7-5-20 - Called to Rescue and Make Alive!

Called to Rescue and Make Alive!

Indianapolis First Friends

Pastor Bob Henry

July 5, 2020

Psalm 27:7-14 The Message (MSG)

7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs: “Be good to me! Answer me!”

When my heart whispered, “Seek God,” my whole being replied,

“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!

9-10 You’ve always been right there for me; don’t turn your back on me now.

Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me; you’ve always kept the door open.

My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in.

11-12 Point me down your highway, God; direct me along a well-lighted street; show my enemies whose side you’re on.

Don’t throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me, filling the air with their threats.

13-14 I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth.

Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit.

I’ll say it again: Stay with God.

Good morning, Friends and happy Independence weekend.  Lately, as I have reflected on the July 4th holiday, I have found myself wrestling with all that our history presents and the inconsistencies that the people of this nation experience in regard to our independence. Instead of celebrating independence, I have sensed lately a need for a more dependent posture and a continued need for the rescue from oppression. This morning, I am sharing a previous teaching that I believe flows from last week’s message and gets to our deep need for being rescued so we all may live life free and to the full.

There is much in our world today that is crying out for a rescue. Actually, the Bible itself is full of imagery of God’s rescuing, liberating, or saving people from literal storms at sea (which I discussed early on in this pandemic), to one’s own struggles and hardships that get in the way of truly living.

For most of us, we remember a time when we needed to be rescued. Times when we literally cried out that God would come and miraculously save us from some situation. Maybe that is the cry of your heart right now. 

God rescue me from this Covid-19 pandemic. 

God rescue me from this political year. 

God rescue me from the racial unrest. 

God rescue me from the people who disagree with me on Facebook.

I think you get my point.  

As I have been thinking about summer and the 4th of July, I am often taken back to memories of camp as a kid. Yet, not all memories are great. Actually, one of the earliest memories of needing to be “physically” rescued was my first time at camp when I was in 5th grade. If you have heard this story, bear with me. 

One afternoon at free time, my fellow camper and I went swimming. It was popular back then to play “Chicken” where one person gets up on the shoulders of another and then tries to stay up while two other friends try and knock them down. 

It is really “King of the Hill” in the water.

Since I was a little bigger than my friend, I quickly put him on my shoulders and we waded out into the water. We were doing rather well, we had won a couple battles and lost only one.

I noticed as we wrestled people down we were heading further and further into deeper water. Soon just the tops of my shoulders and head were sticking out of the water.

In a flash, another team of larger boys gave my friend a huge blow to the chest and down we started to go. Now, we had been warned to stay away from the floating dock, but as we fell my friend locked his legs firmly around my neck. He went below the water and ended up caught under the floating dock.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. I quickly opened my eyes to see the sunlight above me and about 6 inches of water in between. I tried hard to push my friends legs up and over my head, but he continued to push me down.

I wanted to cry out for help, but I couldn’t. I immediately became scared and started to flap my arms. And then suddenly in one fell swoop, the lifeguard blew her whistle, jumped in the water and pulled us out.

I had taken in a lot of lake water, but I had been rescued. The lifeguard had saved my life.

This incident has been burned into my memory. I can almost remember it as if it happened yesterday. It still gives me an uneasy feeling just retelling the story.

But even more, as I recall that experience, I realize it is much like many of the other times I have needed rescued in my life.

Some of the same basic things I wrestled with when I was at camp needing “saved” continue to be relevant, today.

• Like, those times when I think things are under control – when I seemed to be “winning in life,” yet don’t notice that in reality things are actually spinning out of control around me or in the lives of my neighbors, or

• Those times when the weight of my friendships or relationships have such a deep impact on my life that I don’t understand their complexity and find myself needing to be saved from them, or

• Those times I sense the warnings – sometime recognizing them and at other times completely ignoring or missing them – only to find myself crying out for help, or

• Those times when I seem to experience life in slow motion – life passing before my eyes, having me wondering what I am to do and how I will get out of this, or

• Those times I try hard to cry out for help, but find myself reluctant or unable because of pride, fear, or even privilege – and life quickly takes me down.

Folks, needing “saved” can take on many faces.

And I know when all of those elements come together, they often form the perfect storm – and its then that I have been found in deep despair needing rescued. Crying out to God or anyone who would save me.

I think it is safe to say, we all at times need to be saved.

We need rescued.

We need liberated from those things that oppress and keep us from truly living.

One of the themes that seem to reoccur throughout human and biblical history is this need to be rescued. For some people of faith, that is all religion is about – being rescued from this planet and the suffering here.

But if we go back to the very beginning of the Bible to what scholars believe is where the story of “salvation” or being rescued began – we find the book of Exodus and the rescue from Egypt.

It was Rob Bell in his book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians where I first began to wrestle with what was actually meant by being rescued, liberated, and saved. Rob says,

“Egypt, the superpower of its day, was ruled by Pharaoh, who responded to the threat of the growing number of Israelites in his country by forcing them into slavery.

They had to work every day without a break making bricks, building storehouses for Pharaoh.

Egypt is an empire, built on the backs of Israelite slave labor, brick, by brick, by brick.

But right away in the book of Exodus, there is a disruption. Things change. And the change begins with God saying...

‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people...’

‘I have heard them crying out...’
‘I have come down to rescue them...’”

Now, this is a familiar story that continues to play out throughout our history.

The children of Israel under the oppression of the Egyptian regime, is the story of of the

• First Nations people in America

• Africans who were brought here enslaved.

• Women suffragettes who 100 years ago this year stood up and made their voice heard.

• LatinX families in cages on our borders.

• The LGBTQ and Stonewall Generation who have been standing up for 50+ years.

• All the refugees fleeing oppressive regimes around the world.

• But it is also the story of the South Africans during apartheid,

• The Jewish people in Nazi Germany,

• The people of Rawanda and Darfur during genocide,

• The Syrians, and the people of Gaza...oh...and the list never seems to end...

Each oppressed people have cried out to be rescued, from the drowning bondage, the slavery, the abuse, the oppression that kept them from truly living.

Each has and still wants to be saved, liberated, rescued, and free.  The cries continue on our streets today, as protests, marches, peaceful demonstrations hold up the voices of the oppressed. 

It is as Dr. King once said, “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.” 

And just like that original story from Exodus...God did not simply intervene and change the course of history with a wave of his hand (yes, at times, I believe there were miracles that took place).

But most of the time, God sent a human (one of us) filled with God’s transforming Light to intervene. Just like I believe that lifeguard was sent to rescue me in 5th grade God sent a deliverer named Moses to the people in Egypt.

And if we look carefully at history, God has been sending Light-filled humans to intervene throughout time. From…

Nelson Mandela

Elizabeth Fry
Galileo
Leonardo da Vinci
Mother Theresa
Abraham Lincoln
Rosa Parks
Martin Luther King Jr.
Susan B. Anthony
Gandhi
John Woolman
Harvey Milk
Billy Jean King
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Albert Einstein
Cesar Chavez
Sitting Bull

And the list could go on and on...

God has been raising up ordinary people to intervene, recue, liberate, and help save our neighbors all along.

The reality is, as Rob Bell points out,

“God needs a body. God needs flesh and blood. God needs bones and skin so that Pharaoh will know just who this God is he’s dealing with and how this God acts in the world. And not just so Pharaoh will know but so that all of humanity will know.”

I don’t need to explain this much, you know there have been and currently are many “Pharoah’s” in our world, which, I believe, God is in need of a body to resist and begin the liberation process for those oppressed.

God is calling women and men to be raised up, to bring the Good News, the hope of liberation, and rescue to the people of our world.

This is what I said last week about who we are – we are people who embrace the transforming power of love and the power of nonviolence.  When we strive to live this out in our daily lives – not in extraordinary ways but starting with our interactions with family, neighbors, fellow community members – we can begin to make a difference. 

People are slaves to many things today.

Maybe someone watching is being called to embrace the transforming power of love and free someone from the oppression of judgement, verbal or physical abuse, or even a Facebook troll.

Maybe someone is being called to embrace the transforming power of love and rescue a friend who is a slave to technology, their work schedule, personal isolation, pornography, or an addiction that is destroying their life.

Maybe someone is being called to embrace the transforming power of love and save a friend from that unhealthy relationship, family member, boss, political ideology, or racist conviction.  

Again the list could go on and on...

As Rob Bell states,

“It’s as if God is saying, “The thing that has happened to you – go make it happen for others. The freedom from oppression that you are now experiencing – help others experience that same freedom. The grace that has been extended to you when you were at your lowest – extend it to others. In the same way that I heard your cry, go and hear the cry of others and act on their behalf.”

I think too often we pray or cry out expecting a miracle, or for God to “magically” intervene, and while we are fervently praying or crying out and waiting for a miracle, we are missing our call, our opportunity, our moment where we become the hands and feet of Jesus to our neighbor. Folks, I believe God is wanting to utilize people like you and me - who have needed rescued, liberated and saved ourselves.

Like a life preserver, God wants to use us in his saving process.

I remember once teaching a college class and a student challenged a classmate on her fervent prayers. She said, “You say you continue to pray the same prayer each morning hoping for a change and looking for God to intervene...but have you ever thought that your prayer is a crutch not allowing you to be God’s instrument in the situation? Just maybe God wants to answer that prayer through you.”

The American Church is obsessed with the phrase “Jesus Saves” – but if we are going to see that transformation taking place in the lives of our neighbors, I think we need to go one step further and ask ourselves…

How does Jesus save?

How does Jesus rescue us?

How do we experience the rescue?

It might take a life guard jumping in the water to physically save you.
It might take a teacher educating you.
It might take a friend willing to say “no” to you.
It might take someone reminding you that you are loved.
It might  take a welcoming smile.
It might take a person to stand up for your rights.
It might take a person willing to sacrifice their life to get your attention.

Did you know that in the original Aramaic language of Jesus’ day, there was no word for salvation – or “being saved.”

Salvation was understood as a bestowal of life, and to be saved was “to be made alive.”

Civil Rights leader, theologian, and philosopher, Howard Thurman, was a man who understood oppression, who understood what it meant to be rescued or saved in the truest sense – to be made alive. He said,

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

I am telling you – if we turned off the news and turned to our neighbors and actually came alive and lived out of that transforming power of love – I sense the world would be a way better place – we would bring “salvation” to our neighbors (they too would come alive)!

Also, please hear me on this, I strongly believe if there is ANY oppression in this world, there is still work to do...and as Quakers whose distinctives flow out of equality, peace, integrity, and community we have an obligation to respond.

