1-29-23 - "Handling Stress the Jesus Way"

Handling Stress the Jesus Way

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

January 29, 2023

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. Our scripture reading for today is Matthew 3:16-4:11 from the New Revised Standard Version.

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone,

    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

    and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,

    and serve only him.’”

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Last week we looked at a specific aspect of Jesus’ water baptism – that being “fire” and the qualities that fire presents to the reader, 1. illumination, 2. warmth, and 3. purification – This was also something that the early Quakers focused a great deal on, calling it the Refiner’s Fire.

This morning, we continue on in the biblical story and look at what happen immediately following Jesus’ baptism. Often this story is known as the Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness.  Some call it “The Great Testing,” and still others name it “The Calling of Christ.”

As I did last week by focusing on the refiner’s fire, this week I want to take another angle and not look so much at Satan or Temptation – but really hone in on an area that I think is extremely applicable for us, today – that being STRESS. 

It seems in our hurry-up, no-time-for breaks, “I have too many things to do” society – we all know something about stress. 

Just in the last week, I noticed that many people – even some of you – have been posting quotes or memes on social media about stress.  I decided to compile them and as David Letterman used to do, here is my top ten list (and since we are in Meeting for Worship, I only chose mostly clean ones:

10.Everyone thinks I’m overly dramatic when I am stressed. When an octopus    is stressed, it eats itself. Now that’s overdramatic.

9.    Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.

8.    When I get a headache, I take two aspirin and keep away from children just like the bottle says.

7.    My stress stresses me out to the point where I’m too stressed to deal with stress.

6. So, you mean a stress ball is not for throwing at people who stress me out?

5.    Can’t decide if I need a hug, an XL coffee, 6 shots of vodka, or 2 weeks of sleep.

4.    I am going to put an “Out of Order” sticker on my head and call it a day.

3.    I deserve a medal for making it through this week without stabbing someone with a fork.

2.    Some people manage stress with yoga, meditation, and long walks. I manage stress with food, sarcasm and swearing. 

1.    Did you know “stressed” spelled backwards is desserts? Coincidence? I think not!

Obviously, we are experiencing a lot of pressure in our world. This pressure comes from so many different places, people, and experiences and each place a different demand on us. At times, it almost feel like the stress of life is going to literally pull us apart.

When I was studying the many nuances of conflict in ministry and the impact it has on ministry professionals for my doctoral dissertation, I spent some time looking specifically at how Jesus addressed the stresses in his life and ministry. 

Obviously, Jesus was under a variety of pressures and stressors. 

·      There was growing up in Nazareth (a place known for being where “nothing good could come from.”

·      There was also his family’s economic and social status in their community after that wild start to parenthood.

·      There was the fact that Jesus was seen as different, odd, at times the teacher’s pet, and at other times an annoyance. 

·      As he grew older, he gathered crowds for his teachings, but he also drew trolls and protesters – some his own family and his own religious leaders. 

·      The stress would continue to build until the gospel writers find him sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

Sure, there were the breaks Jesus took on the hill side to be alone or the nap on the boat, but honestly – by our standards, Jesus life was kind of a living hell.

And finally, there was the pursuit and public trial where his own people turned their back and chose a criminal to be released and proceeded to shout for him to be crucified – until they got what they wanted. 

In many ways – this could play out in our news today – just add social media, the news sources, tabloids, and the paparazzi and you have Jesus headlining the news and heading to a rehab facility for help.   

So, what can we learn from Jesus in our day and age. Here are some of the insights I want to highlight that may be helpful to you.

This is where we pick up the story from last week. No sooner had God confirmed Jesus’ identity and mission at his water baptism than the Adversary or devil calls it into question in the wilderness - as we heard read in our scripture for this morning.

Temptation and testing can be seductive stress. However, it is Jesus’ response that is very important.  He returns to history, the scriptures, and even the law of the land to support him and help give him strength in his rebuttal of the Adversary’s temptations. 

Jesus was being put on trial, but he had done his homework. He didn’t make assumptions or listen to those around him, instead he studied and knew what he was talking about.

Too often our stress comes from being ill prepared or making assumptions about what we believe.  Jesus was able to be confident and stand strong because he was prepared. He had mediated on the Scriptures, studied his history, and knew the law and how to combat the temptations. 

As Jesus returns from the wilderness he enters a ministry of teaching, healing, and seeking to meet the needs and demands of others placed on him which grew and grew every day. 

This became a stress of overwhelming demands – something many of us can relate to - too much to do and too little time to do it.

Jesus again faced this stressful situation without despair by moving forward and seeking ways to serve. He dealt with one situation or person at a time – because he knew his limits. This kept him calm and in control and able to see the path ahead.    

When the tasks seemed too enormous to bear, he prioritized his actions. In Jesus’ most important sermon he shows the significance of this by proclaiming, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”  He did not let trivial things obscure the vital things that he was doing in the present moment. 

For us, stress can come from an overactive mind and an underactive body. God has promised to guide us each step of the way and gives us strength for each challenge confronting us, but we must prioritize, make wise choices, and stay focused on the task at hand.  

Some cities which saw Jesus the most refused to follow his lead or do what he had encouraged them to do. This is considered the stress of disappointing results.

Yet, Jesus' response was a joy-filled heart and a prayer to God.

When our agenda crashes, our hopes wither and our plans fail, we must rest in the knowledge that the work in not finished, it just may not be our work anymore.  Sometimes we need to move on and seek places where people will respond to the challenge.

Jesus often moved on and even encouraged us to “dust off our sandals” and continue the journey. Often, this type of stress builds over time because we get stagnant and do not seek fresh perspectives. 

Later, when word came that John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, forerunner, and friend, had been beheaded, Jesus went out in a boat to a lonely place by himself, apart from all human company. He needed some space to clear his head and grieve. 

To cope with the stress of tragedy, Jesus made time for meditation, solitude, and silence before God. He drew strength, direction, and discernment in this time.

Also, when the clamoring crowds tried to make Jesus a political king, Jesus refused the stress of popular pressure by going "on the mountain by Himself to pray and meditate".

This same powerful resource of prayer and meditation is ours today. Prayer and meditation can relieve the stress we face and soothe our soul. It can also give us an opportunity to reflect and rest.

But folks, let’s be honest, often life reveals no quick answers, no simple solutions, no ready escapes from the stresses of life.

Yet, I believe God is always faithful. What we may forget is that that faithfulness may come through the lives of those around us.

As Quakers who believe there is that of God in each person we meet, God works through the lives and relationships we have with others. God’s care comes through those we love and trust, and on occasion people we may not even expect.  

That means, you and I may be the ones being called to be God-in-the-flesh to our neighbors and to help relieve them of their stress. Now, there is a thought.

Instead of pointing out the stress in others – maybe we should see how we can help them, encourage them, even relieve their stress.   

Jesus spoke to this in a bold way when he added to the Great Shema of the Hebrew Faith saying,

“Love your neighbor…as you love yourself.”   

From both a spiritual and psychological perspective, it may be helpful to sometimes observe your own internal narrative and the ways that you tend to speak to yourself. 

How do I do that, you ask?  Maybe start by asking yourself a couple personal queries before engaging others:

“Would I be speaking in a loving or charitable way and not creating more stress for my neighbor, if I were I to say this to my neighbor?” 

or “Would I feel more stressed if someone said or did this to me?” 

The more we learn to effectively do this, the more likely we are to mature both psychologically and spiritually. By doing this we become more aware. I believe it will help us feel less stressed in our relationships and conversations, as well as helping our neighbor feel less stressed.

So, to close this sermon on dealing with stress, I want to share with you a blessing by John O’Donohue. Rebecca Liming gave me a copy of blessings by John that I love and this one seems appropriate to conclude with this morning.  It is called “For Presence.”

Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.
Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.
May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.
May anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.

With those words on our hearts and minds, let us center down into waiting worship. To help us process some of what I have said this morning, I have provided the following queries:

·      How am I responding to the stresses of overwhelming demands, disappointing results, and tragedy?

·      Who helps me relieve the stress in my life? How might I help a neighbor relieve stress in their life?

·      Where might it be time for me to move on? 

1-22-23 - "Igniting and Refining Our Inner Fire"

Igniting and Refining Our Inner Fire

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

January 22, 2023

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. Our scriptures for today at the story of Jesus’ water baptism from Matthew 3:10-17 from the New Revised Standard Version.

Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him, and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

If I was a betting man, I would bet that most of us could not read our text for this morning without thinking a little bit about FIRE.

Ironically, there are several references to fire in this text about Jesus’ water baptism, if you did not notice we heard about…

• Being cut down and thrown into the fire

• baptizing not in water but in fire, and...

• burning the chaff with a fire

Too often Christians these days simply jump to hell or eternal damnation when thinking about fire in the scriptures and sadly miss what I believe John had been preparing the people in the wilderness for – that being what Quakers especially would acknowledge as the coming of the Light (the Fire) into their lives. 

