The Paradigm Shifters

Rev. Kristi Denham
Congregational Church of Belmont
February 15, 2009

-Continued-

Lincoln caused a sea change in our understanding of the equality of all men. And as with all paradigm shifts, it has taken us a long time to reach this point in our history now where the implications of the Emancipation Proclamation could be evidenced so clearly as to elect an African American to the highest office in our land.

But all this is merely an introduction to the real subject of my words this morning. (I always feel very nervous when I have heard a preacher talk for 10 minutes and they announce that was only the introduction. Sorry!) The greatest paradigm shifter in Western Civilization’s history was not Charles Darwin or Abraham Lincoln. It was Jesus of Nazareth.

We have heard again this morning his most famous words from the Sermon on the Mount, although in Luke’s version, quoted today, the sermon is told “on the plain.”

Jesus turned the world upside down with these teachings. First, the blessings of the poor, the hungry, the unhappy, the despised, while the rich, the satisfied, the happy and the praised are warned of woe, all flied in the face of every easy assumption we will ever make about life. It is good news for those who are in pain and troubling news for those who are comfortable. It challenges us to rethink our priorities, take the high and mighty off their pedestals and value more deeply those who most need our help and care.

Then he goes a step further and challenges us to love our enemies. His suggestion of generosity and going the extra mile are actually descriptions of nonviolent protest that bring dignity to the down trodden.

When someone asks for your cloak and you give them your shirt as well, in the time of Jesus, you are giving them all that you are wearing. You now stand naked before your abuser. And seeing the nakedness in another, let alone causing it, brings shame on the viewer.

And Roman legions were allowed to demand that any peasant on the road could be forced to carry their load for one mile. To go the extra mile brought the guard under scrutiny and would have gotten him in trouble. So just keep walking!

Finally, when you turn the other cheek you don’t lay down to be walked on, you actually force the man to see your dignity and if he slaps you again, he’ll be using his “unclean” hand. You will bring shame on him again.

These acts, done in dignity and love, allowed the poorest and weakest to reclaim their dignity and helped the rich and powerful to see the shame in their actions. These same tactics were used by two other Paradigm Shifters in the 20th century: Mahatma Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Paradigm shifts were everywhere in Jesus’ teachings. Loving those who are not easy to love tends to awaken all our senses. It challenges our foundations. It asks us finally to let go of our easy judgments and opens our hearts to the forgiveness that truly sets us free to live abundant lives. “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over” with joy.

Jesus’ paradigm shift began some 2000 years ago. And within the first century after his death the theologians took over, putting his teachings and his life and death on an impossible pedestal, telling us to worship him without necessarily living up to the implications of his teachings.

And what are those implications? Today we begin to see, as Darwin showed us, that we are all one family of not just humanity but of all life itself. And as Lincoln showed us, emancipation and freedom for all is the birthright of all.

Jesus taught equality. He taught justice. He taught love. He turned the world upside down. We are only beginning to live out the implications of his new understanding.

It is a paradigm shift we are ready for. And we practice it every day as we welcome all people into our family of faith. We honor all life forms as best we can. We see our connection to others in the great need to address our global challenges.

And we do all this as scientists do, in incremental steps, linked together through our dedication and love for life. God is good. God is in the midst of us, indwelling all creation. All is holy. We are learning to honor life as Jesus did, with attention to those most in need. When others suffer, we too are suffering. There is no escaping our common bond with life.

So we awaken to our oneness. We renew our bonds with the Prince of Peace. We celebrate the lives of those whose discoveries have opened our minds and freed our hearts to live more justly.

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin! Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln! And thank you Jesus for teaching us how to live! We appreciate the Paradigm Shifts and the Paradigm Shifters!

And now we are called to all be paradigm shifters. This is perhaps the most insidious and powerful teaching of the Christ. That each of us is filled with the Spirit of a loving God that indwells us with the power to be world changers. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ and all of us are encouraged to live out the teachings that will literally change the world. May it be so. Amen.