God is calling us to join the rescue effort.

God is calling us to be liberators of the oppressed!

God is calling us to find ways to lessen the oppression so all people can live together in peace.

So that ALL people can come alive to their full potential.

Quaker Rex Ambler put it this way in Rediscovering the Quaker Way,

“When we open ourselves to the truth of our life, our self-deceptions and denials are revealed, including the false image we have of ourselves, and at the same time we discover the true self that lies behind these images. We discover who we really are, not isolated and apart from others, but one with them, and with life itself. This awareness awakens a great feeling for life, and for others, that we can only call love...We are able to act out of love, that is, out of warm respect for other people and other creatures, so that we want spontaneously to help them and not harm them.”

I am so glad that lifeguard jumped in the water and saved me and my friend. I am so glad that God has called people throughout history to rise up and help our world come alive in the truest sense. And I am happy for people watching today who are being raised up to help, save, rescue, liberate, and bring alive their neighbors, family and friends…because folks, God is wanting to use you in his great plan of salvation, starting TODAY!

Now as we enter a time of waiting worship, ask yourself the following queries...

• How am I coming alive in this world, today?

• In what area do I need rescued, liberated, or saved?

• Who do I know who is living oppressed and needing rescued – that I am being called to join God in helping?

6-28-20 - Nonviolence: The Heart of the Matter

Nonviolence: The Heart of the Matter

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

June 28, 2020

Micah 6:8 (MSG)

8 But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.

As we have been working hard on creating our Peace Church Alliance – I have found myself having quite a few conversations about the Quaker’s nonviolent response in these turbulent times. It seems in every conversation whether about the racial unrest, the violence that has taken place, the ugly political scene, and even, the toll the pandemic and isolation is having on our mental health, at some point I am returning to non-violence and our Quaker peace testimony.

Sadly, too often today the nonviolent efforts that are happening go unnoticed by the news outlets because they are hard to sensationalize and get people to have a response. But as of late, I have started to notice side conversations beginning to happen which are talking about nonviolence, peace, and its importance in these difficult times.  And that gives me hope that as Quakers – we have something to offer our world – and that it might be time to again speak up with our lives and voices.   

It has been over a decade since that pacifist-progressive-Mennonite friend (I talked about last week in my sermon) introduced me to the nonviolent way. As I allowed him to mentor me, I found myself becoming more and more uncomfortable with the way I was educated, the things the church of my childhood had taught me, and how easily it was for me to accept violence and other beliefs that were counter to the teachings of Jesus – often in the name of religion or some denominational dogma.  

I was quickly realizing that violence was becoming more than an outward physical reaction and was often deeply rooted in many parts of my faith which I had never carefully examined.

I also realized something was happening within my own heart at multiple levels, and I knew that I needed to ask some serious queries of myself in relation to my own views and what I actually believed. 

This in many ways started a crisis of faith or what some may call a “dark night of the soul” in my life.   

As I said last week, it was in this crisis time (around many issues) that I headed into that year of diversity training at Huntington University and my first classes as a doctoral student at George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

I love how God often prepares the soil of our lives before getting ready to plant new seeds into our lives.

Most of you know, I became a student of nonviolent heroes (who I quote often) such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, John Woolman, and many more. 

Yet, it was specifically in my study about Gandhi’s influence on Martin Luther King Jr.’s spirituality where I began to hone my understanding of nonviolence and its importance at the core of my life. 

At the time, I had no clue that it was the work of Bayard Rustin – a Quaker and nonviolent activist who influenced King in learning about Gandhi.  Over the coming years I would begin to see the importance of the Quaker testimony of Peace and how nonviolence could influence the world for change.

As I began to study the concept of non-violence the following quote from Gandhi, in a book edited by Thomas Merton titled, “On Non-Violence” caught my attention. Mahatma Gandhi says,

Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being. . ..

If love or non-violence be not the law of our being, the whole of my argument falls to pieces. . ..

Belief in non-violence is based on the assumption that human nature in its essence is one and therefore unfailingly responds to the advances of love. . ..

If one does not practice non-violence in one’s personal relations with others and hopes to use it in bigger affairs, one is vastly mistaken.

To begin seeing the seat of nonviolence as my heart, started an evolution in my soul. In many ways, I was learning (and for that matter continue to learn each and every day) that the condition of my heart was key to how I respond to my world.

This was a little different than just saying I had the love of Jesus down in my heart, like I was taught in Sunday School.  

This was saying that it was more than just an acknowledgement or belief. For the first time, I sensed the need to take care of nurturing my heart, finding inner peace, and connecting to my inner light to help me become a more peaceful and non-violent presence in this world.

I had to own up to and admit that some of the violence I experienced in this world – I actually caused (and still do) – and it stemmed from my own soul (and still does).  

It is clear from the conversations that are taking place currently in our communities, neighborhoods, and on the world stage – until we deal with the violence in our own hearts – the violence is going to continue. 

This is where the issues of today are still our problem – not just bad choices of people in the past.  You and I sadly perpetuate the violence when we don’t take a moment to look inside and admit our own violence and its impact on those around us.  We can’t deal with systemic racism, injustice, or violence until we first wrestle with the personal violences within our own hearts.

Gandhi wrestled with this as well. Not only did he begin to see non-violence (or as he named it Satyagraha) as inseparable from our being, he also saw it as desperately important to the future and shalom (peace) of humankind.

Unless we found the seeds of nonviolence in our own lives, the world was not going to get any better.

I have mentioned this before, but it should be reiterated here – On many occasions, Gandhi mentioned that he developed his ideas about Satyagraha (nonviolence) in large part from the New Testament teachings of Jesus.

Gandhi considered Satyagraha a way to synthesize Jesus’ teaching about peace and non-violence into the life of the individual.

He believed that non-violence came through embracing the qualities Jesus lived out in his life – such as: 

• loving our enemies,

• seeking truth,

• experiencing personal transformation,

• being people of virtue,

• and having a religious faith

all things that Jesus had lived out in his life and had said should flow from our hearts.

If you remember, on one occasion, Jesus goes out of his way to make a point with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law about where our thoughts, beliefs, actions, and what we say and believe are rooted…Jesus said it bluntly in Eugene Peterson’s version of Matthew 12:34-37 – he said…

“You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard.” (MSG)

The importance of the condition of the heart was something that Martin Luther King Jr. also learned from Jesus.  Bayard Rustin helped nurture those beliefs by encouraging him to study Gandhi during the difficult days of the Civil Rights movement.

King knew that retaliation or violent means were not what should flow from the heart and if they did it would only make things worse.

Rustin showed King how Gandhi was leading sit-ins, walk-outs, and marches in India with non-violent methods and King adopted the same perspectives for his movement. 

The key for both of them was to make sure their heart was centered and in the right place.  This is exactly what I have been hearing as I have participated with other faith leaders in peaceful demonstrations, prayer vigils, and Juneteenth celebrations in the last few weeks.  Over and over the focus has been on how our current work flows from the same non-violent tradition that Rustin, Gandhi, and King modeled and lived.     

King realized nonviolence and nonviolent resistance were better responses to what he was facing – and like many today, there was push back and disagreement.   King also realized that to do this work meant to go deeper and see what was behind the outward violence – something many people are calling our politicians, teachers, and leaders on today.  These are deep rooted systemics problem that are going to take time and a non-violent approach. 

For Martin Luther King Jr. going deeper and seeing behind the violence meant to start within himself.  King said this,   

“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”

King’s views changed dramatically as he internalized an ethos of nonviolence and allowed his responses to flow from that centered space.

I believe, King, Rustin, and Gandhi all realized that nonviolence transcends our outward actions and must be rooted in our hearts where true love is found, and nonviolence has its beginnings. 

Gandhi said it this way, 

“Nonviolence, which is a quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.”

Nonviolence was not simply a body of knowledge to learn or be taught – it was something that as I said a couple of weeks ago when talking about the Beloved Community which must be lived.  If it is planted deep within each of us and is cultivated and nurtured it will become a way of life.

Martin Luther King Jr. broke down nonviolence into six principles that clearly show us how nonviolence must stem from our depths starting with them being a way of life…take a moment to allow them to speak to your current condition…

Principle 1: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.

Principle 2: Nonviolence seeks to win friendships and understanding.

Principle 3: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people.

Principle 4: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform.

Principle 5: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.

Principle 6: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.

This is how King saw the Beloved Community growing into something beautiful – by starting within oneself and making this a way of life. 

In our text that Beth read for this morning, another prophet, the prophet Micah said it this way implying a nonviolent approach…

8 But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.

Or as you may be more used to hearing it…

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

What God wants of us resonates with Gandhi, Rustin, King, and I believe Quakers as well.  It sounds simple, but it is the foundation for building an “ethos of peace” in our world. 

Our hearts should be filled with the desire to do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with our God – and that, I believe describes a nonviolent spirit.  

Folks, love is nonviolent.

Love is peaceful.

Love is kind.

Love is what binds us to one another. 

And when that is what is found in our hearts, we can understand better King’s words….

“Love is a force by which God binds man to Himself and man to man. Such love goes to the extreme; it remains loving and forgiving even in the midst of hostility. It matches the capacity of evil to inflict suffering with an even more enduring capacity to absorb evil, all the while persisting in love.”

This, as Quakers, is who we are.  I love how it is stated in our Quaker Testimonies on the American Friends Service Committee site:  

In renouncing war and violence, Friends embrace the transforming power of love and the power of nonviolence, striving for peace in daily interactions with family, neighbors, fellow community members, and those from every corner of the world.

This is who we are – people who embrace the transforming power of love and the power of nonviolence.  When we strive to live this out in our daily lives – not in extraordinary ways but starting with our interactions with family, neighbors, fellow community members – we can begin to make a difference. 

American Friends Service Committee has offered some queries for us to ponder regarding nonviolence and our current times. As we enter waiting worship, take some time to ponder these as we wait and listen.

1.     How can I nurture the seeds of peace within myself, my community, and the world?

2.     How can I be more open to seeking the goodness in people who act with violence and hatred?

3.     How can I increase my understanding of nonviolence and use it in all my interactions?

6-21-20 - Originator of Light

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

June 21, 2020

James 1:16-18 (MSG)

16-18 So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

When I first arrived at Huntington University as the Assistant Director of Campus Ministries thirteen years ago, I was asked to lead an in-depth Bible Study for the students on campus every Friday for the entire year. 

After discussing what books of the Bible, I would consider studying, I told my campus ministry team that I was thinking of facilitating a study on the book of James. 