I sense the reason we move quickly to hell is that the word pictures John paints for us are messages that, as William Barclay in his commentary notes, seem to combine both “promise and threat.”

Before anyone get’s cut down and thrown into the fire, I think we first must remember what John says,

John says that the baptism of the one who is to come will be with fire.

William Barclay helped shed some important light on his ideas of what this coming fire would entail – and with many things in scripture it is three-fold.  He sees the fire in three ways:

1. Illumination,

2. Warmth, and

3. Purification.  

Let’s explore what Barclay said in his own words on this subject.

1.     There is the idea of illumination. The blaze of a flame sends a light through the night and illuminates the darkest corners. The flame of the beacon guides the sailor to the harbor and the traveller to their goal. In fire there is light and guidance. 

2.     There is also the idea of warmth. A great and a kindly person was described as one who lit fires in cold rooms...God kindles within our hearts the warmth of love towards God and towards our neighbor.  

And finally…

3.     There is the idea of purification. In this sense purification involves destruction (or deconstruction); for the purifying flame burns away the false and leaves the true. The flame tempers and strengthens and purifies the metal. 

For you and me, this often happens through painful or challenging  experiences, but, if a person throughout all the experiences of life believes that God is working together all things for good, they will emerge from them with a character which is cleansed and purified, until, being pure in heart, they can see God within themselves.

We must remember that for us, what John the Baptist has described is a present reality.  When you and I realize the Light of God is in our present lives – as John realized on the shore that day when Jesus came and dipped into the water – our eyes and hearts are not only open, but even more our entire lives (physically, mentally, spiritually) are opened up to God’s fire and light to enter into our very souls.  

Thus becoming, as Quakers have always professed and testified, “THE LIGHT WITHIN” 

·        A fire in our souls that lights and guides our journey.

·        A fire in our souls that kindles in our hearts the warmth of love towards God and towards our neighbor.

·        A fire in our souls that burns away the false and leaves the true

In the original Greek the word for cleansed, washed, or even baptized meant to be literally immersed - which meant... 

• To be thrust, plunged, or thrown into

• To be consumed by – surrounded by or overwhelmed with.

John’s Baptismal cleansing was for repentance and people were immersed in the water of the Jordan river as a symbol of that cleansing. 

But when Jesus comes, the immersion that takes places is one of being thrust, plunged into, consumed, surrounded and overwhelmed by the Spirit or refining fire of God. 

Did you know that when the first Quakers introduced their faith to others, the Refiner’s Fire was often the first element of the spiritual journey they described?

They were quick to tell people how to discover the Light of Christ within. Look into your conscience, they counseled.  If you pay attention to what makes your conscience uneasy, you will discover that the Light within your conscience illuminates how, inwardly, you resist God. 

If you persist in looking at what is revealed, you’ll see more and more clearly–possibly to your surprise–how thoroughly you have been under the sway of fear, uncontrolled desires, negative emotions, distracting mental processes, deceitful manners, unjust social practices, greed, and pride. 

When you and I truly experience the Light Within – that Refiner’s Fire – the simple truth is that we cannot stay the same. 

Folks, I think one of the greatest things I have learned over the last several years is that fire is not always bad but rather transformational, and it definitely doesn’t translate to hell. 

A few years ago, when we were at Yosemite National Park and taking a tour over the valley floor, they told us how descendants of the Ahwahneechee people (the first settlers of the area) taught park rangers the importance of burning parts of the valley floor each year.  Doing this brings about new life - seeds that could not open without the intense heat of the fires would instead lay dormant.  The dry brush and overgrowth would naturally overtake the forest without the cleansing quality of the fires.  And if there were no little fires, an all-consuming fire could take the entire park. 

If we would have done what the Ahwahneechee people had learned by living close to the earth and learning from it, instead of abusing, distressing, and overworking it as we too often do, we may have been doing what they have are doing in Yosemite – lighting small controllable fires on a rotating cycle for the benefit of the forest and wildlife.    

I think this may be closer to what John was trying to teach us about Jesus’ baptism of fire.  We need more than immersion in water.  We need more than repentance (even though I believe that is part of it). 

We need transformation.

It reminds me again of the words of Martin Luther King Jr (a man who understood the need for transformation and has speaking to my condition throughout this week). He said,

"By opening our lives to God in Christ, we become new creatures. This experience, which Jesus spoke of as the new birth, is essential if we are to be transformed nonconformists ... Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit." 

We need to be thrust, plunged, thrown into, consumed, surrounded, and overwhelmed by the Light/Fire of God on a regular basis.

Not just a once-and-done kind of thing, but a daily refining so that new life can come forth. So that cleansing can take place. So that we can prevent our own bad choices, destructive desires, and offensive ways from destroying those around us and making us useless chaff or non-fruit bearing trees.

As we enter our time of waiting worship this morning - take some time to ponder how your Inner Light radiates the Love of God.

Ask yourself...

How am I allowing the Refiner’s Fire to change and ignite me?

How is the fire/light in me illuminating my path and directing me in the darkness? 

How is the fire/light in me kindling the warmth of God’s love to my neighbors?

How is the fire/light in me purifying my world and speaking Truth to power? 

1-15-23 - "Revisiting A Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

Revisiting A Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

January 15, 2023

Good morning friends and welcome to Light Reflections. Today, we are celebrating the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Our scripture text is Ephesians 3:1-6 from the Message version.  

This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.

As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.

On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sat in a small, solitary jail cell in Birmingham, reading a newspaper article written by several white clergymen. These men urged Dr. King (and others) to abandon their nonviolent protests in the fight for racial reconciliation. They wrote,

“We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.” 

Dr. King immediately began composing a response in the margins of the newspaper itself. And four days later, having gotten some paper from his lawyer, he finished and sent the now famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

Dr. King’s letter confronted inaction and passivity with the authority he believed came from the scriptures, particularly the gospels of Jesus. We often talk about Dr. King’s vision of racial equality. But the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” reminds us that this wasn’t Dr. King’s vision, but rather it was God’s vision. 

Dr. King called for an end to racial injustice, not by appealing to current laws or even to the will of the majority (both of those, at the time, were against him!), but to a Higher Law. He said that God had created all races of one blood and, thus, all men of all races were brothers. A belief that still is debated and challenged in our world, today.

For Dr. King, what was ultimate, what he appealed to in the face of political opposition, and even a majority that opposed him, was the justice of God. 

King’s letter kindles the conscience, exhorting us to peaceful action. He challenges well-meaning citizens who advocate patience to look carefully at the pattern of racial injustice, oppression, pain and hurt that have gone unattended.

The “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” was a thunderbolt in the battle for racial justice, and it remains a powerful wake-up call to this day.

Though much has changed in five decades, racism and racial injustice is still evident in our world, today. The names and deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and countless others before them, who for centuries have lost their lives because of the color of their skin, are grim reminders.

Still, as we heard in our scripture for today, God has declared that multi-racial unity is his intention for the church, and he has given the Spirit with the promise that he will make it happen. My hope is that our Meeting would reflect the unity of the Kingdom of God, or what Dr. King called the Beloved Community, by being places where people of different ethnicities, backgrounds, political affiliations, sexual orientations, income levels, and even languages come together in unity.

This kind of multi-racial unity was one of the distinguishing marks of the gospel proclamation in the ancient world, and today’s world needs to see it more than ever.

So, this morning, I would like us to return to April 12, 1963, and I ask that you imagine that I have received this letter as a member of the white clergy, and the pastor of Indianapolis First Friends.  

Remember, not many pastors would have read this to their congregations because it probably would have stirred things up and even may have insighted a call for the resignation of the pastor – especially if he was to agree or seek ways to respond in agreement with Dr. King.

I read this letter today as both an opportunity for continued education (as some people want this removed from schools and our history books), and as a challenge to draw strength and wisdom for the cause of racial inequalities and injustices still prevalent in our society, today.  I have chosen this morning to read a slightly abridged version of the Letter prepared by the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

My Dear Fellow Clergymen,

While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas ... But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

I think I should give the reason for my being in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the argument of “outsiders coming in.”

I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every Southern state with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some 85 affiliate organizations all across the South

... Several months ago our local affiliate here in Birmingham invited us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented...

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds...

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: 1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action. We have gone through all of these steps in Birmingham...

Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of the country. Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any city in this nation. These are the hard, brutal, and unbelievable facts. On the basis of these conditions Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation.

Then came the opportunity last September to talk with some of the leaders of the economic community. In these negotiating sessions certain promises were made by the merchants—such as the promise to remove the humiliating racial signs from the stores. On the basis of these promises Reverend Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to call a moratorium on any type of demonstrations. As the weeks and months unfolded, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise. The signs remained. As in so many experiences in the past, we were confronted with blasted hopes, and the dark shadow of a deep disappointment settled upon us.

