World is
1. Gather the People
2. Tell the Stories
3. Break the Bread
4. Celebrate the vision.
5. Welcome the Stranger.
(The faith community now discusses whether these activities are the necessary signs, in their own faith, of the New Church emerging)

Then the People of God will decide, and Wisdom for the New World emerges.
End of story, end of lesson and homily
(but each of us is the ongoing story...)

This is the format that has evolved with the Spiritual Growth Network of Kentucky, meeting weekly since 1989, and having missed two snow days in 18 _+ years.

Send a stamped and self-addressed envelope for a free SGN brochure and a bookmark featuring these suggested outcomes of this new Wisdom tradition for the future.

Paschal Baute
4080 Lofgren Court
Lexington, Ky 40509
tel 859-293-5302
email pbbaute@paschalbaute.com