At first the team was excited but then paused as if I was going to say something more.  Finally, one person asked, “James is a very short book, what other books are you going to cover throughout the year?”

Now, I had decided every Friday we would simply take a word by word explorative journey through the book of James - unheard of, for such a short book. 

But I knew the book of James held a lot to discuss and ponder, and I looked forward to the challenge. So, for about two thirds of that school year I met in an auditorium with a couple hundred students every Friday.

It was one of the most engaging and challenging studies I have ever attempted. And yes, we only studied the Book of James.  

I share that story, because in some ways, teaching that class was a centering time for me before entering a very interesting time of life. 

You see, not only was I a husband, a father of three young boys, and now, a member of the campus ministry team at a Christian college, I had just come through a difficult time of church planting as well as church closing in the Anglican Church in the Detroit area.

We had just moved to Indiana from Garden City, Michigan, and we would continue to own our house in Garden City for the next two years because of the recession.

At this time our young family of five was forced to live with my parents in New Haven, Indiana. Not only was this a very difficult time, the things we had gone through were teaching us to see the world, our faith, those around us, and even God in a new Light.  

As I mentioned I was entering a very interesting time.

By the end of that year and study on James I was considering starting doctoral studies at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, and Huntington University had decided to enter a year focused on diversity and issues of race.

Upon arriving at Huntington, I had been asked by the university to create a Facebook profile – not knowing that this would be my new way of communicating to the college students for the rest of my time there.  How time flies – I also remember I did not own a smart phone when I started.  

I also found myself moving away from being an Anglican priest, and a new friend and colleague in my life, a progressive Mennonite was teaching me about pacifism, the living/historic peace churches, and nonviolent resistance. 

Not long after this, my family and I would join a group of peace-minded friends each week to discuss and encourage each other in this work. Still, this was all yet to come. 

So, let’s return to that Bible Study…

One Friday, we had a rather packed auditorium – I think it was because students needed to get their chapel credits and it was the end of the semester. 

Yet that morning, I started our class with a blank large white board on the stage.  To engage the students, I asked them to name words that described God.

For the next several minutes, we filled the board with a plethora of words from loving to wrathful and everything in between. 

I then asked the students where they learned those descriptors and they shared the typical places – church, Sunday school, parents, VBS, etc.… 

I then made what I thought was a natural transition to the text we were to discuss (which happens to be our text for today).  So, I read,

16-18 So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

Immediately a hand went up…and I called on a young man who had attended every Friday and always engaged in the conversation in a meaningful way. 

This week, I could see he looked rather disturbed.  He then said, “I have a hard time with these verses.  My dad left my mom when I was young and has nothing to do with me or my family.” 

At that point you could hear a pin drop.  He then went on to explain how he has struggled with the view of God as Father.  As with all good discussions, immediately hands went up and we started a much deeper conversation. 

For some God must be male.

For some God must be a parent figure.

For some God had to be a disciplinarian, and yet… 

For some God seemed absent much like this young man had explained. 

Emotions raised quickly, and for the first time I went and grabbed a chair and sat on the stage just listening. 

For several minutes, students aired out the issues they had with their dads or parents, others defended the views they had been taught by their churches, and some just sat very silently. 

What all this was landing on was one word from our text that for them was such a strong and polarizing word – Father.

Now, there was a good chance that I was the only father in that auditorium that day, but as I listened to the students talk, I began to think about my own views of God and being a father. 

Even though I have a caring, quiet and rather passive father who I can relate to my understanding of God, it was clear from the student’s angst and frustration this was not the case for everyone.

Actually, for these students, the father descriptor and metaphor seemed almost problematic. Either God was not living up to their understanding of being the proper father in their life or their physical father was not living up to be a godly example.

Interestingly enough, for the next several years, I personally began wrestling with the idea of God as father, but it wasn’t until about four years later that I returned to this particular scripture.

I, like many of my students, and many other Christians had focused so much on the role of the father and its example for earthly fathers (such as myself) that I completely put the focus on a standard that was too high to humanly attain. No wonder so many of my students had wrestled with this. 

As I started my doctoral studies, I was introduced to feminist, Black, progressive, and other unique and challenging theologies and spiritualities – and that included the one I landed within - Quakers.

I believe it was because of that conversation on fathers at Huntington University that I began to notice how often Quakers referenced the “Father of Light” in our teachings, as well as, early and current documents.  This description is referenced in our own faith and practice and seems to be a rather Quakerly descriptor of God.    

I probably should have seen it when reading our scripture for today – the way Eugene Peterson translated this text is almost speaking directly to Quakers.

Peterson’s translation of James’ words even starts by addressing his dear “Friends” and then he gives a warning.

Don’t get thrown off course.

But let’s be honest…that is so easy to do whether reading scripture or just trying to process life. That is exactly what my students did 13 years ago – they had been thrown off course by struggling with their own images of father.

Yet, I see it still happening during this crazy time of Covid-19, racial unrest, politics, 24/7 media.  We can easily get off course. We too can get hyper focused and miss the bigger point.  But what is that bigger point?

If we continue in our scripture, we might see a completely different picture. 

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven.

The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.

Let’s be honest - we all love receiving gifts – especially desirable and beneficial ones – but what if we were thrown off course and were missing the gifts before us.  What if instead of seeing what God was offering, we were caught up in thoughts or beliefs that were throwing us off course?

The weeks following that conversation with the students, I did an exegetical study on what was meant by the descriptor “Father of Lights.”  Boy, was that a study.

God is Light.

God is the creator of light.

God is the creator of the heavenly lights.

And then I read God is the author or originator of the Light.  The Light God has placed in each person.

Father was both a patriarchal and humanly way of translating what should have been more appropriately author or originator of Light. That light which is found in each one of us. 

That light as Peterson so poetically described is “cascading down” from the Originator of Light – through or over what is it cascading? – YOU AND ME.

What James was trying to say was one of the most beautiful and Quakerly things in scripture. The Originator of Light, who is not deceitful, not two-faced, not fickle is cascading through each of us – it is the Light within us. 

The Light that helps us dispel the darkness of our world. 

The Light that helps make us better fathers and mothers, neighbors, friends.

The Light that, if we connect to it, will help us not be deceitful, two-faced, fickle…and we could probably continue to add even more relevant descriptors like racist, homophobic, misogynistic, narcissistic, abusive, arrogant, naive, and the list goes on.

And James goes on to say, “He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.” Let me restate it to make a bit more sense for our current condition.

The originator of Light has given us life (birthed the light within us) and has shown us how to live. When referencing the True Word – James is talking about Jesus who has taught us the way to live this Light Life.

And finally, James makes the point that each and every one of us (no matter if we are Fathers, Mothers, Children, Neighbors, Friends) are special to the Originator of that Light within us all.  Let us seek that Light in everyone we meet as well as in ourselves!

To help us continue to process these thoughts, I have some queries for you to ponder as we enter waiting worship:

1.     What descriptors of God do I have the hardest time relating to? And why?

2.     What has “thrown me off course” and not allowed me to see the good gifts of God in my life?

3.     How might seeing the Light of God “cascading down” through my life and the lives of those around me help me to value each person in this world? 

6-14-20 - Turning to One Another: The Beloved Community

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

June 14, 2020

1 Corinthians 12:14-18

14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

It has been almost a decade since first reading the book, Turning to One Another, by author and activist Margaret Wheatley. In it she wrote a rather prophetic word that is still speaking clearly today. She said,

“Our twenty-first-century world is descending into aggression, fear, and separation. War, genocide, violence, slavery, pandemics, poverty, natural disasters – all these are commonplace in this new century, despite most people’s deep longing to live together in peace.”

The answer Margaret poses later in the book sounds simple... we need to “turn to one another” and realize that we need each other more than ever. 

I often wonder, especially lately, if we realize this truth - that our world is not complete without each and every person in it? Together we make it whole.

These last few weeks, I have seen a great deal of hope in the midst of all the unrest.  Conversations have begun, perspectives have changed, and education is happening. The stories are no longer just someone else’s history – they are ours in this moment. 

And I am hopeful because I am seeing people turning to one another.  

The Apostle Paul echoes this important truth that we need each other in his letter to the Corinthians which Beth just read. I want to read it again, this time, from The Message Version to give it a bit more relevance and impact.

14-18 I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.

If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so?

If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body?

If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell?

As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.  (1 Corinthians 12:14-18 MSG)

But sadly, Paul’s vision was not the same vision of many in the world, in our country especially, and even in the Church.  For that matter, it was a radical idea in Bible times – let’s be honest, there are many “amputations” throughout our scriptures and due to our scriptures – from the descendants of Ham cursing the entire Black race to Jesus being crucified by Jews indicating reason for a holocaust.  

The reality is that throughout history, too many have thought that some “parts” of the body we could do without.

And it was more than them not being elegant, embellished, and beautiful, even though these were issues when it came to skin color, eye shape, hair types, clothing choices, and many other comparisons.

In reality, it came down to the fact that one set of people deemed another group unworthy, inferior, or simply less-than and thus “amputations” were accepted and never rarely questioned.  

Entire people groups in our own country have been treated as less-than, inferior, unworthy, and removed from or moved outside the body and we have created systems to do just that.

From the natives on this land whom we forced ourselves upon and then displaced…

To the Africans we brought here to work enslaved for us…

To the Asian Americans we put into camps during World War II and more recently have blamed for Coronavirus…

To the LGBTQ people we have labeled, refused, and led to higher rates of suicide…

To the LatinX families separated in cages on our borders, currently. 

And please note…this is only a surface list…our amputations are many.  

It seems clear that the current condition in our country is an outcome of a moral and spiritual failure. And I believe that failure began with our willing complicity in “amputating” curtain people groups from among us.     

Those words of Margaret Wheatly, “Turn to one another” rings a prophetic voice, once again. As people of faith we must admit we are not complete until every single groups matters and that deep longing to live together in peace becomes a reality.

Or what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exclaimed as “The Beloved Community.”

If you have read any major work by Martin Luther King Jr. you will have read about his belief in the “The Beloved Community.” Even though first coined by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, King popularized the term and invested it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people of goodwill all over the world.

For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal of a rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom where lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony - which we have to admit many Quakers hold dear while refusing to take little action toward.

Rather, The Beloved Community was for King a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence. As Quakers, it seems this should be a natural fit. 

Dr. King’s Beloved Community has become something some Quakers and many other people of faith around the world have begun to embrace, promote, and strive to create. Yet many are still wrestling with what all it entails and the work it is going to take. 