So, we had no alternative except that of preparing for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and national community. We were not unmindful of the difficulties involved. So, we decided to go through the process of self-purification. We started having workshops on nonviolence and repeatedly asked ourselves the questions, “are you able to accept the blows without retaliating?” “Are you able to endure the ordeals of jail?...

You may well ask, “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, etc.? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are exactly right in your call for negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue....

Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood....

My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without legal and nonviolent pressure. History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and give up their unjust posture; but as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly I have never yet engaged in a direct action movement that was “well timed,” according to the timetable of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation.

For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This “wait” has almost always meant “never.” It has been a tranquilizing Thalidomide, relieving the emotional stress for a moment, only to give birth to an ill-formed infant of frustration. We must come to see with the distinguished jurist of yesterday that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.

Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your 20 million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see the tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking in agonizing pathos: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?” when you take a cross country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” men and “colored” when your first name becomes “nigger” and your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and when your wife and mother are never given the respected title of “Mrs.” when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tip-toe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the Brat to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.

Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an “I-it” relationship for an “I-thou” relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and awful...

I hope you are able to ace the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in German at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country’s antireligious laws.

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White citizens’ “Councilor” or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direst action” who paternistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection....

You spoke of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first, I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. I started thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency made up of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, have been so completely drained of self-respect and a sense of “somebodiness” that they have adjusted to segregation, and a few Negroes in the middle class who, because of a degree of academic and economic security, and at points they profit from segregation, have unconsciously become insensitive to the problems of the masses.

The other force is one of bitterness and hatred and comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up over the nation, the largest and best known being Elijah Muhammad’s Muslim movement. This movement is nourished by the contemporary frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination. It is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man in an incurable “devil.”...

The Negro has many pent-up resentments and latent frustrations. He has to get them out. So let him march sometime; let him have his prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; understand why he must have sit-ins and freedom rides. If his repressed emotions do not come out in these nonviolent ways, they will come out in ominous expressions of violence. This is not a threat; it is a fact of history.

So, I have not said to my people, “Get rid of your discontent.” But I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled through the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action....

In spite of my shattered dreams of the past, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership in the community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep moral concern, serve as the channel through which our just grievances could get to the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed.

I have heard numerous religious leaders of the South call upon their worshippers to comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers declare: “Follow this decree because integration is morally right and the Negro is your brother.” In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, “Those are social issues with which the Gospel has no real concern,” and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely other-worldly religion which made a strange distinction between body and soul, the sacred and the secular....

I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader, but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother.

Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty.

Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood,

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Now that I have concluded the reading of the Letter, I would like us to enter into waiting worship.  Maybe start by sitting with what you just heard and allowing it to dwell in your hearts. Then when you are ready, take a moment to a moment to ponder the following queries:

Do I believe that ““Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”? 

Are there aspects of my culture or society that I love, but that also disappoint me?

How may I take action, today, and not just wait for someone else to do the hard work?

1-8-23 - "A New Epiphany"

A New Epiphany

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

January 8, 2023

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV)

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who is to shepherd my people, Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Before Christmas, my son overheard me talking about how people do not understand the 12 days of Christmas and thus uttered, “Don’t they know that Christmas is celebrated through Epiphany?” My first thought was that most people don’t even know what Epiphany is – especially among Quakers who rarely celebrate holy days.

This year, if you noticed, our Jewish friends celebrated their “Festival of Lights” an 8-day holiday which is known as Hanukkah at almost the same time we began celebrating Christmas. What you may not have known is that Christians have a similar celebration that goes back to the traditions of the Middle Ages. 

This past Friday, January 6th was 12 days from Christmas Day.  I am sure most of us are aware of the Christmas Carol – The 12 Days of Christmas.  It seemed to be a nonsensical song for kids, but it too is directly related to these 12 days. Some believe the song has a hidden message that teaches children the Christian Faith. Either way, few people today celebrate these 12 days in which the song speaks.

For most of us, Christmas is one day with lots and lots of prior build-up, and then as soon as it is over, we roll it back up into boxes and stick it in our attic until next December, when we do it all again. In the Henry household no one even thinks of taking down the Christmas Tree until January 6th.

In our day and age, the 12 Days of Christmas have become a time to finally rest after the exhaustion of Christmas.  Mainly because our lives and schedules dictate so much during the holiday season. History shows that these 12 days were supposed to be a way for Christians to Celebrate and even “break the cycle” of the secular world’s busyness.

Many Christians would take the 12 days of Christmas off from work. Many would even wait until Christmas Eve to put up their Christmas Tree and would plan decorating events for each day. Many traditions were created during this time.

It was a time of celebration, a time of family and community, and it all was to focus on the incarnation of Jesus in our world.  Some even believed it to be a time to center down and allow Christ to be revealed in us again each year. It was a brief season of revealing or manifestation.

It is no coincidence then that these 12 days would end with an “Epiphany.”  If you grew up in a more liturgical church or you have friends who are Orthodox Christians (who consider this day their Christmas) you would know that January 6th was an important day. After 12 days of celebrating, centering down, and reflecting, now it is time for an epiphany. 

In ancient times, an epiphany was considered a manifestation of a god (or goddess). The god would finally be recognized, made manifest, or would reveal him, her, or themselves to ordinary people.

Early Christians used the word “epiphany” to describe the story that was just read about the visitation of the wise men. Jesus had been revealed to local shepherds, but to be made manifest to worldly men, star gazers, people most likely outside the Jewish faith was a true epiphany or revealing.

This is why, I believe the story of the wise men cannot be missed or trivialized. It is important in understanding why the message of Jesus is for everyone not just Christians.

Author and Biblical Commentator, Sea Raven, says that Matthew, the writer of our text this morning about the epiphany to the wise men, may have been a liturgist and worship leader in the Jewish Community. 

She says Matthew followed a format that honored the Jewish Sabbath and would be understandable for those knowing the stories about Jesus.

The Jewish people have a long tradition of retelling the great stories of the faith. What she says Matthew was doing was interpreting the birth of Jesus to be the new symbol of the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt.

Matthew went as far as pointing out that Isaiah and Jeremiah both prophesied about the Messiah coming to liberate his people from bondage.

In technical jargon or in theological circles this retelling is called, “midrash.”

“Midrash means retelling a sacred story in a way that has special meaning  for the current time, to fit a new occasion, and a different context, and from a different point of view.” 

In this same tradition, I want us to think about “epiphany” in our current context.  In our postmodern world today, epiphany has come to mean a revelation of a truth about one’s self.

Just maybe, like Matthew interpreted the epiphany for his day and age through the lens of Jesus, we too are being called to reflect, center down, and again reinterpret the epiphany in our context. 

As Quakers, we believe the Light of Christ resides within us and thus we are the hands and feet of Christ being revealed to our world.  That means, you and I are the manifestation to our neighbors, communities, workplaces, and even our own families.   

Again, Sea Raven talks about Christ (or in Matthew’s story what she calls the “Divine Child”)  being an archetype in our world.

As you know in our world today, archetypes get associated with great leaders both spiritual and political.  She points out that this Divine Child archetype is very much prevalent in our world. We are always looking for a “messiah” or Divine Child to be born or be revealed to save us from our bondages.

Just listen to the news or politics, we will make just about anyone a “messiah” for our need to be saved.  We are so obsessed with creating and projecting the “next messiah” we miss the fact that the Divine Child (or Christ) lives within us.  

Folks, let me be frank…you and I are the next epiphany – the next manifestation of God in our world.  We are the incarnation of the gospel to our hurting world. 

Just maybe those Christians in the Middle Ages understood the need to reflect and center down on the incarnation of Christ for those 12 days so they could have a new epiphany in and through their own lives.   

I love what Sea Raven says about this Christ or inner-Divine Child within each of us.  She says,

“The Divine Child is the one who brings something new into the world. The Divine Child challenges the way things are. The Divine Child overturns the kind of injustice that results from the mindless indifference of social systems. The Divine Child overturns everything we think we know about what makes life safe and secure and predictable and under our control. The Divine Child puts us in touch with what we don’t want to be in touch with.  The Divine Child is the wild part of ourselves that isn’t constrained by rules about what’s proper or possible or practical. That wildness is rooted in passionate, radical, inclusive, non-violent, self-defying justice.”

I don’t know about you, but I believe Sea Raven just described living the Quaker Way.  Imagine the difference we might make in our current world – in 2023 – if we were to live out, reveal, make manifest these “Divine Child” attributes and attitudes, today. 

It all sounds great, but it isn’t easy – just as it wasn’t easy for Jesus.

Let’s be honest, the reality of this, is that when we live out this “Divine Child” within us, like Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, we find Herod coming after us – wanting to kill us.  

