Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
November 15, 2020
Philippians 2:1-8 The Message
2 1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
With all the current talk of healing and reconciliation in our world amidst so much polarization and division, I spent most of my week reflecting on the role we as the church (whether together or individually) play in this important time.
When I ponder deep issues such as the ones we currently face, I always turn to both mentors and other people who have lived and found ways to handle and overcome similar issues.
Sometimes I find examples in Scripture and other times I find them in history – but almost always they reflect the life and ministry of Jesus which Beth described in the scripture for today.
As I was watching the news the other morning and considering our current condition over a warm cup of coffee, I was reminded of the work of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa.
Desmond Tutu has long been a hero of mine. I have studied his work, teachings, and evolution as a man of God and found his wisdom to speak directly to my condition and often to the condition of our world.
As you may remember, I have shared a wealth of learning from Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama’s, “The Book of Joy.” That book alone changed my life and allowed me to transcend some of the deep personal pain I had experienced and find new ways to tap into real joy in my life and world.
Yet, even more appropriate for our current condition, is Desmond Tutu’s vital work in South Africa with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
If you are not familiar with his work, Tutu was appointed the chairman of the Commission to provide support and reparation to victims and their families, while also compiling an objective record of the effects of apartheid on South African society.
The South African government’s hope was to utilize the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with the adverse effects of the oppression, the polarization, and ultimately advance the cause of reconciliation.
For Desmond Tutu, an Archbishop in the Episcopal Church, he quickly realized that for the people of South Africa to begin imagining a new beginning – it must first begin with forgiveness and be based on honesty, peace, and compassion.
If you want to spend some time reading a personal account of Tutu’s work and how forgiveness came to be a foundation for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, you may want to read his book, “No Future without Forgiveness.”
Some have said, with our nation’s painful racial history, our current political divide, and our stubborn unwillingness to forgive and reconcile, we too need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There are both positives and negatives to this discourse.
Desmond Tutu set the standard for this work in South Africa, by focusing on the biblical concept of forgiveness. It would seem appropriate as a member of the clergy that he would lean heavily on his faith to bring healing.
Actually, there was much more behind Desmond Tutu that helped him find success with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and I believe before we are able to begin the hard work in our families, communities, workplaces, and even in our nation, we are going to need to explore some of these foundations for our own lives, especially to help us find truth, forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope in our world.
Writer Tim Hoiland pointed out 5 lessons from Desmond Tutu’s life in a reflection he wrote after readings Tutu’s authorized biography. I would like to expand upon these five truths and show how they could help lay a foundation for us as we move through these current difficult times.
As I have said on many occasions, even just last week in my sermon, the work we need to do begins in our own hearts and lives. It is evident that Desmond Tutu would not have been as effective or impactful if it had not been for him making these pillars, foundational in his life.
Since the publishing of Celebration of Discipline by Quaker Richard Foster back in 1978, Modern Quakers have found the wealth and wisdom of the spiritual disciplines a key aspect to melding our personal and communal lives.
As well, one cannot reflect on the life of Desmond Tutu without referring to the impact of the spiritual disciplines on his life. Tutu is known to spend several hours every day in silence and meditation, and prayer. Tim Hoiland points out that,
“While it could come across as snobbish or holier-than-thou for Tutu to leave a meeting or party or to sit silently in a car ride with a reporter and spend that time praying, no one seems to think he’s a spiritual snob.
Rather, they see the rest of his life — the calm, the joy, the perseverance, the humility – and they’re impressed.”
In facing the struggles in our world today, who better than us, Quakers, to model the spiritual disciplines and put a priority on the need for silence, meditation and prayer. We need more than ever to center down and allow the still small voice of the Divine to speak to our condition.
Ask yourself: Where might I need to remove myself from the conversations, the news and social media, and even my own family members to become silent and center down?
Another area that I often emphasize and teach that I have learned from several mentors including Desmond Tutu, is Being fully present.
Tim Hoiland points out that,
“Tutu recognizes that to give to others as he does so deeply and consistently, he needs to be nourished. The flip side of spending so much time alone and in prayer, then, is that when he’s with people, he’s with them fully.
And he’s the same person, it seems, whether he’s with long-time friends, with a world leader for the first time, or with an ordinary person like you or me.