Just listen as I read the description of the Beloved Community.

The Beloved Community is a realistic vision of an achievable society, one in which problems and conflict exist, but are resolved peacefully and without bitterness.

In the Beloved Community, caring and compassion drive political policies that support the worldwide elimination of poverty and hunger and all forms of bigotry and violence.

The Beloved Community is a state of heart and mind a spirit of hope and goodwill that transcends all boundaries and barriers and embraces all creation.

At its core, the Beloved Community is an engine of reconciliation.  This way of living seems a long way from the kind of world we have now, but I do believe it is a goal that can be accomplished through courage and determination and through education and training, if enough people are willing to make the necessary commitment.

Now, if you carefully note, The Beloved Community is about living out our Quaker S.P.I.C.E.S. in real-time. This community is where simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship come together to make the world a better place.

It was Quaker Bayard Rustin who taught Dr. King to value nonviolence and positive peace (not passive peace) and helped instill in him that even though conflict is an inevitable part of the human experience, conflict could be resolved peacefully and adversaries could be reconciled through a mutual, determined commitment to nonviolence.

No conflict, he believed, need erupt in violence. And all conflicts in The Beloved Community should end with reconciliation of adversaries cooperating together in a spirit of friendship and goodwill.

Currently, I am sure some of you who are watching, are thinking, this is a far reach…but I must ask, “Is it really?”

The difficult place we must begin is with ourselves.  As King pointed out, this is a way of living – which is going to take you and me doing some soul searching and admitting where we have amputated people, cultures, races, family from our own lives. And then asking why?  

I have had to painfully reflect on those in my past and even those currently whom I still find myself deeming unworthy and inferior – those I am willing to ignore just because it is too difficult to try and understand. A LatinX friend of mine recently posted on Facebook something that really hit me,

White privilege is being able to turn off the news because everything is too chaotic and controversial and these issues don’t really affect you.    

Yep, I am guilty. 

It also means we have to turn to one another and have the difficult conversation of how we can make a change together.

Sue, Sam and I had one of these conversations with our neighbor the other day. For about an hour, our neighbor, a woman of color in her 60’s shared her experience of the pain of racism in our country. Our conversation quickly turned into a listening session as she told us of her story and gave us an education.

This is also exactly why we are promoting a combined effort between our living or historic peace churches. Together, we are able to commit in a more unified way to nonviolence and have a greater voice for what King outlined - peacefully reconciling, cooperating, and ending the violence we see in our world.

But let’s be honest, these are just first steps.

Several years ago, a friend I was staying with for a conference at his church shared with me how Quaker principles and values had been instrumental in developing his church’s direction.  In his explanation he shared with me his churches commitments that grew out utilizing Quaker principles. He said, at his church they are committed to 6 foundational areas:

1.     Roots  

2.     Journey

3.     Wholeness                          

4.     Community                         

5.     Serving                                 

6.     Celebration                        

But he wasn’t done.  He then gave each of the six commitments directions.

Roots (Looking Backward)

Journey (Looking Forward)

Wholeness (Looking Inward)

Community (Looking Withward)

Serving (Looking Outward)

Celebration (Looking Upward)

Not only are these 6 foundations excellent for developing a ministry’s purpose, I think they are integral to developing the Beloved Community. Obviously, I do not have the time to unpack my thoughts on each of these foundations right now, but, I share them as a way to proceed with our processing during this difficult time.  

To help us begin this process, I have created some queries to ponder in the coming days based on these 6 foundations.

1. What historic roots (whether in my country, my church, my family, my community) are important to re-examine, be educated on, and teach to help benefit the development of the Beloved Community?

2. What journey do I need to take (and who must I ask along on the journey) to form a better expression of the Beloved Community?  In moving forward what might I have to leave behind or what might I have to take along?  Where might I need to get out of my box? 

3. When looking inward, where am I not whole? What or who am I missing? What would make me a more healthy and vibrant expression of the Beloved Community? 

4. Is community being developed in my life and ministry and am I becoming a faithful presence to the communities in which I participate, currently? 

5. Who am I really serving? How much of my serving is self-serving? In looking outside myself and our meeting, who truly needs to be served? 

6. How am I celebrating and finding joy with others? Am I able to see the reasons for giving thanks, remembering, and appreciating all people and their stories? 

Let us now take some time to ponder these queries and how we will engage important conversations this week. 

6-7-20 - A Prayer Service of Lament for Race & Injustice

A Prayer Service of Lament for Race & Injustice

by Paul Burkhart (modified)

 

This morning, with all that is going on in our world, we do not feel our usual format for meeting for worship lends to our condition. No sermon or heart-felt words are sufficient to speak to these times. Instead, today, we are offering a special service of lament and prayer written by Paul Burkhart. This meeting for worship will consist of prayers, scriptures, songs, and moments of silence for personal lament, reflection, and expectant waiting on God. Will you join me in a moment of silence to center ourselves for worship….

Opening Prayer

Let us pray….
God of love, open our eyes to see the suffering of all our sisters and brothers
God of justice, open our ears to hear those who cry out
God of healing, open our hearts to acknowledge and share our own pain and the pain of others
In the power of the Spirit, let us know the truth, and may the truth set us free from all bondage and blindness. Amen.

 

Scripture

A selection from the Book of Habakkuk, written by a prophet of God while living in the midst of sin and destruction within God’s people.

 1 2 O Lord, how long shall we cry for help, and you not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
3 Why do you make us see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before us; strife and contention arise.
4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous—therefore judgment is perverted.
12 Are you not from of old, O Lord my God, my Holy One? You shall not die. O Lord, O Rock, you have marked injustice for judgment.
13 Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, and you cannot look on wrongdoing; so why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?

Prayers

God of hope,

Let us not rush to the language of healing, before understanding the fullness of the injury and the depth of the wound.
Let us not speak of reconciliation without speaking of reparations and restoration, or how we can repair the breach and how we can restore the loss
Let us not value property over people; let us not protect material objects while human lives hang in the balance.
Let us not value a false peace over a righteous justice.
Let us not be afraid to sit with the ugliness, the messiness, and the pain that is life in community together.
Let us not offer clichés to the grieving, those whose hearts are being torn asunder.

Let us mourn black and brown men and women, whose lives and bodies are too often devalued and discarded by a nation whose sins have been too quickly forgotten.
Let us lament the loss of lives by those tasked with protecting and serving the communities they police
Let us weep at a criminal justice system, which is often neither blind nor just.
Let us be men and women willing to mourn and rend our garments of privilege and ease, and sit in the ashes of this nation’s original sin.
Let us be silent when we don’t know what to say.
Let us be humble and listen to the pain, rage, and grief pouring from the lips of our neighbors and friends.

God, in your mercy…
Show us our own complicity in injustice.
Convict us for our indifference.
Forgive us for when we have remained silent.
Equip us with a zeal for righteousness.
Never let us grow accustomed or acclimated to unrighteousness.
Amen.

[A moment of Silence to personally lament, reflect and expectantly wait on God]

Scripture

The following scriptures are selections from the Book of Lamentations, written after violence and injustice visited God’s people in the nation of Israel.

20See, O Lord, how distressed we are; our stomachs churn, our hearts are wrung within us, because in the city streets, the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death.

218 Cry aloud to the Lord! Let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!
19 Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.
20 Look, O Lord, and consider! To whom have you done this?
21 The young and the old are lying on the ground in the streets; young women and young men have fallen by the sword; in the day of your anger you have killed them, slaughtering without mercy.

Prayers

God, we are stunned and deeply troubled by the killings that occurred last week, and every week, all across our country. We lift prayers to you, asking that your Spirit intercede for us and for this world.

We mourn with those who are suffering the loss of George Floyd in Minneapolis. May your Spirit give them peace.

We pray that your Church does not become polarized any more than it already is in this moment–may the Church proclaim, with words and with action, both that black lives matter and that acts of violence against public servants are wrong.

May our Meeting and the greater Church vocalize God’s definitive “NO” to the murder of black lives. May all of us be awakened and stand alongside the black community, willing to lay aside confusion and questions and to proclaim that this epidemic of police violence must be addressed. May privilege and power be used as a means to raise awareness and demand justice. May leaders feel pressure from all who live in their communities–white, brown, black–and respond with plans to stop the destruction of black bodies.

We lift in prayer the police officers who must show up for work today, who are doing a dangerous job for too little pay, who are personally blamed for the failure of the whole system. Give them wisdom and strength as those whom we rely on to maintain composure, fairness, and a commitment to the common good. Come alongside them, Lord. Grant them protection and empower them to serve justly.

We pray for healing in communities that carry the weight of generations of broken-down relationships between law enforcement and the people they are called to serve. We lament our history of racism and pray for love in the face of violence.

May your Church and our Meeting be afflicted in its core again for this sign of a deep sickness in our communities.

May we listen to the prophetic voices speaking truth and pleading for action.

May our prayers find footing, that we might live lives that are answers to our prayers for peace and justice. Amen.

[A moment of Silence to personally lament, reflect and expectantly wait on God]

 

Scripture

More words from the book of Lamentations.

319 The thought of our affliction is bitterness in our hearts. 20 Our souls continually think of it and are bowed down within us. 21 But this we call to mind, and therefore have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
31 For the Lord will not reject forever.
32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.

34 When all the prisoners of the land are crushed under foot, 35 when human rights are perverted in the presence of the Most High, 36 when one’s case is subverted—does the Lord not see it?

Prayers

God of the cross and the lynching tree,
of the jail cell and the street corner,
of the bible study and the police car,
look upon the world you have made.

See how it is full of hatred and how violence inhabits the earth.
Gunshots ring out under the heavens that declare your glory,
singing the destruction of your children.

The streets and sidewalks of this world you love flow with blood,
pouring out the cries of your beloveds.
Do you not hear them?

The clanging of cell doors ring out,
tolling the lives stolen by systemic oppression and unspeakable violence.
Do you not hear it?

How long, O God, will you keep silent?
How long will we fail to be your voice?

In these days, as in days past,
our mothers and grandmothers have become mourners.
our fathers and grandfathers have become grievers.
our children have become wanderers in vacant rooms
our communities have become filled with empty chairs.

Remember the people you have redeemed, Holy One.
Remember the work of salvation brought about by your love.

Arise O God and defend the cause of your heart.
Raise up in us the cries of outrage.
Raise up in us commitment to the long struggle for justice.
Raise up in us the determination to drive out racism.
Raise up in us the grief that cannot be comforted.
Raise up in us the courage to speak truth to power, and hope to hatred.