Herod too is a metaphor. Herod is the people in our lives or sometimes our own ego saying that the predictable and normal are simply ok.

We are surrounded by “Herods,” and they want to kill creativity, suppress change, prevent life from flourishing and growing.

“Herod” is that voice inside of you saying you are not good enough, or you can’t do that, or you don’t have time.  Herod is the voice of oppression and injustice.

So, it makes sense then at this time of the year, we take a personal inventory of ourselves.  We write out New Year’s resolutions, we join gyms and go on diets and make changes to our bodies and minds.  And when we make changes and work to live and manifest the Quaker Way in our life, I believe the world benefits.  

One of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver, summarized this call to reflect, center down, and reinterpret the epiphany in our context through introspection in her poem, The Journey, which I would like to close with this morning.  

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voice behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do —
determined to save
the only life that you could save.

Now, may we reflect on the words of that poem and the following queries as we head into waiting worship this morning. 

·        How are you allowing the “Divine Child” to be revealed in and through you?

·        Who are the “wise men” to whom you need to reveal your message?

·        Who are the personal “Herods” you need to keep at bay?

12-18-22 - Reflecting on the Shepherds and the Angels

Reflecting on the Shepherds and the Angels

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

Dec. 18, 2022

Luke 2:8-15 NRSV  

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

Having so many new people in our growing choir, I am missing them this morning, but I have often over the last several Sundays recalled the passage we just heard read from Luke as they have sung – a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and singing.

This morning, I am simply bringing a devotional thought for us to ponder on a bit of history behind this biblical story of angels and shepherds.  With the help of James Cooper, the Pathos website, and church history, I want to give you some insights that I have found rather fascinating regarding this story.  

Let’s begin with the shepherds.

One of the themes I will be sharing this morning and, in a bit, more detail on Christmas Eve is how in Jesus’ day, shepherds were generally seen as having low or little value by other people.  They were the fringe of society and not allowed in the temple because they were never able to be “ceremonially clean.”  Sadly, this left them both ostracized by society and the religious establishment.  

And how about the sheep that they took care of…

The type of sheep the shepherds would have been raising were 'fat tailed' (or broad tailed) sheep. They often had lambs in the autumn and winter, rather than in the spring like most sheep in western countries these days.

The shepherds were quietly attending to their business when the scriptures say an angel appears to them. I'm not surprised they were afraid because they spent a great deal of time alone out in the pasture not interacting socially with anyone other than the sheep.

The angel's words to them spoke of the amazing birth of a child and how they could recognize him in a very crowded town. I find it interesting that the words of the host of angels are very similar to the words sung during a Jewish Sacrifice Service in the temple, and it would have been accompanied by three blasts of the temple trumpets.

Interestingly, this is only the second time in the whole Bible that a group of angels rather than one angel appeared to people, which is an indicator that this was an important message.

Even as a child, I was so curious about the events taking place around Christmas, I asked for a book by Dr. Paul Maier, a professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, about his perspectives of the First Christmas when I was still in grade school. (Yes, you could say I was a nerd). 

Ironically, the material in that book ended up being key in helping me write my very first sermon, which I delivered at the age of 13 on Christmas Eve in my eighth-grade year. 

Since those days, I have read many theories about the events of the Christmas story. One that has intrigued me is that Jesus might have been born a couple of miles outside of Bethlehem - and may have actually been born in the company of the shepherds.

Just outside of Bethlehem there was a special watch tower called the Migdal Eder, which means 'The Tower of the Flock'. It's thought that sheep born there were used as sacrificial animals in the Jewish Temple in near-by Jerusalem. Unlike typical shepherds, these were very special and were thought of more highly by the religious establishment and society.

According to some sources, the lambs at Migdal Eder had their health checked by resting them in a 'manger' (or a hewn-out rock) to stop them from escaping.  They were even wrapped in swaddling clothes to show they were special!

I’m not convinced about Jesus actually ‘being born’ at 'Migdal Eder’ but having those shepherds being the first to be told about Jesus makes a lot of sense.

Having seen the new baby, the Bible says "...they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." If they were typical shepherds – no one would have paid attention.

But if they were shepherds from Migdal Eder, they could have told the people what they saw on the way back to the hills, friends and relatives in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the 'middle class' people they sold sheep to and also the people and priests in the Jewish Temple when they took their best sheep and lambs to be sold there for sacrifices.

Ironically, even one ancient prophesy from the Bible also said that the Jewish messiah would come to the 'tower of the flock'.

We may never know the exact history of the First Christmas, but when we hear good news proclaimed to us, my hope is that we would take it into all the world (share it with our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers), and do it without instilling fear, but instead with great joy. 

To bring peace and bear good news is our call as we enter this final week leading to Christmas.  May we take that message as the shepherds did in Bethlehem into our communities and homes this weeks!

Now, as we enter waiting worship, take a moment to ponder the following queries:

How are you bringing peace and bearing “good news” as you enter this holiday season? 

Who do you know that needs hope in our world, today?

12-11-22 - "The Match in the Dark Tunnel of Life "

The Match in the Dark Tunnel of Life

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

December 11, 2022

Good morning, friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  This week we have two scriptures. Our first scripture is from John 1:4-5 and is from the Message translation.  

What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out.

Our second scripture is from Ephesians 1:18-19 from the Common English Bible.

I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength.

The Holiday Season always has me taking a moment to ponder the concept of hope. It is not an easy concept to grasp. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel a sense of hopelessness (currently), but I do keep hearing myself and others say, “We need to have more hope during these challenging times.”

Yet, what do we actually mean when we say we need hope?   

A couple of Sundays ago, I was in a conversation about how many churches during this season spend these four weeks leading up to Christmas talking about love, joy, peace, and hope. Yet, when it comes down to it, hope is often the hardest to define or wrap our minds around. 

In some ways it seems too easy to turn these four attributes over to Jesus and his miraculous birth and life, and never see the impact in our present condition.

Just maybe, the hope we see in the Christmas story is the same hope we long for in our daily experience.

To explore this hope, I want to again look at some queries I have been pondering lately. If you have not noticed, I have intentionally built queries into each of our worship experiences leading to Christmas this year. 

Last week I had us pondering if we “are bold enough to proclaim Mary’s Song today? …in our economic and political climate? …with the troubles in our world with race, gender, and economic inequalities? …with a religious fervor that is focused on being right and creating “us vs. them” mentalities?   

And you may have noticed during our Christmas Vespers each lesson was accompanied by a query for personal reflection. This will be a theme all the way through Christmas Eve.

So, let’s begin with the following query this morning…

Why is hope so important?

Many today describe hope as wanting an outcome that makes one’s life better in some way.

It not only can help make a tough present situation more bearable but also can eventually improve one’s life – because envisioning a better future motivates one to take the steps to make it a reality.

Jesus’s birth was the beginning of a life that was to show us a better way to live.  A way to transcend our current situations and envision a better future.

This means that the life and ministry of Jesus was fundamentally about HOPE – what often is described in scriptures as a “living hope” which is given by the Divine. 

For example, 1 Peter 1:3 states, “[God] has given us new birth into a living hope through…Jesus Christ.” 

This means, just as there is that of God in everyone, there is a living hope in each of us as well - you and I are considered a “living hope” right now!  

Just think about it, we all hope for something. It’s an inherent part of being a human. Hope is what helps us define what we want for our futures. It is also part of the self-narrative about our lives we all have running within our being.

This is why our scriptures insist we “abide in faith, hope and love.” 

Out of those three (faith, hope, and love) I believe hope is the hardest to define. So that leads me into my next query…

What Is Hope, Exactly?

I have found that the definition of hope can differ quite dramatically depending on the person or theologian doing the talking.

When people speak about hope in a spiritual context, they often mean believing good things will happen, as long as they have faith in a higher power. Some would even direct these hopes outward through prayers or meditation.

Others might mean always looking on the bright side and seeing challenges as opportunities. I am sure you know people like this – they are always saying, “I’m just hoping for the best.”

If we turn to the definition experts at Merriam-Webster, they make “hope” almost more like a “wish” or as they say, “to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.”

Many believe their hopes are going to come true in Jiminy Cricket-fashion “When you wish upon a star…” And that I think is why we say, “may your hopes and dreams come true.” Even though it may seem a bit of a stretch at first, we must remember, even Pinocchio hoped to fully live.  

Whatever the specifics, hope in general means a desire for things to change for the better, and to desire a better situation or outcome of life.

Also, I need to clarify something else I have learned over time.

Hope is not the same as optimism.

If one is considered an optimist they are seen as naturally more hopeful than others.

Yet, on the other hand, some of the most pessimistic people we encounter can still be hopeful. There hope is often very specific and focused, usually on just one issue, though.

This is why as the embodiment of the Divine’s living hope, we each may find different ways to express our hopes for a better world. 