He seems to have a humanizing effect on people even — or perhaps especially — in dehumanizing situations.
This plays out in his belief in ubuntu, which roughly translates into “a person is a person through other people.”
As a people who are not only dealing with the polarization of politics and a long history of racial unrest, we are also dealing with a deadly pandemic.
That means Being Fully Present has been challenged to the max. Yet, I am finding new ways to be fully present in people’s lives even in these difficult times.
To bring healing and reconciliation, we must first be able to hear those in which we disagree and be open to learning from them. That means I may need to put my wants and desires aside to really listen and hear our neighbor.
Ask yourself: To whom in my life do I need to be more fully present?
One thing I try hard to nourish in my ministry is getting people to laugh. If you have ever watched a video of Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama (who are best of friends) you will experience a lot of giggling and it is contagious.
Humor is an immensely important, but largely overlooked quality – especially in difficult times.
Desmond Tutu never seems to take himself too seriously, and his humor is often self-deprecating. Tim Hoiland points out that,
“It’s evident that his sense of humor had a lot to do with dispelling a number of quite tense situations during the apartheid era when there wasn’t much to laugh about. By putting his audiences at ease, it made his costly message of peace and reconciliation a lot easier to swallow.”
Sometimes humor can be seen as a cop-out for deeper issues, but if we cannot find humor, joy, and laugh a little, we will quickly find ourselves losing hope. I always find myself gravitating toward people who find humor a foundation for getting through hard times.
Ask yourself: Who are the people in my life that make me laugh? How might I bring a little joy into someone’s life who needs the healing of humor?
The next lesson is an important one – and one I have heard being focused on a great deal lately.
Desmond Tutu exemplifies Humility. When reading about him or listening to him, you never get the sense that Tutu considers himself better than anyone else. Tim Hoiland says,
“He was constantly present with poor, angry black South Africans when it would have been much safer to champion their cause from a distance.
He didn’t allow his international fame to go to his head or to distract him from the reality on the ground.
Also, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Tutu quietly stepped away from his temporary role as political leader of the movement, happy to see someone else take the lead. This kind of humility is beautiful because it is rare.”
In a world that flaunts arrogance and putting down others for one’s benefit, a call to personal humility is necessary before we can seek healing or reconciliation.
I will be the first to say that it is hard in our American culture to embrace humility, but when we do, we begin to remove ourselves from the center of our world and allow other voices to be heard.
Ask yourself: In what areas of my life, might I need to take a humbler position, allowing other perspectives to be heard?
Lastly, and we cannot miss this lesson from Desmond Tutu for our present condition - Civility.
Tom Hoiland points out that,
“At a time when pressure was mounting among black South Africans to take up arms against the apartheid government, Tutu did what he could to seek nonviolent alternatives and to urge restraint on both sides.
Rather than pitting himself against white South Africans or demonizing them, he sought to show that everyone desperately needed a new way forward. In a world of terrifying religious extremism, Tutu’s civility is a breath of fresh air.”
If there is something we need right now – it is a breath of fresh air. The civility around our dinner tables, in our classrooms, workrooms, or Zoom meetings, and even in the thoughts that run through our minds is a must if we are going to find a new way forward.
To close, I want to reiterate those 5 lessons from Desmond Tutu,
1. Spiritual Disciplines
2. Being Fully Present
3. Humor
4. Humility and
5. Civility.
These reflect so well the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, as it was described by Paul in his letter to the people of Philippi. I believe Desmond Tutu speaks to our current condition, because he was and continues to be faithful to living out the way of Jesus Christ.
Let me close with reading again our Scripture for today. I pray we can hear these words as a charge to us, as Desmond Tutu so obviously has…
2 1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
As we enter waiting worship this morning, we will share again the queries I offered as we looked at the lessons from Desmond Tutu’s life. Let us take this time of silence for reflection and introspection.
Where might I need to remove myself from the conversations, the news and social media, and even my own family members to become silent and center down?
To whom in my life do I need to be more fully present?
Who are the people in my life that make me laugh? How might I bring a little joy into someone’s life who needs the healing of humor?
In what areas of my life, might I need to take a humbler position, allowing other perspectives to be heard?