Let Your Life Tell the Story
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
August 8, 2021
Good morning Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. Our scripture passage for this morning is
Matthew 5:14-16 (The Message)
14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Last week, I spoke of the importance of Quakers sharing stories that transform life. To do that, I gave a brief history lesson about the transition Quakers have been making from our original sacred stories and our loss of a common vocabulary. I also challenged us, with all our different backgrounds and religious journeys to return to sharing our stories so that we may, once again, find our common vocabulary to inspire, heal and transform a new generation of Friends.
Already, I have had some wonderful conversations with several of you and even experienced some story sharing sessions this week that have proven the importance of this among Friends.
So today, I would like to continue this teaching and expand these thoughts to help us see more clearly just why and how we might begin to make a difference through telling (or better yet - living) our stories.
If I had to identify just one topic that I think perplexes Quakers it would have to be IDENTITY.
In almost every serious conversation I have had among my fellow Quaker pastors and leaders in my decade among Friends, at some point we have discussed Quaker Identity. Often those conversations digress into a discussion about how Quakers are having or have been having an “identity crisis” – leaving us asking questions like, “Who are Quakers, today?” and “What is their distinctiveness in our world?”
History clearly shows us that the stories we tell have a lot to do with establishing our identity.
Just take for instance most religious faiths. Each has a set of stories they use to establish their perspectives and understandings of what they believe and unite around.
I immediately think of our Hebrew or Jewish sisters and brothers and the importance of the Passover Story (which later becomes part of our story just reinterpreted by Jesus).
If you remember, in the Torah, God commanded the Hebrew people to remember their story and continue to retell it so they would never forget their liberation.
To this day, Hebrew people continue the tradition through the annual Seder Meal and many scholars believe this story alone to be a major factor in their survival as a religious faith. The Jewish people have suffered greatly throughout history, but they have been able to reinterpret this liberation story over and over to help them find hope as a people.
We too, have a plethora of stories we like to tell that help form our identity. From George Fox on Pendle Hill to Elizabeth Fry and her work in prisons, to John Woolman visiting the Native Americans, we tell, and re-tell these same stories to help remind us of our testimonies and our shared identity as Friends.
I remember reading George Fox’s Journal for the first time. Sadly, George was not that good of a writer, but that did not matter as much as how I connected with his story - both his mystical understanding of his relationship with the God-within, as well as his struggles and tensions within the Anglican Church (which I too was a part of and struggled to understand).
But I will be honest, being raised in a much more orthodox Christian denomination that often downplayed or simply ignored the mystical side of faith made me struggle and even question George Fox’s experience and enlightenment.
I, along with many spiritual seekers today, needed more than mythical stories of the past – especially from dead people – to inspire and engage me.
If it wasn’t for me having the opportunity to meet real-time Quakers who shared with me their current-day stories and lives, I probably would still be searching.
I remember vividly the lunch I had with my mentor, professor, and Friend Carol Spencer. As she shared her faith journey and understanding of the Quaker Faith with me, I began to see myself in her story. I related to her commitments and desire to teach a spirituality that embraced and honored “that of God in all people”. She would later introduce me to Friend Colin Saxton.
Even though, at the time Colin was the Superintendent of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, he was also known for his work for peace and reconciliation both locally and globally. The first time we met over breakfast – Colin and I shared our stories over several hours. Again, I found myself being drawn in by his passion for, and willingness to not just know, but put into action, his Quaker beliefs, and perspectives. Carole and Colin are Quakers who continue to let their lives speak what they believe.
Ironically, it was George Fox himself who charged us to “Let our lives speak.” Let our lives tell the story.
For that matter, even Jesus told the people of his day to let their lives speak.
And George had probably learned this from reading the life and ministry of Jesus within scripture.
Listen again to the words of Jesus from our scriptures for this morning,
14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Yet, let’s be honest. Too often instead of letting our lives speak, or tell the story, or light up our world, we rely on retelling the story of someone else, or debating the actions of someone else, and often never get around to letting OUR lives speak.
Could this be why we have lost our impact in this world, because we spend too much time debating the stories of the past and not living the stories of today?
It probably is easier to sit on a computer, or in a meeting, or even in the parking lot of the Meetinghouse discussing the stories and actions of people from our history, but how are you and I “bringing out the God-colors” in our world?
What I find interesting is challenging people to name modern-day Quakers who are letting their lives speak?
After I shared about Quaker Bayard Rustin and his impact on the American Civil Rights Movement a couple years ago at Yearly Meeting, I had someone mention to me how it is good to hear about the impact of more modern-day Quakers.
Later in the afternoon, I began to think about that comment…modern-day Quakers? Bayard Rustin died in 1987. I was just starting high school when he died 34 years ago. And Rustin’s organizing of the March on Washington where Dr. King gave his now historic “I have a Dream” speech was back in 1963 - ten years before I would ever be born. That is not so much “modern-day” as I think of it.
The two era’s we Quakers most focus on when telling our stories is the 1650’s at our founding and 1960’s during the American Civil Rights Movement. Well, and then there was that brief embarrassment for Quakers in the 1970’s named Richard Nixon, but we will not talk anymore about that. Actually, I Googled “Modern-Day Quakers” and the only name that came up was Richard Nixon – again, he is dead and not the best example.
Please don’t get me wrong – the stories of the past are important, sometimes foundational, even often helpful in correcting and fixing our mistakes, but when we fixate on them, worship them, or allow them to speak for us, we do not take the opportunity to heed God’s call and live our own stories today in real-time.
Instead, we get lazy or comfortable allowing other people’s stories to speak for us. That means that that of God in us is silenced. And that also means Quakerism is silenced.
It seems clear why Quakerism is not a growing and thriving religious community overall – we have been caught telling the stories of the past while not living out new stories, today.
What if, just for one year, each time we gathered at Yearly Meeting, or in our Local Meetings, or at any gathering of Friends, we committed to only share new stories of what God is doing in and through us? I bet it would get those of us not living our stories to at least think or possibly engage.
And what if we didn’t only rely on telling stories from the past or other people’s stories, but rather committed to telling our stories through the way we live?
Just maybe, as it said in our scripture for today, by opening up to others, we’ll prompt people to open up with God.
And before I close this teaching, I want to remind you of one more aspect of the phrase, “Letting your Life Speak” and that is allowing it to speak to you.
Friend Phil Gulley wrote,
“It is about letting your life speak to you. You are the best expert on you. Do you listen to your life? Do you listen to your values, your passions, your principles? Let your life speak to you, because you are the best expert on you.”
So, this week, I want us to take some time to examine what our lives are speaking to those around us, as well as to ourselves.
Now, as we enter waiting worship, join me in pondering a couple of the queries I already presented:
1. Do I spend too much time debating the stories of the past and not living the stories of today?
2. How am I “bringing out the God-colors” in our world?
3. What is my life speaking to those around me, as well as to myself?