I see it playing out in real-time, right here in our meeting.  Some of us hope for a better world through the work and opportunities presented by Witness and Service, some through taking care of the building and grounds by being a Trustee, some in caring for others through Circle of Care, and some creating opportunities for hospitality and connecting through the Fellowship Committee and Connections, and we could go on and on…

We could easily say that at First Friends we embody the living hope in all that we do.  

So that brings me to another of my queries…

Why is Hope So Vital?

Most people associate hope with a dire situation. Just listen carefully today and you will hear the cry for hope throughout the world.

Whether it is Afghanistan, the Congo, Venezuela, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Iraq or if it is children crossing the borders, climate change, or child mortality rates due to a plethora of viruses, hope is the cry of many.

All people hope to get out of difficult situations. It is often in these moments, when people do find themselves hoping fervently! As the scriptures indicate:

Not only so, but we glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. (Romans 5:3-4)

But…it is not just in the dreadful situations people turn to hope.

What I am learning, and have been made keenly aware of, is that hope can actually provide the key to making everyday life better.

The American Psychology Association reported that children who grew up in poverty but had success later in life all had one thing in common – hope.

Dr. Valerie Maholmes, who worked on the research, said hope involves “planning and motivation and determination” to get what one hopes for.

And this is the piece we often miss…hoping in God to make a difference in our lives is not magic. 

Christmas for Christians should not be about a baby who came to help us escape this world, but rather about a living hope that showed us how to live a better life in this world, right now. 

God wants us to be co-workers, co-creators, co-hope-bearers to our world.  And God wants us to utilize our gifts, our stories, our entire lives to bring hope into our world. 

For Jesus, having hope links one’s past and present to the future – and that is the same for us. 

This is why Jesus said,

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)

You and I have a vision for what we hope will happen each and every day. Whether it comes to fruition or not, just envisioning and sharing it can begin to make the world a better place.

I truly believe hope is contagious. Just think about it, you and I are drawn to people who present and convey hope.  It is people of hope who motivate us to take the steps needed to make the world a better place.

This all means, having hope is essential to the very act of being human – and that means it is also directly connected to the Divine – since there is that of God in each of us.

As Dr. Judith Rich writes,

“Hope is a match in a dark tunnel, a moment of light, just enough to reveal the path ahead and ultimately the way out.”

Or as it says in 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NRSV),

“For it is God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Christ was the light coming into the darkness of our world bringing hope on that first Christmas, and you and I are the Light being sent into the world today in all of its darkness, pain, and suffering. 

We must embody the living hope and continue the legacy that Christ lived on this planet.  May we be the match in the dark tunnel of life -- a moment of light that reveals the next steps or path to freedom and peace – this is the call of Christmas to our hurting world. 

Go and be a living hope in the way of Christ this Christmas!

As we enter waiting worship this morning, I have prepared some queries for us to ponder:

1.     Who in my life is helping me see hope in the world?

2.     Do I consider myself a co-worker, co-creator, co-hope-bearer with Christ?

3.     How am I being called to be a match in the dark tunnel of life?

12-4-22 - "Mary’s Magnificat: A Challenge to Love"

Mary’s Magnificat: A Challenge to Love

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

December 4, 2022

Good morning, Friends and welcome. This morning our scripture text is from Luke 1:39-55 from the New Revised Standard Version.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

    and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him

    from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

    and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

    and sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

    in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Our text for this morning includes what we have come to refer to as a beautiful song, probably because it has been vocalized and set to music on many occasions. But in today’s world, I have a feeling it would be considered more a piece of “slam poetry” or “spoken word” declared by Mary as a subversive and revolutionary message. We might even hear it recited at a protest or march and maybe even rapped or set to a hip-hop beat. 

Too often we nice things over, romanticize, and soften the edges of difficult words and thoughts, but this is a rather gritty and bold message from a young Mary. Putting her words to classical music or making it a choral piece kind of takes the bite away from the message.

Rev. Carolyn Sharp put it so well when she said,

“Don’t envision Mary as the radiant woman peacefully composing the Magnificat.”  Instead see her as “a girl who sings defiantly to her God through her tears, fists clenched against an unknown future… Mary’s courageous song of praise [becomes] a radical resource for those seeking to honor the holy amid the suffering and conflicts of real life.”

Throughout the years, I have come to hear Mary’s Magnificat not in classical tunes or peaceful soft vocal voices, but rather in the voices and soul of my black sisters of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the inner city of Chicago where I used to teach the Bible, or the voices of Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi who began the Black Lives Matter movement in our country, or maybe even a young, passionate, Nina Simone with her stirring lyrics addressing racial inequalities.

In my mind, I envision Mary as a young brown woman declaring justice, freedom, and hope for her world, instead of the pale white Mary wrapped in baby blue quietly singing in the corner that we are used to seeing depicted on Christmas cards. I see a strong woman with arms flaring, fists raised, wild bodily movements, beads of sweat forming on her brow, and a strong voice throwing down those magnificent words from Luke 1:46-55.

The main reason I hear Mary in this way, is because these words are rather loaded words. Actually, these words have had a rather big impact on the church and even our modern world.

Did you know that:

Mary’s Song (The Magnificat) has been part of the Church’s liturgy or worship programming since the earliest days of Christianity.  It was that important.

For centuries, members of religious orders have recited or sung these words on a daily basis. Along with the Song of Creation, The Song of Praise, The Song of Zechariah, the Song of Simeon, the Glory in Excelsis, and the Te Deum.

But folks, the Magnificat is the ONLY song used by the universal church which was written by a women.

It is the longest set of words spoken by a woman in the New Testament. I think that is very important to note.

It is also the first Christmas carol ever composed.

Parts of Mary’s Magnificat echo the song of Hannah (found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10) and are also reminiscent of the anguish of the prophets of the Old Testament.

And get this, are you ready for this...In the past century, there were at least three separate instances of governments banning the public recitation of the Magnificat.  Its message, they feared, was too subversive. 

First, during the British rule of India, the Magnificat was prohibited from being sung in church.

Second, in the 1980s, Guatemala’s government discovered Mary’s words about God’s preferential love for the poor to be too dangerous and revolutionary. The song had been creating quite the stirring amongst Guatemala’s impoverished masses.  Mary’s words were inspiring the Guatemalan poor to believe that change was indeed possible.  Thus, their government banned any public recitation of Mary’s words.

Third, after the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo—whose children all disappeared during the Dirty War—placed the Magnificat’s words on posters throughout the capital plaza, the military junta of Argentina outlawed any public display of Mary’s song. 

Even the German theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer recognized the revolutionary nature of Mary’s song.  Before being executed by the Nazis, Bonheoffer spoke the following words in a sermon during Advent 1933: 

“The song of Mary is the oldest Advent hymn. It is at once the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. This is not the gentle, tender, dreamy Mary whom we sometimes see in paintings.…This song has none of the sweet, nostalgic, or even playful tones of some of our Christmas carols. It is instead a hard, strong, inexorable song about the power of God and the powerlessness of humankind.”

Now, it is important for us to understand the context of Mary’s song.  We heard in our scripture reading that Mary was visiting her relative Elizabeth. Yet let’s be real honest here, in reality she was escaping the ridicule and possible retribution of her neighbors, family, and community for being an unwed pregnant teenage girl. 

Scripture even tells us that the situation was grim enough that Joseph had planned to call the wedding off quietly. He did not want Mary humiliated or become a social outcast.

And to take the story up a serious notch, the reality was that according to Jewish Law Mary could have actually been stoned for adultery.

Mary is humbled by the realization that the God is up to something and that she has been chosen to be God’s vessel. She senses things changing, literally being turned upside down. Her difficult life of growing up as a vulnerable woman, economically poor, and living in an oppressive world under Herod and the Roman Empire was being turned around.  

I believe Mary’s Magnificat was a cry of freedom and hope for a new world.  This was the cry of…

Mary who grew up economically poor. 

Mary who was a teenage bride-to-be and also pregnant making her a social outcast. 

Mary who gave birth to Jesus in a homeless situation.

Mary who fled with her family as refugees to a strange land because a religious and military power were threatening them.

And this is about a God who knows her condition. Who wants to meet her in her humanity. Who wants her to identity with Him. 

And the same is true for us. God wants us to listen to Mary’s word – and proclaim them today. 

As Reverend Anne Emry wrote in on her blog, Sacred Story,

“Mary’s song rings in our ears, and calls us to disrupt the hold violence has on our world. She sings of a future where all children are safe from violence. She sings of a future where people have homes and food and jobs. Her words are in solidarity with us. She sees to the far horizon and sings of the coming reign of God. We will be fed, and we will feed others. We will be blessed and we will bless others. We will receive justice, and we will do justice to others. All things are possible with God.”

