10-22-23 - Surprising People in Unexpected Times and Places

Surprising People in Unexpected Times and Places

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

October 22, 2023

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  Our scripture for this morning is more of a summary of my message and is used to support what I am saying.  The scripture comes from 1 Peter 4:10-11a in The Voice translation.  

Use whatever gift you’ve received for the good of one another so that you can show yourselves to be good stewards of God’s grace in all its varieties. 11 If you’re called upon to talk, speak as though God put the words in your mouth; if you’re called upon to serve others, serve as though you had the strength of God behind you.

This morning, I am concluding my series of messages on the biblical prophets that were inspired by my Friend Howard Macy’s book, “Befriending the Prophets.”  Let me quickly do a recap of where we have been over the last 6 weeks.

On Kick Off Sunday we began by looking at some of the misconceptions we have of the biblical prophets, as well as, how we ALL share an identity with the prophets. Realizing that in the end,

The world needs more disturbing people who can envision the wonders of life together that God intends for us, people who can see through and call out the ways we corrupt that life, people who can teach us how to walk in God’s ways. 

Week two, I brought my big and little “stir sticks” and we discussed “stirring appropriately.” That when we feel lead to speak, act, or engage prophetically in our circles of influence, and as we become visible signs that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all of creation, we must remember to season all things with patience, kindness and love, then listen deeply to the Spirit within us, finally stirring appropriately (sometimes it will be in small ways and other times it will be in much bigger ways) – but most importantly we must remember to stir it up!

In week three, I shared about my grandfather’s prophetic influence on me, and we pondered how often our ventures in this world are not prophetic because we have simply bought into boasting about correct knowledge, might, and wealth instead of becoming God-enthralled and delighting in kindness, justice, and moral (righteous) living.

In week four, we looked at the biblical prophets’ similar vision of living together in ways that make for peace (shalom). And to live as a community of peace means we would need to turn from our ways and learn the ways of God which again are righteousness, social justice, loving kindness, and truth.

In week six, Beth had us looking at the prophet Jonah about how he ran from the call because he did not want God to save Ninevah. The reality was that the people of Ninveah were enemies of Israel and God was going to save them. Beth then had us wrestle with how we embrace a God of ultimate inclusiveness?

Finally last week, I had us look at how we are to be experienced listeners AND speakers of the “word of God” within our hearts in our own unique and special ways.

So, this morning, I want to conclude these messages by trying to help us see how God often chooses surprising people in unexpected times and places to speak to our condition and even change our world. 

Friend Craig Barnett from Britain Yearly Meeting points out that as modern Quakers, we are still drawing on the deep spiritual visions of prophets such as George Fox, Lucretia Mott, and John Woolman, and we could name several more from our past. And often we expand those historical prophets to include people of the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, and I could name many more. 

But I too probably am at fault for spending too much time looking at our past and missing what is happening in the present moment. 

Think about who are the prophets among Quakers today. I did a google search – it took me a couple of times to get the algorithm to work for me, but even then my search resulted in 20 people who were dead and 5 that were alive.  And you have probably heard of many of these 25, but the ones you can experience in-person or in the flesh, today, you could count on one hand.

The five included 2 people alive in our actual yearly meeting – Brent Bill and Phil Gulley.  And there was also a couple other alive Quakers like theologian Pink Dandelion, Actress Judi Dench (which I wasn’t sure should be on this list), and for the first time Quaker YouTube sensation, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard who a couple of our new people here at First Friends found before exploring us as their community of faith. 

Otherwise, the other 20 people were dead and a huge majority of them have been dead for many years.  Not saying their prophetic voices have died, just that they were speaking to a past generation of Quakers.

As American Quakers we have been and continue to be nourished by the prophetic ministry and witness of many Friends, not just in the 17th Century but throughout our history. I think we clearly have contemporary prophets among us today (and as good Quakers they probably would not agree with being given that label) but I think they have been voices that have spoken to our condition and helped return us to what delights God. I am thinking of people that I hope to one day get a chance of introducing you to, like Noah Baker, Ashley Wilcox, C. Wess Daniels, Emily Provance, and I would include Cherice Bock, Max Carter, and Colin Saxton who you may have met at our Yearly Meeting Sessions.

But still, all these people I mentioned are part of the greater gathering of Friends, but they are not always those closest to us or who can speak into our life, directly.

Actually, none of the people I mentioned so far are or were part of Indianapolis First Friends – our community of faith. 

Maybe we should begin to look around, be more aware, and identify who are the prophets in our midst right here at First Friends? 

I agree with Friend Craig Barnett that,  

“Each generation needs new prophetic voices, to speak to its condition, both to criticize and to energize their community and the wider society with a 'prophetic imagination' that opens up new possibilities.”