God of the ones with hands up and the ones who can’t breathe,
Of those with power and privilege who try to do their best
Of those tasked with exercising state power and service for us and against us,
Lord, look upon the world you have made.

Do not forget your afflicted people forever
so that we might praise your holy name with joyful lips.
Amen.

[A moment of Silence to personally lament, reflect and expectantly wait on God]

Scripture

More words from the book of lamentations.

5 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace! 3 We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows.
7 Our ancestors sinned; they are no more, and we bear their iniquities.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning.

16 The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our hearts are sick, because of these things our eyes have grown dim.

19 But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.
20 Why have you forgotten us completely? Why have you forsaken us these many days
21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored; renew our days as of old—22 unless you have utterly rejected us, and are angry with us beyond measure.

Prayers

Oh God, visit us now in our mourning
Be near to us in our lament.

Blood has been shed, precious lives have been lost, evil has had its say.
We acknowledge the hold racism and prejudice have on our national psyche.
Set us free from this bondage.

We acknowledge that violence has been matched with violence, and many are in pain and distress.
Bring healing to us all.

We pray now for the Church in the United States, part of the body of Christ on earth, that it may be a voice of peace, a light of love, working for reconciliation and unity, working for justice.

May we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters; all races, all skin colors, all ethnicities.
May we stand against racism and injustice.
May we stand for love.

Lord, we confess our sins to you:
For all the ways we are complicit in perpetuating racism
For all the ways we have hidden the light of Christ
For all the times we have kept silent
For all the times we have capitulated to fear of ridicule and retaliation
For all the ways we’ve given over to apathy
For all the ways our own prosperity has blinded us to the needs of others.
Forgive us, Oh God.

Protect the innocent Oh God!
Open the eyes of the blind!
Rout out the unjust!
Thwart the plans of the greedy and power-hungry!

May Christ, who re-imagined death, give us inspiration for how to move forward.
May Christ, who said upon rising from the grave, “Peace be with you,” bring us into his kingdom.
May Christ, who did not retaliate but offered forgiveness, share with us his vision.

Lord, have mercy
Christ, be our light and peace.
Amen.

Closing Prayer

O God, true source of wholeness and peace, in a world bearing fresh wounds of suffering and grief, you call us to be a people of healing. Help us to reach out to neighbors in need, to bear one another’s burdens, to weep with those who weep. Give us the grace to share the comfort of Christ with all those who long for his healing touch. Help us to hold in our hearts and show in our lives what we proclaim with our lips: 

Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; hope is stronger than despair. Amen!

The prayers in the service were modified from the Reformed Church in America Worship page and The Book of Common Prayer, as well as contemporary prayers by Fran Pratt, Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, and Rev. Dr. Sharon R. Fennema.

5-31-20 - We Can Do This Hard Thing - Beth Henricks

We Can Do This Hard Thing

Beth Henricks

Scripture – Exodus 4:1-17

Quotations from former President Barack Obama and Nadia Bolz Weber

I’ve been reflecting  all week about this message for our graduation Sunday, a graduation like no other in our time.   My heart has been heavy that our seniors do not get to celebrate with parties, gatherings with friends, senior breakfasts, award banquets, prom, senior skip day, commencement face to face – all of the rites and rituals that most of us experienced in our youth.    

This is a loss that is deep but will eventually be logged in the memory books for our young people.  As I talk to older folks, many don’t remember their graduation clearly or say it was a ritual with a small amount of meaning.  The joy was in the accomplishment and we celebrate the accomplishments of all of our seniors today.

What I believe is even more difficult is thinking about our future.  All of our futures.  I hear pundits on TV talk about pandemic fatigue. We knew that we had to stay at home and completely change our lifestyle to slow this virus down for a time, but now we are faced with uncertainty about school. 

How will our young people experience their first year of college?  How will all of our children receive their education this fall?  How will our beloved teachers be able to teach in this environment?  How difficult will it be for college graduates to get a job in their field of education?   Can folks with compromised immune systems go to stores and restaurants? 

How and when can we safely open our Meeting house?  There are so many questions and few answers right now.  We are living in uncertain times with a desperate need for things to go back to normal. And yet I am not certain that things will ever be completely back to normal.

We are living in some shaky times and the longer this goes on the more fear and anxiety we feel.  Many of our plans and goals have been altered, postponed or dashed because of this pandemic.  I felt this heaviness several weeks ago as I contemplated ministry in this new environment.  

It’s hard to think about how our First Friends social events, our gatherings, our fellowship over food will change.  I think every single one of us has had these moments of sadness and disappointment and fatigue in trying to figure out our path in this situation.

I have been thinking a lot about the history of mankind and how many times we have experienced a crisis, a situation that seems beyond hope, beyond a path forward, beyond anything we could have anticipated or thought about.   While it does feel like this situation we are in with the pandemic is unique, we know there have been plagues, wars, devastating situations that we could never have imagined in our human history.   While this feels unique to us, our forebears have experienced devastation and despair.  The book of Lamentations in the Old Testament is full of this lament and at some of my darkest hours I find comfort and solace in reading this poetry of raw emotions. 

And then I started considering Moses and some of the other great characters in the Bible.  The scripture that Bob read today has Moses arguing with God about what God is calling Moses to live through and demanding Moses step into a role to lead the Israelites out of its bondage to Egypt.  Moses knows the difficulties he will face, and he really doesn’t want to have to take this on.  He asks God to choose someone else, that he just doesn’t have the wherewithal to step into this.  Moses tells God there are others more qualified, more polished, more prepared folks to do this work.   God is having none of these excuses because he knows Moses is the one.   However, God does understand Moses strengths and weakness and suggests Moses brother Aaron as a person to assist Moses. 

What I appreciate about this story is that God doesn’t have a problem with Moses shaking his fist at God and saying I don’t want to do this.  It’s too hard.  And that an uncertain and fearful future does not have to be faced alone.  That God brings others into our lives to support and assist with some of the hard work we are doing.  Parents, siblings, friends,  colleagues, acquaintances, strangers.  And that God will never leave us or abandon us.  God will be right beside us through these difficult times. 

There are so many stories in our history of folks that have had to step into situations that were difficult, or the path forward was uncertain, or the individual had to work uphill to positively affect change in a situation that looked bleak.  I was reminded of such a person this week as I read The Writer’s Almanac this past Thursday. 

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross on May 21st, 1881.   Clara was a shy young girl and had a stutter (just as described of Moses).  She started teaching at 18 and found her voice as a teacher.  She went to work in the United States Patent Office  in Washington DC in 1854 and advanced and made sure that her salary was equal with the men in her office (unheard of at the time).  By 1861 the civil war was exploding, and Clara assisted wounded soldiers back to their families and communities.  As the war progressed, she realized the Union Army had not provided adequate support for wounded soldiers and she often rode in ambulances and provided supplies and comfort to these frontline men that had been injured in battle.

After the war she traveled internationally and learned of the International Red Cross and convinced our government that an American Red Cross should be established.  A woman in that time period that had little status with limited rights established an organization that is one of the most respected organizations in our country coming to the aid of so many through all kinds of different challenges even today.  How did she do this?

How did David face Goliath as a young shepherd boy with a slingshot?  How did Daniel face the lions in the den that were prepared to kill him?  How did John the Baptist face the community with a radical message of love?  How did Saul who persecuted Christians with a vengeance become Paul – the most profound apostle in establishing the early Church?    The situations and circumstances were beyond anything these beloved characters in our Bible could have imagined.  Just like today.

I was inspired to hear our former President Barack Obama share a message to all of our graduating seniors last weekend.  This excerpt sounds a lot like our Quaker testimonies that guide our life. 

He said, “I hope you decide to ground yourself in values that last, like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others.

You won’t get it right every time, you’ll make mistakes like we all do. But if you listen to the truth that’s inside yourself, even when it’s hard, even when its inconvenient, people will notice. They’ll gravitate towards you. And you’ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

And finally, build a community. No one does big things by themselves. Right now, when people are scared, it’s easy to be cynical and say let me just look out for myself, or my family, or people who look or think or pray like me.

But if we’re going to get through these difficult times; if we’re going to create a world where everybody has the opportunity to find a job and afford college; if we’re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we’re going to have to do it together. So be alive to one another’s struggles. Stand up for one another’s rights.”

This is a time friends that we need to help set our world on a different path.  We have to come together even through our different lenses, different views, politics, experiences, rural and urban settings.  It is through God’s love for all and God’s presence within us that gives us the foundation for a hope that is full and yet cognizant of the reality we live in today.   

I have become a big fan of Nadia Bolz Weber, the Lutheran pastor that has written a number of books and has quite a following.  She wrote a recent blog post that grabbed me about how we survive these times. 

She read a book by Navy Admiral James Stockdale who survived 8 years as a POW in North Vietnamese prison camp.  When he was asked who of his fellow prisoners struggled to make it out alive, he replied,

“The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart….”

So, the “Stockdale Paradox” is the ability to hold two opposing but equally true things at once:  You must have faith that you will prevail in the end.  And at the same time, you must confront the brutal facts of your current reality.

When I stop and check in with myself, I must say - I believe we will prevail.  I have faith in the power of human love and creativity and resilience and kindness and humor.  And I believe God to be the source of our love and creativity and resilience and kindness and humor, which means there is an eternal supply on which to draw when we just don't have what it takes.   So, here’s the thing - we can turn resolutely to these brutal facts and even so, we will prevail. There is a global pandemic, and we will prevail. There will be death, and we will prevail. There are long hoped-for events in the future that will not happen, and we will prevail. There will be lost things and people and income and dreams and still, we will prevail. And all we really have is this day. And it is enough. “

Friends, as we face our reality and continue to have hope, we can hold on to this idea that we will prevail.  We will be able to do these hard things.  And our God will never leave us or abandon us.  Our God is with us always.  And will give us strength to do these hard things.

As we enter our time of unprogrammed worship please consider the following queries:

How am I facing my reality and yet living with the hope of the future?

What hard thing is God calling me to do?

How can I face my fears of uncertainty?

5-24-20 - Truth Tellers Needed

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

May 24, 2020

Matthew 5:33-37 (MSG)

Empty Promises

33-37 “And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

Good morning, Friends!  It is good to join you in the comfort of your own homes today for worship.  I pray this message will bring you hope during the ongoing challenges of this pandemic.

For several months now, even before the pandemic began, I have been thinking about the lack of “truth telling” in our country and world. 