Mary’s Song is timely for us in our day and age – as much as it was in her day.  The beauty of Mary’s Magnificat is that it is our song or poetry as well.  Her passion and words, should flow from us as a hopeful message to our world, today.  The queries I continue to ponder are…

Are we bold enough to proclaim Mary’s Song today?

…in our economic and political climate?

…with the troubles in our world with race, gender, and economic inequalities?

…with a religious fervor that is focused on being right and creating “us vs. them” mentalities?   

If so, it is going to have to be done in Love.  

Several years ago, I came across a modern rendition of the Magnificat by Joy Cowley that was shared by John Shelby Spong.  I would like to close our time with sharing this version. There is one line in it that I believe sums up Mary’s intent and ours… Joy Cowley writes..."It’s the Love that we are made for…"

Mary knew this truth and so must we as we proclaim this important message again to our world. It’s being the Love of God to our world that we are made for this Holiday Season.

Maybe close your eyes and listen to this beautiful modernized version of the Magnificat.

Modern Magnificat  by Joy Cowley

My soul sings in gratitude.

I’m dancing in the mystery of God.

The light of the Holy One is within me

and I am blessed, so truly blessed.

This goes deeper than human thinking.

I am filled with awe

at Love whose only condition

is to be received.

The gift is not for the proud,

for they have no room for it.

The strong and self-sufficient ones

don’t have this awareness.

But those who know their emptiness

can rejoice in Love’s fullness.

It’s the Love that we are made for,

the reason for our being.

It fills our inmost heart space

and brings to birth in us, the Holy One.

Now, as we enter waiting worship this morning, ask yourself,

How will I share the important message of Mary’s Magnificat this Holiday Season?

Who needs to hear it, today?

11-20-22 - "Thankful Awareness"

Thankful Awareness

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

November 20, 2022

Good morning, friends.  Our scripture reading for this Sunday is First Thessalonians 5:14-18 from the New Revised Standard Version.  

And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Earlier this week, I had “Today with Hoda and Jenna” on in the background while I was working, because I had heard that Michelle Obama was going to be on to talk about finding light when the world feels low. These ideas were coming from her new book, “The Light We Carry.” (Hearing such a focus on “Light” - I sometimes think having the Obama daughters attend a Quaker school rubbed off on mom and dad.)

Hoda and Jenna opened the interview with explaining how Michelle’s new book was inspired by the 2000+ letters per month that Michelle receives from people thanking her for being an inspiration in difficult times. 

Since I am a sucker for a good story, I stopped working for a bit when 25-year old, Irene Dimatulac, a cancer survivor read the letter she wrote to Michelle in 2020 during the pandemic. Before inviting her to come out and meet Michelle, they cut to a video of her reading her letter with an accompanying photo montage.

Through growing tears, I listened to Irene’s cancer battle, her struggle to be a good daughter, her utter fear of the world outside her door during the pandemic, and her loss of feeling worthy and beautiful due to her illness.

But through it all it was Michelle Obama who inspired her to keep going – someone she did not even know personally. The thanks poured from Irene’s lips, the gratitude was seen on her face, and there was a sense that even though she had never met Michelle Obama, she had given her hope in these really hard times through sharing her own struggles. 

I was wiping the tears from my face, as Irene had the opportunity to meet and thank Michelle in person on the show.

I think Michelle Obama was absolutely correct in responding to meeting Irene by saying,

“You never know whose life you’re changing in the process of sharing your story.” 

But I believe you could also say,

“You never know whose life you’re changing in the process of being  grateful and thanking someone.”

I have found it is just as important and impactful to take the time to express thanks to the people who help, support, even inspire us, especially through difficult times. 

My parents intentionally raised me to be thankful. I spent a lot of time in my childhood, at times almost against my will, writing “thank you” notes for presents or experiences I received from relatives and friends. But overtime, that discipline of writing thank you notes changed my view and taught me what I believe is genuine gratitude and thanks. 

Now, every month, I take a day or two to stop and write personal thank you notes and emails to people who have made a difference in my life. Sometimes it is in response to something they have done, but often it is more of a response to who they are in my life or in the lives of those around me. 

Robert Emmons, psychology professor and gratitude researcher at the University of California, Davis, says that there are two key components of practicing gratitude:

First, we affirm the good things we’ve received.

And second, we acknowledge the role other people play in providing our lives with goodness

Did you hear the words Emmons used in these two points – affirm and acknowledge. Two very Quakerly words.  

You may not know that early on in Quaker history, Friends were considered a religious group who greatly lacked gratitude and thanksgiving. Many early Friends believed that thanking someone or showing public gratitude could lead to individuals having pride in what they had done. So, they often would refrain from thanking people or even teaching about gratitude in their Meetings.

Sadly, I think, at times, that belief has continued in pockets among Friends. 

Yet, as Friends have evolved, gratitude has evolved as well. Many Friends have acknowledged what lacking thankfulness and gratitude can do to individuals and even to a society. 

Recently, Friends Committee on National Legislation asked “What would our society look like if we embraced gratitude? Not just privately, in gratitude journals and personal prayers… but as a civic practice?”

We don’t often think of gratitude as a public act. In her book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, religious scholar and author Diana Butler Bass explores the radical idea that gratitude is social. It connects us to one another.

Her idea of public gratitude reminds us that it is important for society to witness public acts of gratitude to acknowledge grace (what Quakers might call, “walking in the Light”).

As well, it is important to remember that gratitude and thankfulness is also important for our personal lives.

Monk, author, and lecturer David Steindl-Rast says:

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy—because we will always want to have something else or something more. 

Research has even found a link between gratitude and a wide range of benefits, including, if you can believe this, strengthening your immune system and improving sleep patterns, feeling optimistic and experiencing more joy and pleasure, being more helpful and generous, and even feeling less lonely and isolated. 

Even God wants us to have a spirit of gratitude in all we do and say. We heard this in our scriptures for this morning, “give thanks in all circumstances.” When we are grateful, we will have greater happiness and satisfaction in our lives. We will recognize the influence and blessings of God.

That means lacking gratitude and thankfulness or avoiding it could actually be detrimental to our lives and even our health in so many ways. 

One of the Quaker queries that I most appreciate is the one that asks:

“Do I live in thankful awareness of God’s constant presence in my life?”

I feel that being in "thankful awareness" and expressing gratitude is at the heart of the spiritual life. This includes gratitude not only for God, but also for that of God in the people around us.

So, to close this sermon this morning, I would like for us to take a moment to  explore our “thankful awareness.” It won’t just help our Thanksgiving holidays, but it will help us remember what we should be grateful for, and how we may have forgotten or neglected to see all that God has provided for us. 

I have broken it down to 5 specific areas to consider.

1. Identify 3 things that you feel thankful for and appreciate about your life.

These things can be based on the past, present, or future. No category or thing is too big or small to appreciate, however, being specific might be helpful.

2. Identify 3 things that you take for granted but are actually very thankful for.

We all have things that we take for granted. This is the time to reflect and discover which of those you value the most.

3. Identify 3 things that you appreciate about yourself.

Pick things that are meaningful. These can involve your personality, your qualities, your actions, or anything else directly related to yourself.

4. Identify 3 things that you feel grateful for about First Friends.

            What does First Friends mean to you and your spiritual journey. 

5. Identify 3 people who had a significant and positive experience on your life.

These can be coaches, mentors, professors, bosses, family members, or anyone else. Call those people to mind and think about how they made a difference in your life.

Whether it is by giving a testimony of gratitude during Open Worship today, by making a phone call, writing a note, planning a lunch, visiting the graveyard or favorite place you spent time together, find a way to let those people know your gratitude today. 

Let us continue this as we enter Waiiting Worship this morning.

11-13-22 - "Radical Hospitality: An Appreciation of Otherness"

Radical Hospitality: An Appreciation of Otherness

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

November 13, 2022

Good morning, friends and welcome to Light Reflections. Our scripture reading for this mornings is Luke 14:12-24 from the New Revised Standard Version.

He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.  But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.  At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’  Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’  Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’  So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’  And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’  Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

On Tuesday morning, I woke up early with my wife and son to see the Beaver Blood Moon Eclipse – Did any of you get a chance to see it? It was stunning, but as I came in to warm up with a hot cup of coffee, Beth and I received a text from Phil Goodchild. His text read,

“…I’m so thankful for and proud of our Meeting for serving as a safe and welcoming place for all citizens to participate in democracy on Election Day. And for hosting Election Protection volunteer training. Go Quakers!”

Beth was here really early on Tuesday to get breakfast items and lunch ready for the election workers and also to help out in any way. When I came in just before noon, there was a long line of voters, and the workers were taking their lunch break. They were so grateful and said again and again how thankful they were and how they planned to sign up for our poll location each year because of our gracious hospitality.  

Now, I know Quakers aren’t supposed to be proud, but I am proud of our Meeting for it’s hospitality in so many ways. I love hearing people share in Adult Affirmation Class, at New Attender Dinners, even over a cup of coffee during the week about how they were welcomed or feel welcome at our Meeting.  That is a blessing and I thank each of you.    