If we are genuinely called to be a prophetic community perhaps we need to ask ourselves how we can become more receptive to the prophetic voices in our Meeting. How we can nurture and support Friends who are being led to minister the message of the Spirit for our times - especially younger Friends.

Do you know some of the most prophetic voices in our Meeting are heard during the children’s message?

Our children, with their simple but often profound, honest, even at times bold but authentic words speak to the depth of our condition. I know they often speak to mine. They remind us as Christ did that our faith should be like that of a child.  Sometimes, I don’t even think my message is necessary after they speak because their words have said what was needed to be said.

The kids are a prime example of how God can use surprising people at unexpected times to be prophetic in our community. 

I know I have mentioned Stella before, but she is a prophet in our midst as she dances in the aisle and reminds us how everyone is welcome in this place – and she uses no words to share her prophetic voice in our midst.   

At the end of the summer when Shelby Nation shared her saxophone talents with us during worship, she chose the song, “Oh Happy Day” not knowing that during the previous week that fires in Maui would consume an entire community and that I would be talking about sitting with the darkness of life. Again, I sensed that instrumental version of the song Shelby played and Eric accompanied was a prophetic song of comfort and healing – it even became our benediction that Sunday to send us out. 

I remember on many occasions when our dear Friend Linda Lee shared a poem in Meeting for Worship, often it spoke a universal message to each of us about our spiritual journeys – and today her partner, Ed, has continued that prophetic voice of hers through our Linda Lee Spiritual Retreat. 

How many of you have been told “I love you” by Liam (formerly Erin) Tinsley.  Almost every Sunday, Liam comes in and gives me a big hug and tells me that they love me.  That is persistence, and we could easily dismiss it, but I believe it is a prophetic voice in our midst reminding us to see and love everyone.

Even though it can be, the prophetic in our midst does not have to take the typical form of a message or of speaking out of the silence.  It can also come in a variety of unexpected and surprising ways - a child’s honesty, a dance of joy, an instrumental song with deep healing power, a poem or retreat, even a simple hug and the words “I love you.”  

Howard Macy concludes his book “Befriending the Prophets” with a chapter titled, “Beyond Cranky” which alludes to the fact that many think prophets to be loud, cranky and even curmudgeonly, but folks that is not the case.  It reminds me of when Eric Baker spoke out of the silence earlier in this series and said his view of a prophet was a loud person holding a sign on the corner warning of the end times. Maybe that is what the movies have taught us to see or what we have come to expect because we weren’t looking deep enough.

I believe God is using surprising people in unexpected ways in our lives all the time to speak into our lives.  The question is are our eyes open to see them, to hear them, to receive their prophetic messages. 

If there is one thing Howard has taught me through his book, and hopefully, I have conveyed it in this series is that we ALL have the potential of being prophetic voices in our community of faith and in a plethora of ways. 

Whether it is a prophetic warning or teaching, an opportunity for guidance, or stirring words or actions of hope, comfort, and even restoration – each of us in our own unique way has something to offer this community.

So, in conclusion, the poet Mary Oliver may have written the best definition of what it means to be a prophet in our time. She writes simply,

“Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.”

Now, as we enter waiting worship, I ask you to ponder the following queries:

1.     How often have I looked to the past for prophetic guidance while missing the prophets in my midst?

2.     Who are the prophets at First Friends that have spoken to my condition?

3.     How am I utilizing my unique prophetic voice for the benefit of my community?  Are there reasons I have not shared? 

10-15-23 - Experienced Listening and Speaking

Experienced Listening and Speaking

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

October 15, 2023

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. This morning I am continuing my sermon series on the biblical prophets based on Howard Macy’s book, “Befriending the Prophets.”  The scripture I have chosen this week is Amos 7:14-15 from the New Revised Standard Version.  

Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

Sue and I spent a few years among folks who used the term charismatic to describe themselves when we were just starting our family.  That terminology was difficult to define, and I had a plethora of people who always wanted to define it for me.  Interestingly, one of the definitions in the Merriam-Webster dictionary for charismatic (in the religious sense) is “one who is inspired by God.” Ironically, this is also how one often describes a prophet.

Looking back over my life and especially my 28 years in professional ministry, I have had a lot of people who were sure that they were inspired by God, or as we might say among Friends, “moved by the Spirit” to share some word or call to action.  I too have felt this leading on occasion.

Some of the people who have spoken into my life have been spot on and others have been way off.  Some I would say were prophetic in my life, and others not so much.  Some people have shared words that were for a moment or time in my life and others became a wild goose chase or dead-end street – or they seemed so preposterous that in my heart I knew there was something wrong.