Just the other day, I came across a blog post that was titled, “The World Needs Truth Tellers More than Ever — Will You Step Up?”

In it, Lon Shapiro says, “I think it’s safe to say that truth tellers have done more to aid the evolution of our species than any king, conqueror or cult.”

He quotes people like Joseph Campbell, Rosa Parks, and several others who made their voices and lives heard by being “Truth Tellers.”

Obviously, the need for “truth tellers” is evident from the big arenas like politics and media to the smallest, in our families around our own kitchen tables.

And even more these days, “truth telling” seems to have become a gray area of interpretation and contention in a new way.  

Yet, “Truth telling” is as old as time.

If you go all-the-way-back for a moment to the opening story of the Bible, you will find an interesting dialogue between God and Adam and Eve.  In that story God tells Adam and Eve they are free to eat from every tree in the Garden of Eden but one.

And in a rather odd pronouncement, God says that one tree is his alone. If they eat from this forbidden tree, they will die.

As with all good stories that are to teach a lesson, Adam and Eve determine they could not live with God deciding the nature of what was good or bad.

No, they would rather choose good and bad for themselves. (play the music…dun..dun..dun…)   

So, Adam and Eve become the first “truth spinners” – and the rest seems to be history (as they say).

The story from Genesis goes on to show how Adam and Eve began lying to themselves about the tree and God.

They had to spin this by creating a new scenario – “God is holding out on us.”  And this thinking, quickly led to a downward spiral of lies which ultimately finds them naked and afraid. 

But just like last week, when we heard of Jesus going and meeting the disciples amidst the storm, this very first story in the bible shows God actually looking for Adam and Eve to reconcile their broken relationship, to reclaim truth, and to bring peace again to their lives.

Sadly, this story of Adam and Eve, is a great metaphor for the “truth spinners” we have become and see so prevalent in our world, today.        

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun points out some of the ways we “truth spin,” such as…

• We pad expense accounts with rationalizations and denials.

• We back out of commitments with blame and deceit.

• Advertisers, corporations, government & non-governmental agencies, educational and religious institutions spin the truth.

• Everything from ruining the environment to insider trading gets the spin.

It’s not hard to understand why people don’t know who or what to believe.

This is why the early Quakers were committed so strongly to “Truth Telling” and ultimately a testimony of integrity.  And folks this was not just in their personal lives, but in all areas in which they engaged – from politics and legislation, to civil liberties, to educational, economic, and workplace scenarios.

The Early Quakers believed truth telling involved speaking in a way that does not

• exaggerate,

• minimize,

• deny,

• rationalize or manage the truth

Wow, good thing they did not have our 24hour news channels, social media outlets, and advertising industry.   

Quaker Louis Cox emphasizes this even further by explaining the origins of such thinking. 

DO YOU SWEAR that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?...

Early Quakers were known for their refusal to take such oaths in a court of law (often at the risk of fines and imprisonment).

Sometimes their stand was explained by reference to the Bible:

"But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath; but let your words be yes, yes, and no, no, lest you fall under condemnation. [James 5:12]

But these Friends were not just obeying written commandments. Oath-refusal and other distinctive practices came to be known as "testimonies" only because these actions were bearing witness to a deeper spiritual Truth.

 The Kingdom of God is not an ideal or hope projected into the future. It is emerging here and now through our actions and examples.

Gray Cox in his Pendle Hill Pamphlet, Bearing Witness-Quaker Process and a Culture of Peace says the following:

...Quakers view truth as something that happens, it occurs...Truth is not a dead fact which is known: It is a living occurrence in which we participate....

The guiding concern of people bearing witness is to live rightly, in ways that are exemplary. Insofar as they have an end they aim at, it is perhaps most helpful to think of it as the aim of cultivating their souls and converting others.....

Quakers are convinced that genuine leadings all proceed from a common ground, spring from a unity which we seek and find...

In a world, that currently lacks a great deal of truth and the desire to uphold it, we are seeing a rise in anxiety, frustration, and misinformation, on top of and effecting our current pandemic situation.

We may feel that we have no influence on this current state, but honestly, that, too, is a lie we have told ourselves.

Just as the early Quakers, our voices and lives need to be heard and seen, pronouncing truth and integrity on a daily basis – and in ALL the areas of our lives.

As Cox said, we need to cultivate this in our own souls, first, and then allow it to convert those around us, so that we can find a common ground to work from.

I wonder what would happen if as Quakers we re-committed ourselves during this pandemic to work on our deficiencies in the areas of “truth telling and integrity” (as our ancestors before us)?  

• What if we refused to spin events and experiences in order to impress others?

• What if we stopped exaggerating?

• What if we stopped cheating on tests, taxes, insurance forms, etc…?

• What if we kept promises and followed through?

• What if we repented, and informed others of when we have lied to them?

• What if we spoke truth in love?

• What if we refused to flatter or dissemble?

• What if we said what we meant and meant what we said?

• What if we refused to slander another?

What if we refused to gossip or pass gossip and rumors?

Quakers have amazing ancestors who are exemplary examples of “truth tellers” – who used their lives and beliefs to change the world.

Yet, I sometimes wonder, have we leaned too heavily on the likes of John Woolman or Mary Dyer (or all the other great Quaker examples) leaving the “truth telling” and impact to a far-gone era?

Our ancestors did not begin as world changers…they began as ordinary people like you and me. 

• They had to look at their current condition and ask those questions of themselves. 

• They had to start small in their own circles of influence, during difficult times, and find ways to stand firm in their beliefs. 

• They had to count the cost of living and believing in a radical way from their peers.

And because they did…we are remembering their examples today.  But remembering is different than following their example. 

Their example started somewhere…but too often we simply look to the final results of their lives, and see how big an impact they had, and leave it with their legacy. 

Just maybe we need to follow their process first, so we, too, can leave a legacy for our future generations.  

I love how Lon Shapiro put it in the article I quoted from at the beginning of this sermon,

It is up to us to aggregate and synthesize to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of the world…Sometimes, we may come up with a solution…Even if we don’t, the conversation spurred by this discovery create ripples that may eventually cause revolutions in society, technology and culture.

So this week our queries come in the form of a practice: 

Start by taking some time to assess your honesty. Think back over the past week, and ask yourself the following…

• Where have I been tempted to stretch the truth, take advantage of a privilege, break a commitment or gossip? What do I see about myself?

• Where is it hardest for you to tell the truth?

• Then this week, I challenge you to practice one of these habits: 1) not exaggerating, 2) not gossiping, or 3) not rationalizing. Then ask yourself,  What is it like for me to do this?

5-17-20 - Making the Best of the Current Storm

Making the Best of the Current Storm

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

May 17, 2020

Matthew 14:22-33 (VOICE)

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on to the other side of the sea while He dismissed the crowd. 23 Then, after the crowd had gone, Jesus went up to a mountaintop alone (as He had intended from the start). As evening descended, He stood alone on the mountain, praying.

In the midst of the burdens of life and ministry, like when news of John’s death reaches Him, Jesus seeks refreshment in solitary prayer.

24 The boat was in the water, some distance from land, buffeted and pushed around by waves and wind. 25 Deep in the night, when He had concluded His prayers, Jesus walked out on the water to His disciples in their boat. 26 The disciples saw a figure moving toward them and were terrified.

Disciple: It’s a ghost!

Another Disciple: A ghost? What will we do?

Jesus: 27 Be still. It is I. You have nothing to fear.

Peter: 28 Lord, if it is really You, then command me to meet You on the water.

Jesus: 29 Indeed, come.

Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water and began walking toward Jesus. 30 But when he remembered how strong the wind was, his courage caught in his throat and he began to sink.

Peter: Master, save me!

31 Immediately Jesus reached for Peter and caught him.

Jesus: O you of little faith. Why did you doubt and dance back and forth between following Me and heeding fear?

32 Then Jesus and Peter climbed in the boat together, and the wind became still. 33 And the disciples worshiped Him.

Disciples: Truly You are the Son of God.

Good morning, Friends!  It is good to be with you again from the comfort of your own homes. I pray you find hope today in this message.

Tuesday morning, I seemed drawn to stop near the pond at the entrance to our subdivision.  It was a rather dreary morning and as I stood there looking across the pond, I imagined the scene where Jesus comes to the disciples during the storm on the sea.

I think this was all on my mind because earlier as I was having my first cup of coffee and watching the news, one of the broadcasters called the pandemic – the storm we were not prepared for.

To imagine the pandemic as a storm had me wanting to revisit that story Beth just read for us this morning.  

The problem is that often with this story we only focus on the divine miraculous part and miss the practical application altogether.  

One of my favorite professors in my doctoral studies once said, “We too easily get wrapped up in the miracles and divine instances of Jesus and skip right over the human aspects.”

When he said that, it had me thinking and looking at scripture from quite a different perspective from how I had been raised.

My professor said that we need to refocus our minds to see Jesus’ human aspects because they give us something we can understand, relate to, and ultimately learn from – and they are as much of the story as the miraculous parts.

So, this morning, I am going to focus a little more on what I think this text has been teaching me that many often miss as it relates to our current condition.  

First, getting in a boat for the disciples was as ordinary as us getting in our cars to drive to work. They knew the seas like we know the roads around our homes.

Also, we must note that the disciples...

• were comfortable in their setting…  

• they knew the weather patterns in their area…  

• they knew the warning signs of being on those seas… 

• they were as prepared as anyone could be for a storm, because... 

• to their credit, they were skilled fishermen.     

Yet, as the disciples headed out to cross the sea, we find Jesus finishing the night’s lecture on the side of the hill and dismissing the crowds.

It is not hard for me to visualize this, almost like an author book talk at Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon where people would mill around waiting to get their book signed.

Remember, Jesus had been on tour for some time and he is tired and probably just wanted to head out. 

Jesus needed his space and some down time to meditate, relax, and pray.

Most likely, Jesus just wanted to put his feet up on a big rock, lean up against a tree, and without crowds still his soul and take in the chorus of the evening bugs.   

I don’t know about you, but I can almost picture Jesus in this moment.  

There Jesus is up on the mountain side literally looking out over the sea in which the disciples have just ventured out.

He most likely was aware of the storm that was brewing because from his vantage point he could literally see it coming.   

I kind of assume that Jesus, as many of us, laid back, watched the storm come in, but in his exhaustion fell asleep. Approaching storms seem to have the power to lull some of us to sleep.

Yet, throughout the night as Jesus rested his eyes, the disciples fought for their lives. This was not the usual storm.  Different texts describe the storm’s impact in different ways. 