Quakers have always been known for what we like to call “radical hospitality” - a practice of putting extraordinary effort and emphasis on making people feel welcome.

Not only does radical hospitality have a lot to do with being welcoming, but it also is about helping people feel a sense of belonging or, maybe even better, allowing people to become full participants in our Meeting without jumping through hoops or meeting some criteria.

In our world today, hospitality might at first be seen as welcoming and even being nice or polite, but lately it has also become about being at ease with people and sensing an amount of safety within a group of people.

This has not always been the case in our religious history.

Hospitality looked a bit different in the ancient Near East than it does in America, today. And that was mainly due to hospitality being offered to complete strangers.

Marjorie J. Thompson in her book “Soul Feast” (which I consider a primer for experiencing the Spiritual Life in a Christian context) says this about hospitality in ancient times,

“People who appeared from the unknown might bear gifts or might be enemies.  Because travel was a dangerous venture, codes of hospitality were strict. If a sworn enemy showed up at your doorsteps asking for food and shelter, you were bound to supply his request, along with protection and safe passage as long as he was on your land.

All sorts of people had to travel at times through “enemy territory” which meant the hospitality to strangers was a matter of mutual survival. It was a kind of social covenant, an implied commitment to transcend human differences in order to meet common human needs.”

Wow! Let me read that last line again:

“It was a kind of social covenant, an implied commitment to transcend human differences in order to meet common human needs.”

Might it be time for us to reinstate this “social covenant” in our day and age?  Ponder that.

Thompson continues, she says:  

“Hospitality was a hallmark of virtue for ancient Jews and Christians. But in scripture, hospitality reflects a larger reality than human survival codes. It mysteriously links us to God as well as to one another…Hospitality in biblical times was understood to be a way of meeting and receiving holy presence.” 

If we as Quakers truly embrace the theology of “That of God in everyone we meet,” then each encounter with our neighbor, friend, relative is an opportunity to meet and receive “holy presence.” 

Or think about in a couple of weeks, you will be having dinner around tables with family and friends which can also be opportunities to experience holy presence if we choose to make them so.  

If we are able to engage in radical hospitality – a hospitality that transcends our needs and allows us to enter this holy presence with relatives, neighbors, friends, even people we disagree with, voted different than us, or simply just rub us the wrong way, we might enter a new space of holy presence.    

I remember just before coming to First Friends, I had the opportunity for a silent retreat at the Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon. This abbey sits on the highest part of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. From there you can look out on a clear day and see the Cascade Mountain ranges, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and a plethora of other old volcanic peaks.

On my last day there, due to some rain, I had spent some time in the library and was on my way out when I decided to grab a quick drink of water out of the drinking fountain.  As I finished taking a drink, I noticed a beautiful sign above the fountain made with colorful mosaic tiles.

On it was written the Rule of St. Benedict #53 – Receive all as Christ.

Receive all as Christ. 

Receive all as a holy presence. 

Receive all as if we believed that there was that of God in them.

Jean Vanier, philosopher, theologian, humanitarian and founder of the La’Arch Community wrote about hospitality in “Befriending a Stranger.” He said,

“In the midst of all the violence and corruption of the world God invites us today to create new places of belonging, places of sharing, of peace and of kindness, places where no-one needs to defend himself or herself; places where each one is loved and accepted with one’s own fragility, abilities, and disabilities. This is my vision for our churches: that they become places of belonging, places of sharing.”

That could be the summary of my vision for First Friends since I arrived 5 years ago. 

See, when we start to receive people differently and allow radical hospitality to see that of God in them, then we are evoked to create new places of belonging and sharing.  

One of the biggest problems with churches and Quaker meetings today, is that they too often have stopped creating new opportunities for belonging and sharing. They continue to do the same thing over and over hoping for different results (some label that insanity!)

Often in many of these cases they slowly die and disappear.

That isn’t the way it is at First Friends – it easily could be – but thankfully it isn’t. I love all the ways we have been creating opportunities here at First Friends to help people find a place to belong and share and connect.  We are diverse place and that makes us stronger and I believe more beautiful.

I will be honest I think we are getting pretty good at this radical hospitality.  Many of us are dedicated to spending time with people for the purpose of developing community, friendships, and deeper relationships and it is paying off – we are learning, growing, and becoming more aware of the beauty that is both inside and outside these walls.   

Marjorie Thompson describes this type of radical hospitality and what it takes at its core. She says,   

“Hospitality means receiving the other, from the heart, into my own dwelling place. It entails providing for the need, comfort, and delight of the other with the openness, respect, freedom, tenderness, and joy that love itself embodies.”

That means that Radical Hospitality is first and foremost an expression of our Love.

Or maybe I should say, it is an expression of unselfish love.

In our scripture text for this morning, before Jesus shared his parable, he decided to say a couple things to his host.

He says in v. 12, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.

In other words, you don’t give in order to get something in return.

Why not?  Because when you behave in this way, it means that you are looking for a selfish gain in some way.  That is radical in our world, today.

Instead, Jesus tells the man in vv. 13-14, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.”

In Israel, the crippled, the lame and the blind were obviously the poor of the society. These were the people who, because of their physical disabilities, could not work, and therefore they could not earn a salary. Most of them depended on charity to survive.

Why should you invite them? Precisely because they can’t repay you. This is the exact opposite of the worldly way of thinking – you scratch my back and I will scratch yours.

Nobody seems to give in this way these days, in a spirit of unselfish love. But this is how we are to respond, this is the true essence and nature of radical hospitality – it is a concrete expression of our unselfish love for our neighbor.

Also, I categorize this type of hospitality as a justice issue or part of Christ’s social gospel, because hospitality to strangers often is considered “doing justice.”

Interestingly, if you look carefully at the biblical meaning of justice and simplify it. You could easily say that it means being in “right relationship” with one another.

So, showing kindness to the nomad or vagrant, or offering support to the widow or orphan, taking in the homeless, refugee, or poor, and offering hospitality to strangers (even enemies) – these were all expressions of “just” relationships with one’s neighbor in scripture.

Take a moment to really think about this…who are the nomads, vagrants, widows, orphans, homeless, poor, and strangers in our neighborhoods? 

Who are the people who cannot repay us?

Who are the people who are neglected by the mainstream of culture? Where do they live and spend their time?  Why are they neglected?

We often look at the extremes and point outside our own four walls, but the reality is too often the strangers are also in our midst. Just maybe the stranger is

·      someone who feels alone,

·      someone who has no friends, no one to talk to.

·      someone who gives and gives but is never recognized by others for using their gifts.

·      someone struggling to keep their marriage together and afraid to admit they are struggling.

·      someone suffering from depression or melancholia.

·      someone who is ashamed by what they have done or what has been done to them.   

·      Someone who is addicted to pride or power or prestige.

·      Someone who is scared or wishes they could be stronger.

Folks, the reality is each of us in this Meetinghouse all have at one time been or maybe currently are strangers.

·      We all want to be welcomed.

·      We all want to belong. 

·      We all want to be full participants. 

·      We all want to be needed. 

·      We all want to be delighted. 

·      We all want to be loved.

·      We all want to be in right relationships

·      We all want to be seen and known.

This is why it is so important that when we practice radical hospitality it, as John Fenner at Parker Palmer’s Center for Courage and Renewal claims, is an “appreciation of otherness.” He says,

“Appreciating the value of otherness, for me, goes beyond tolerance – beyond “you’re welcome as long as you play by our rules.” Appreciating the value of otherness entails a level of engagement, inquiry, dialogue, and interaction in which all members can freely share their gifts, learn from each other, and ultimately grow spiritually together. This is hard work and takes time and practice. It takes a willingness to be stretched and to sit with discomfort. It takes a belief that there is “that of God in everyone.”

So, whether at Meeting for Worship, around the table this Thanksgiving Holiday, at your work meeting, with your yoga class, or wherever you are called to radical hospitality this week, remember to begin by receiving all as Christ, help people to feel that they belong and are appreciated, and remember that we are all strangers seeking to be known.

As we enter waiting worship this morning take a moment to ponder the queries I shared earlier in my message:

Who are the nomads, vagrants, widows, orphans, homeless, poor, and strangers in my neighborhoods? 

Who are the people who cannot repay me?

Who are the people who are neglected by the mainstream of culture? Where do they live and spend their time?  Why are they neglected?

11-6-22 - The Seed: Potential Life Breaking Forth!

The Seed: Potential Life Breaking Forth!

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

November 6, 2022

Good morning, friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  Today’s scripture is from John 12:24-25 from the Message Translation.

24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

This week was Día de Muertos (or the Day of the Dead) in many Hispanic cultures and last Sunday, as well as in Friend to Friend this week, I mentioned that my family attended the community celebration at the Eiteljorg Museum here in Indianapolis.

Obviously, at an event that celebrates death and life, you almost assume there will be moments of pondering or considering the meaning of life and the process of death.

I find it interesting that Día de Muertos for us in Indiana happens to line up nicely with the end of fall as the leaves make their final descent and the nature around us dies away for the winter months, awaiting its rebirth in the Spring.     

Rob Bell in his widely read book, “Love Wins” wrote about this important physical and spiritual process in a chapter titled “Dying to Live.”  He says,

“In the fall in many parts of the world, the leaves drop from the trees and the plants die. They turn brown, wither, and lose their life. They remain this way for the winter – dormant, dead, lifeless. And then spring comes, and they burst into life again. Growing sprouting, producing new leaves and buds. For there to be Spring, there has to be a fall and then a winter. For nature to spring to live, it first has to die. Death, then resurrection. This is true for ecosystems, food chains, the seasons, -- it’s true all across the environment. Death gives way to life.”

That is what we heard in our text for this morning. Seeds must be buried in the ground before they can rise from out of the earth as new life. 

Think about that for a moment…when we see death around us, when people are being buried in the ground, when we are ending an era, when jobs, ministries, administrations, even buildings or businesses are closing – each are making way for life. 

The “seed” is actually the metaphor for potential life to break forth!  Quakers were known to use several metaphors for “That of God” within us – some called it the “spark,” some the “light” and still others would reference the “seed” - a seed of potential life ready to break forth from within each of us.

Yet in our grief, in our pain, in our wanting to hold on to the past, or our idea of what we thought something should be – we cling to death – we hinder the needed change and potentiality of life – we miss the opportunities to embrace the life around us, now.

I am not saying grief, mourning, remembering, are wrong (they are essential, needed, and part of each of our lives) – but if they begin to strangle out the life around us, they diminish life.

·      The death of a loved one can be devastating.

·      The ending of an era can be full of anxiety of what is next.

·      The loss of a job can seem like the end – but often these are only the beginning of something new.

When death comes it forces us to see life in new ways. It changes things.  It also gives birth to new possibilities.

Rob challenges his reader to “Think of what you’ve had to eat today.” He says,

“Dead. All of it. If you ate plants, they were at some point harvested, uprooted, disconnected from a stalk or vine, yanked from the ground so that they could make their way to your plate, where you ate them so that you can…live. The death of one living thing for the life of another.”

What he is saying is that this “Dying to Live” is built into the core of our being as humans. It is part of how God created us. Take for example how…

·      Scientifically – the cells in our bodies are dying at a rate of millions a second, only to be replaced at a similar rate of millions a second. Our skin is constantly shedding and replacing itself with new cells – we have an entirely new skin every week or so

·      Relationally – when someone sacrifices their life to save another – policeman, fireman, soldiers, heroic neighbors, etc.…we are inspired by the giving of life to save life.

These are only two examples, but I bet if we thought for a while, we would begin to see death giving way to life all around us.

Last week, as I stood among the community ofrendas (altars) at the Dia de Muertas celebration, I pondered where in my life death had given way to life? (And where it may be wanting to, but not able or allowed to?)

Take a moment and ask yourself that query – Where in my life has death given way to life?  (And where may it be wanting to, but not able or allowed to?)

Or how about here at First Friends – where in the life of our meeting has death given way to life?  (And where may it be wanting to, but not able or allowed to?)

I continue to ponder these queries and I believe deep down many of you in this room have been wrestling with this process in your lives in some way.

Because death is giving way to life all around us…we must be aware of what this may mean in our day-to-day lives, ministries, careers, families, etc.…

In his book, “The Holy Longing,” Ronald Rolhieser, speaks of the various deaths in our lives, I don’t have enough time to go into great detail about each of them, but I do want to give you his list and briefly explain each.  Rolhieser says that these deaths are the “bread and butter of our lives.” – that unless we die in infancy, we will be experiencing many deaths in our lifetime – and more importantly that means we will also be given new life through that death.  Here are the deaths Rolhieser emphasizes…

1.    Death of our Youth…

Each day we are getting older, but that doesn’t mean we are dead. Our choices in life are happening now – not back when… Many people refuse to give up their youth – always trying to live in the past. Our bodies are changing, our minds are changing, and the world around us is changing. We cannot live or even be like we were in our teens, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, etc.… We must admit that our youth has died and given birth to new seasons, eras, and most importantly who we are in the present moment.

Just think about it – many of us cause more death in our lives because we have what we label a mid-life crisis – where for some reason we feel we can go back. The reality is that our past lives have died and given birth to who we are now.

The same is true about First Friends. We are not the same Meeting we were in the late 1950’s when we moved into this building. And we are not the same as we were in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, or even early 2000s.  Those eras at First Friends have died, our community has changed, the world around us has changed, even Quakerism has changed. We must be asking, who we are in the present?

2.    Death of our Wholeness…

This Rolhieser explains is the death that results when part of us is fractured and dies. Maybe it was an abusive relationship, a lack of care or love, a divorce, a bad childhood, a degrading work situation, having been diagnosed with cancer or sickness, the loss of mobility, or even our minds…each of us endure things in life that cause us to be incomplete.

Acknowledging these deaths make us aware that we are not whole – that part of us has died along life’s path.  Each of us has something that makes us incomplete.  The death of our wholeness does not mean that we are not living – that God isn’t bringing newness to our pain.  Instead, we are admitting that we are not whole – that there are places that need newness of life!

People have left this meeting for various reasons over the years, and people will continue to do so. This will cause fractures and be painful at times but that doesn’t mean that new life can’t spring forth.  We may feel less than whole for a while, but new life will spring up and fill the gaps left. 

3.    Death of our Dreams…

Rolhieser says, “When we fail to mourn properly our incomplete lives, then this incompleteness becomes a gnawing restlessness, a bitter center, that robs our lives of all delight.”

Part of us, on this earthly journey, will never be fulfilled, we will experience times of loneliness, restlessness, and incompleteness.  As we become more aware of who we are, we may realize we are trying to live someone else’s dream or a dream that has died a long time ago, instead of the dreams that you and I are being made for in the present.

I believe that God wants us to dream dreams that are for now! That ideal dream, the American dream, the dream that someone else has for you – whatever it is may need to die – so that you can allow yourself to really dream with God for the future.

And the same is true for First Friends.  Often, I sense we are living a certain person or group of people’s dream for First Friends instead of dreaming together as a community.

4.    Death of our Honeymoon…

I have heard people say…well, the honeymoon is over. The passion of a relationship has died. We have changed. This could be for married partners as well as friendships.  All relationships must go through times of death.

The argument, that time of separation, that disagreement, may actually be the beginning of a death – but if we can see it as the beginning of something new – a new season in our relationship – it will give life!

The honeymoon is much like the personal “mountain top experience” – when we let it die – we begin to find new adventures that fit more into the daily aspects of life and allow us to sense renewal and hope on a more regular and ordinary basis.  Again, the same is true for those “mountain top experiences” we have all have had at First Friends - which kind of leads us into the last death…

5.    The Death of a Certain Idea of God and Church...

Wherever we are on life’s journey with God, we too often cling to a specific era in our walk with God.  Many of us spend our lives trying to find the Meeting or church of our youth – or the Meeting or church that provides that one experience that we encountered back when.

The reality is that we are constantly changing…and we are always spiritually forming – whether we are attempting to or not. We are learning, experiencing, and feeling our way through life and our walk with God.

Personally, I don’t see church or God the way I did when I was in fourth grade – or high school – or in college – or for that matter last week!

Too often you and I are so stuck in the image of God or of church from a previous time or experience, that we cannot recognize God’s presence within our current reality. God wants to meet and work with you and I in the present moment.

We are in a critical time as part of the church in America – I think it is becoming clear that we are going to have to put to death some of our ideas from the past so that God can do new things with and through us currently.

These five deaths that Rolhieser points out are what I would call “seeds,” They need to be buried and die – so new life can arise! 

What might that look for you and me?

I return to Rob Bell’s words from “Love Wins” – he says,

“Jesus talks about death and rebirth constantly, his and ours. He calls us to let go, turn away, renounce, confess, repent, and leave behind the old ways. He talks about life that will come from his own death, and he promises that life will flow to us in thousands of small ways as we die to our egos, our pride, our need to be right, our self-sufficiency, our rebellion, and our stubborn insistence that we deserve to get our way. When we cling with white knuckles to our sins and our hostility, we’re like a tree that won’t let its leaves go. There can’t be spring if we’re stuck in the fall.

Lose your life and find it, he says.

That’s how the world works.

That’s how the soul works.

That’s how life works – when you’re dying to live.”

So, I ask us this morning as we enter waiting worship. 

What do I need to die to – so that I can truly live?

What do we need to die to as a Meeting at First Friends – so we can truly live?