Some say it battered the boat, others say it tossed the boat, one even says it buffeted the boat. 

Stephen Tinkner thinks it was much worse. He says, 

“Actually, the original Greek goes further. The word used in the Matthean text is actually basinizo (bos en izo), meaning to torture…

So, it is the middle of the night, the disciples are surrounded by a darkness we modern day light polluted people can’t understand, they are likely on a small boat, and a violent storm has surrounded and engulfed them. We can only imagine the fear pulsing through these disciple’s veins as the storm engulfs their lives.”

So, I think we can say without a doubt that this storm was intense.   

It very likely could have been a thunder-clap or lightning bolt that jolted Jesus from his much-deserved rest and meditation. 

Either way, the text says that Jesus went with haste to them early in the morning. Many people are quick to think it is dawn or as the sun is coming up, but I sense it was probably more like two or three in the morning and still very dark (remember there were no lights on the boat, or lighthouses on land). 

Also, we must remember that when people are under such stress and torture with very little sleep. Well, you know...they don’t see things clearly.

Thus, the disciples had probably been fighting for their lives for hours in complete darkness, their internal clocks, their internal navigation, their nerves all had left them. 

They had been battered, tossed, buffeted, and tortured - this was out of the ordinary for them.

Actually, at this time it was custom that fisherman crossed a sea by staying in sight of land and traveling around the perimeter of the sea - instead of going straight across.

The text says that by the time Jesus realizes what is going on, their boat was far from the land.  They were probably a bit discombobulated, but from Jesus’ vantage point on the mountainside, he could have seen their exact location through the lightning strikes or even possible moonlight.  

Did Jesus walk on water to get to them - or did he appear to walk on water? Maybe he was on the shore and to them he appeared to walk on the water.  This is beside the point.  

The important thing is that he knew where they were

and met them in their distress

and urged them through their fear.

Now, let’s just pause at this point and turn this to our current condition.   

For most of us, as the broadcaster on Tuesday said, the pandemic has been like an unexpected storm that has appeared in our lives. 

Unlike the ones that arise on occasion that we know how to get through or maybe even have taken precautions or made preparations for, this unexpected pandemic storm completely surprised us…

…and for many of us it is battering, tossing, and buffeting our lives in ways we would have never expected…

…leaving us feeling disconnected, weary, fearful, shaken, questioning, and wondering when things will settle down so we can go back to a new “normal.” 

Let’s be honest, this pandemic storm…

• knocked us off your feet.  

• distorted our vision and abilities, and   

• has many crying out for help! 

As well, this pandemic has raised several societal storms, on top of our own personal storms, storms like…

·        impending financial collapse,

·        deepening political division,  

·        economic, educational, racial, and technological inequalities,

·        and employment disparity and scarcity.   

And those are just the big categories of storms…then there’s the mental health storms of isolation, depression, addiction, domestic violence, interpersonal relational disparities, and again the list could go on and on.  

We seem currently surrounded by impending new storms each and every day – and mostly ones that we were not expecting.

All these storms can debilitate us, consume us, and have us and our neighborhoods, and even faith communities incapacitated and crying out for help! 

But let us return to our scriptures for a moment - What Jesus told the disciples was that they had nothing to fear in the storm.

This is a common tactic of Jesus. We repeatedly hear him begin with, “Fear not” or “Peace be with you.”

Often, I think he had to say that to first calm their hearts and minds and put them in a place to be able to hear.

I don’t think it was a quick fix, because there will be other storms, and also because Jesus carefully links this thought with what he asks Peter and the other disciples. In this moment of utter unraveling and the storms pressing in he asked them not to doubt their potential. 

You see, fear often grips us, leaving us immobilized – or maybe for us it is labeled lazy or just stubborn. We often default to some basic survival mentality.

That may be true right now in the midst of the pandemic storm. We may feel immobilized within isolation. We may be more lazy and unwilling to do what needs to be done.  And we may be a bit stubborn in how we are approaching this pandemic.

Yet I sense God may be asking a little more of us during this storm than simply getting through or survival.

Like with the disciples, just maybe God wants us

·         not to doubt our potential,

·         to learn something about ourselves from this storm,

·         to see this as a moment of opportunity,

·         or a moment of true boldness, like Peter stepping out of the boat amidst the storm, where you and I can make a difference (in our own life and in the lives of others)! 

Much like the storm the disciples found themselves within, the pandemic storm has changed the normal environment of life that we are used to.

Yet, if we willingly open our eyes to a new perspective, we might begin seeing that the pandemic has also created some positive and potential  opportunities.

For example, I was reading a recent survey on the positive aspects of the pandemic on our world.  They rarely quote this in press conferences or in the media. Things like…  

·        The pandemic storm has helped people build more genuine relationships.

Surveys actually show that more and more people have begun stepping out and getting to know their neighbors.

·        Parents are spending more creative and quality time with their children.

·        Many people are calling or connecting with old friends and catching up.

·        Partners and spouses are rekindling romances.

·        And even some people are engaging with that difficult person, colleague, or relative that needs reconciliation. 

As well, the pandemic storm has already created entire lifestyle changes to practice better hygiene.

·        Many people have learned to actually wash their hands, wear masks when appropriate, clean and disinfect their spaces.

·        Businesses are in for huge changes in-regards-to better hygiene.

I cannot but be reminded of how the Hebrew people of the Old Testament, when setting up the temple, considered the importance of hygiene.

History shows that their detail to hygiene from washing as you entered the temple, to the Kosher process, to even the importance of circumcision, all saved or lengthened their follower’s lives.

Folks, hygiene is just as much about keeping me safe as it is being concerned about and loving our neighbors.    

And we could keep going...The pandemic storm

·        has already had a huge positive effect on our environment. 

·        has helped develop innovative ways to stay connected and help each other.

·        has created an entire new wave of tools and software for use. Just think, how many of you had used Zoom before this time?

And I could go on and on…but the reality is, as I think we already know…there are going to be more storms in life. 

And let’s be honest, we are rarely going to get through them by walking on water or by some miraculous means.

Instead we need to remember that…

God knows where we are within this pandemic storm.

God meets us in our distress and

God urges us through our fear to not doubt our potential – to seize this moment – and like Peter try a new perspective even amidst the storm. 

As we enter a time of waiting worship, I ask you to ponder the following queries:

1.   What has me immobilized and fearful during this pandemic storm?

2.   What is my potential and the opportunities that have arisen?

3.   In what ways may I need to be bold, step out, and challenge myself to see with a new perspective this week?

5-10-20 - Mother God Comfort Us

Mother God Comfort Us!

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

May 10, 2020

Proverbs 1:20-33 (MSG)

Lady Wisdom

20-21 Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
    At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
    At the busiest corner she calls out:

22-24 “Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
    Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
    About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I’m ready to pour out my spirit on you;
    I’m ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I’ve called, but you’ve turned a deaf ear;
    I’ve reached out to you, but you’ve ignored me.

25-28 “Since you laugh at my counsel
    and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
    I’ll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
    and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there’s nothing
    to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You’ll need me then. You’ll call for me, but don’t expect
        an answer.
    No matter how hard you look, you won’t find me.

29-33 “Because you hated Knowledge
    and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn’t take my advice
    and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you’ve made your bed—now lie in it;
    you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don’t you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
    Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
    Now you can take it easy—you’re in good hands.”

Good Morning, Friends and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers watching!  This morning I hope you will find this message filled with hope in these difficult times

As I have pondered the emotions of this week and the ongoing stress of this pandemic.  I have thought a great deal about the role of mothers during this time, and the extra stress on those who seek to nurture and care for children, elderly parents, spouses, and loved ones.

In my first virtual sermon during this pandemic, I spoke about Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem and that mother-like moment when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and wishes that he could gather the people like a hen gathers her chicks. 

I don’t know about you, but I need that image of God more than ever right now.  I believe we need a nurturing Mother God to wrap her comforting arms around us, draw us in, and remind us that all is going to be well.

As I prepared for this week’s sermon, I was glad that as Quakers we are not afraid to imagine or characterize God with female qualities and descriptors, as well as, the typical male ones.

As Quakers, our understanding of God is shaped by personal experiences, and different people use a variety of descriptors to help them find meaningful ways to connect to the Divine. 

Even when we talk of that Inner-Light we do not ascribe it a gender, most of our gender descriptors actually come from the Bible. 

The patriarchal world of the Bible often limits us only to male descriptors of God. Yet there is the personification of God as Wisdom in a few places in the Old Testament which utilizes female descriptors.

Take for example the scripture that Beth read from Proverbs 1 – I love Eugene Peterson’s translation of the personification of wisdom – which he labels “Lady Wisdom.”  Giving us yet another female interpretation of God.

Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
    At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
    At the busiest corner she calls out:

More significantly the Apocrypha (the books of the Bible that were not considered cannon but were accepted as historical) often utilize the female descriptors for the wisdom of God. Sadly, for most of our history (and still for many faith communities today), a female version of God seems threatening, demeaning or even heretical.

Let’s be honest, I sense in most eras this was misogyny alive and well, as it sadly still is today.       

Just listen to how one of the Apocryphal books - the Wisdom of Solomon personifies the Wisdom of God. 

There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy…loving the good…humane…steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle. …For she is a breath of the power of God…in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with Wisdom. (7:22b-30)

As Quakers who call themselves, Friends, that one line should stand out and be quoted often – “She passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God.” That, to me, is beautiful.

Pastor Chris Glazer says the following about this passage from the Wisdom of Solomon,

“If you saw all these qualities in a personal ad or on a resume, you just might want to meet this person! I say “might” because this is a list so awesome many of us would feel intimidated. This is a description of Sophia, Greek for Wisdom, and in Jewish wisdom literature, you could say she was the feminine side of God, the counterpart to God the Father. This scripture was written by a Jewish mystic deeply influenced by Greek philosophy who lived around the time of Jesus…

In another text it is said that Sophia was with God from the beginning—without Wisdom nothing was created that was created. If this sounds familiar, the mystical Gospel of John takes as its prologue a similar assertion, that the Word, or Jesus, was with God from the beginning, and without Jesus, nothing was made that was made.”

Wow! Personally…during this pandemic and especially on this Mother’s Day, we need more than ever to identify with this feminine side of God. Those qualities and descriptors are desperately lacking in our world and leadership in this present moment.

Maybe it would do us good to find comfort in scriptures that emphasize these aspects of God, such as:

Isaiah 66:13 – “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you,” God declares through the prophet Isaiah.

Or again, Jesus lamenting over Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37 – “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing”

Or as the Psalmist in Psalm 131:2 gives us that comforting goal of resting in God:

“I hold myself in quiet and silence,

            like a little child in its mother’s arms,

            like a little child, so I keep myself.”

During this ongoing isolation, I continue to hear people say they miss the personal touch, the hugs, the handshakes, the comfort that physically being with other people brings. 

Just maybe, during this time, embracing a Mother-God-understanding would help us sense more accurately how God wants to interact in our life during this time.

It reminds me of back in my doctoral work when I studied the people known as the Dessert Mothers and Fathers.  Unlike us, they chose to go into isolation and quarantine by heading out into the wildernesses of the Middle East to pray.

An interesting part of their theology was that they did not believe Jesus came to save only Christians—rather, they believed that Jesus could save the whole world from its excesses, its materialism, prejudices, hatred, self-absorption, violence, and cruelty.

In many ways, I consider the Dessert Mothers and Fathers the first real Quakers. Like us they believed that God speaks to everyone, but that in order to hear God’s voice, one must learn to be still and actively listen for it.

Their focus was on the interior life that later, Quaker founder, George Fox would label our Inner Light.

Along with their inward journey, just like us Quakers, there was also an outward expression as well. The Mothers and Fathers labored to create self-sustaining communities that could welcome and feed the stranger, the refugee, the pilgrim, and those escaping mistreatment and injustice, including women.

Mary C. Earl in her book specifically on the Dessert Mothers, or “Ammas” as they were known, shared this about what they taught her, she said…

“…the ammas have taught me to set aside time for quiet. There are so many pressures that lead us to be fragmented. The tradition does not deny the pressures. The ammas tell us that God is present even in those daily struggles. I can remember that more readily if I have taken time for quiet.

She also says,

“…the ammas take me back to basics. We live in a time in which so much polarization has happened in both the national political arena, and within the church. The ammas invite us to look beyond all the divisive fussing — not to deny it, but to see it as surface reality. They invite us to gaze more deeply, especially in the most tensive of circumstances.”

And lastly, she says,

“…the ammas tell me that from the beginnings of the life of the Church, women have been initiators of new patterns and teachings, opening the way for knowing the wholeness that God offers in Christ. When I am reading the stories and sayings of the desert ammas, I am struck by their utter confidence that no matter what, this world belongs to God, is loved by God, and that each person, each creature, each aspect of the created order, is an expression (some would say a theophany, a showing) of God’s love.

Just maybe, during these difficult days of forced isolation we could take time to embrace and gravitate to the qualities and attributes of our Mother God, to sense her nurturing love and seek her wisdom.  Allow ourselves to be wrapped in her safe embrace and comforted by her care. 

And as the Dessert Mothers and Fathers, maybe we too should take this opportunity to turn to prayer and our inner life.

To begin to seek how during this pandemic we can turn to Jesus to help release us from our excesses, materialism, prejudices, hatred, self-absorption, violence, and cruelty.

And once more, as the Ammas or Dessert Mothers remind us, during our quiet and alone times this week, we should try and make time for acknowledging the pressures, polarizations, and tensions that we are experiencing – all while remembering no matter what this world throws at us - Mother God is always with us and ready to embrace us with her love!

As we now take a moment to enter waiting worship, I ask that you ponder the following queries:

1.      How might embracing the qualities and attributes of a “Mother God” help me during this difficult time?

2.      What inner spiritual work do I need to do in my times of quiet this week?

3.      Who do I need to reach out to with a nurturing word of love and hope, today?

5-3-20- Transforming Patience

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

May 3, 2019

Romans 12:12-18 (New Living Translation)

12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Since the pandemic began, one of the things I have really enjoyed are the “at home” concerts put on my some of my favorite artists.  One of my favorites has been Norah Jones, who in the late afternoon will sit down at her piano and play several tunes for her fans on Facebook Live. 

I often will put on the “at home” gigs when I am taking my walk.  This week, I decided to go back and listen to an earlier one where she did a surprising cover of a Guns and Roses’ rock ballad from 1989 – Patience.  At first, I didn’t even recognize the song, even though it sounded quite familiar. 

When Norah arrived at the chorus, I realized what song it was – but even more, I heard the words like I had never heard them before.  They go like this:

Little patience

Need a little patience

Just a little patience

Need some patience

Could use some patience

Gotta have some patience

All it takes is patience

Just a little patience

Is all you need

It was almost as though I was hearing my own conscience in the voice of a Norah Jones (I wish my conscience always sang to me in the bluesy tones of Norah Jones) – and I believe it was speaking to my condition.

I began to consider my own impatience this week. 

• Really, my Amazon Prime delivery is going to take 5-6 days instead of 2…?

• I have to put the pansies we just planted in for the night because there could be frost again tonight, really? 

• Are we really going to be in Quarantine for several more weeks?

• Why is my take-out order taking so long?

• Can’t we just get together with other people that have isolated themselves?

• This mask is making my face itch – do I really have to wear it?

• Why is my internet service lagging when I need to be on a Zoom call?

• Didn’t I just mow the grass, yesterday?

And then I hear that chorus again…

Little patience

Need a little patience

Just a little patience

Need some patience

Could use some patience

Gotta have some patience

All it takes is patience

Just a little patience

Is all you need

I kind of feel that lament (as we talked about last week) is somewhat connected to our lack of patience.

Many of you have shared with me this week that your patience is waning during this pandemic for a multitude of reasons. But when I actually think about, many of the things that I am impatient about seem rather petty and even frivolous, compared to those risking lives on the front line of this pandemic.  

But then I was reminded of what patience really looks like from a spiritual perspective. When I first studied the work of Henri Nouwen, I would have said he was one of the most patient people ever. 

Anyone who works with mentally and physically challenged people always seem to have a special grace and anointing in the area of patience, that so many of us only wish we could have.  But over time, I have come to understand that Nouwen struggled with patience and waiting on God.   

Nouwen often spoke of patience in his writing. Here is what he said once about patience when asked about waiting on God. 

How do we wait for God? We wait with patience.

But patience does not mean passivity. Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop, or the sun to rise.

It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the full in order to find there the signs of the One we are waiting for.

The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior which means “to suffer.”

Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants.

Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God’s glorious coming.

I remember the first time I read those words, it seemed very similar to hearing Norah Jones singing that chorus this week.  They spoke to my soul and to my condition.

How do we wait for God during this pandemic?   We wait with patience.

Not passively, like waiting for our Amazon Prime packages to arrive. 

But by actively waiting and continuing to LIVE in the present moment to the FULL.  All the while looking for the signs that God is giving us. 

I don’t know about you, but I have begun seeing things in a different light in these past 7 weeks, from a new perspective, and I have begun to see God in new ways during this pandemic.  

For me, a great deal of this has come through God’s creation.  

These past weeks, I have spent a lot more time watching the wide variety and colors of birds around me (some I even know thanks to our resident bird expert, Brad Jackson – Thanks Brad!)  

And then there are the male and female Mallard ducks that have made our backyard their home, the numerous turtles that stick their heads above the water to say “hello” as I walk by our pond, and the squirrels that have almost become so used to people being around again that they don’t dart off when I come close.

I have noticed the barrenness of the trees coming alive – or I should say resurrecting – as the buds and leaves blossom.

One day as I sat on my hammock reading, I was taken by the clouds forming and moving as they contrasted with the blue sky above me.  I just put my book down and wondered in awe at the beauty.

I even allowed myself to get wet as I walked and enjoyed the light rain as it hit my face as the storm approached in the dark clouds.

I recognized the smell of the blooms of the lilac tree in our back yard and the pansies I planted to bring color to our home. 

Where was all of this a few weeks ago? 

Oh, it was there, but I was on track to miss most of it. 

Actually, it makes me wonder, how much of what God has given us are we really missing?  Or better yet, how much of God are we missing?

I have had more contact with neighbors, learned more about my neighborhood, even seen neighbors I thought didn’t even exist (ha!)  

I see grocery workers and delivery people, garbage collectors, teachers and health care professionals in a completely different light – no longer assumed or taken for granted, but truly essential. 

I look forward to seeing the mail, UPS, and Amazon Prime trucks (as much as the ice cream truck when I was a kid) but want to thank them for their deliveries.

Since we are Quakers, we believe that there is that of God in every person we meet.  And in a new way I am starting to see that, the veils have been lifted.  I see it in the eyes overlooking the masks people who are serving, helping, and providing for you and me.  

There is a new depth, a new normal that cannot disappear – it is seeing that of God in people again!   

THESE are the signs God is (and has been) providing all along for us. They are in creation, they are in our neighbors, and they are in our families.

Now, I know there is a lot of suffering going on in our world, but I like that second phrase that Nouwen mentioned, I wonder, are we tasting it to the full?

Our laments during this pandemic can easily turn into complaining, nagging, or simply playing the victim.  But as I said last week, Lament must draw us toward the goodness of God. 

Yes, God wants our true feelings, our deepest struggles, but God also wants us to taste all we have been given to the full, which often takes a bit of struggle.  The pandemic is one of those struggles that if we let it transform us, we will be able to see with much greater clarity the goodness of God that is surrounding us constantly.

Richard Rohr talks about this transformation in a blog post called, “When Things Fall Apart.” He says,

“The word change normally refers to new beginnings. But transformation more often happens not when something new begins but when something old falls apart. The pain of something old falling apart—disruption and chaos—invites the soul to listen at a deeper level. It invites and sometimes forces the soul to go to a new place because the old place is not working anymore. The mystics use many words to describe this chaos: fire, darkness, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the Evil One. Whatever it is, it does not feel good and it does not feel like God. We will do anything to keep the old thing from falling apart.

This is when we need patience…”

I can attest that Rohr is spot on…this huge change – this disruption and chaos – for us is called the Covid-19 Pandemic.

It is causing a transformation to take place if we are willing and able to accept it.  Many things in life have fallen apart, but the most important thing is that we are being invited to listen and see at a deeper level. 

And yes folks, it is going to take patience both with ourselves, our neighbors, and even with God.  So, I end as I began with that chorus. 

Little patience

Need a little patience

Just a little patience

Need some patience

Could use some patience

Gotta have some patience

All it takes is patience

Just a little patience

Is all you need

As we enter a time of Waiting Worship, I ask that you take some time to reflect on the following queries:

1.      Where is impatience getting the best of me during this pandemic?

2.      How am I waiting on God and seeing God in fresh ways during these challenging times?

3.      How am I allowing this disruption and chaos to transform me?