Sue and I had a person once give us a word from God in a time of prayer. She said that while she was praying, she saw “French Doors.” She did not know what it meant, but that when we saw the “French Doors” we would know we were in the right place. We have lived in quite a few  places since that time, and we have never owned a house with “French Doors.” Does that mean we are not in the right place? Should we look for a house with French Doors? 

Sue and I have also had fellow pastors and their spouses tell us that God told them we were following the devil because we were leaving their church and ministry to pursue a new ministry.  Was that the case, or did they just want to make us feel bad for leaving? 

Even my best man at our wedding said God told him that I was entering a slippery slope when I decided to head back to get my master’s degree at a school that was not a part of our denomination. He even said that I was bound to lose my faith if I went there and would probably no longer be his friend.  Since that day, I can count the times I have heard from him on one hand.

I was even told by a person in my last Quaker Meeting that God told them I needed to be saved – that person even tried to lay hands on me and pray for my salvation during waiting worship and it was shut down by the others gathered that morning.

Or there was that time, I was caught unaware by a complete stranger at a coffee house in Silverton, Oregon.

Upon entering, I grabbed a cup of coffee and proceeded to set up my computer and get out a couple books that I wanted to work through on this early morning.  And then, out of the blue, the man sitting next to me asked about the book I was reading and proceeded to question if it taught people about “Alternative Lifestyles.”

“What? I thought that was a kind of odd thing to ask. What a weird turn of events and an unusual question. I was even more taken aback since the book had nothing to do with that topic. I stood there, kind of holding the book and saying, “This one?”  I tried to laugh it off, and move on, but the person became persistent and began to raise his voice.

He then dropped a word he said he had received from God for me. He looked me in the eye and not knowing me from Adam said, “God has shown me that you and your church are an abomination to this community.” 

Wow, now there is a loaded theological word. I asked him if he knew what that word meant.  I had been called a heretic, a follower of the devil, even unbiblical, but not an abomination. Once I realized I was not going to get anywhere with this guy, who continued to preach at me what he called the “word of God,” I decided to gather my stuff, ask for my coffee to go, and head back to my office. He followed me out the door in the utter shock of the coffee house manager and customers.  

Later, I would find that he was meeting with a group of men for a study at the same coffee shop on Fridays, my day off.  A man from my meeting who was struggling with the same-sex debate was a part of this group and decided to share his anger and assumed it was my teaching that had brought this division in our Meeting and Yearly Meeting. I found out later, that the man that engaged me was sent by this group to let me know I was going to ruin the community of Silverton -- because clearly, I and my church was an abomination to God for loving ALL people. 

This God of Love that I believed in, the one that the prophets believed embodied kindness, justice, righteousness, and truth, I was pretty sure, was not the God who had sent this message through this angry man.   

Actually, when I think about it, the strongest messages from God that I have received were ones that did not have someone start with the words, “God has given me a word for you…”.

And most of the ones that have panned out and have been legit have come through people who have invested in me, who have known me, and who were part of my context and community. 

Last week I met someone for coffee who wanted to talk about Quakerism, and in our conversation, he mentioned that he often heard from God. At one point he stopped and clarified saying, “But I would not say that it was God or Jesus speaking to me to just anyone.” He felt safe with me as a pastor, but for most people, he said he would not explain his leading in this way, because it might turn someone off or not allow them to hear what God was doing through him. 

Just think about Jesus, after speaking in his own hometown, he is run out by his own neighbors, family, and friends. Why did they get so upset, because a prophet lives within and with a  community and is able to speak to their condition.

In the south they have a phrase when a preacher does just this.  They say, “He stopped preaching and went to meddlin’”.  He could push their buttons. When you know people intimately, it is much easier to get to the core issues, address the problems, or also see the opportunities and callings.  

Some churches catch on to this and begin to say, “I think the pastor has run his/her course at our church. He/she might want to move on or consider retiring.”  And that might be true, or it might be that the pastor has begun speaking more directly to their condition.   

Some say today with our mega-churches and entertainment-based ministries we are creating live entertainment worship venues that have no depth, meaning, or real community.  As one of my neighbors said who attends the mega-church right behind my neighborhood, “I like to slip in, listen to the music, hear a good word from the pastor, and get out before the traffic jam – oh, and it’s great I don’t even have to talk to anyone.”  This is exactly why churches like this have seen lower attendance since Covid.  Since it is mainly entertainment value, anyway, why not stay home in your pajamas and watch it on your couch. 

Folks, this is what is different for us at First Friends. We value community – it is one of our testimonies and S.P.I.C.E.S, it is important for us to gather together, to listen to each other, to laugh, cry, experience life together, share responsibility and accountability, let our kids play with each other, and hear what God is speaking to our condition as a community. 

Something that Howard Macy points out in “Befriending the Prophets” is that the prophets were experienced listeners. Not only did they seek to know what God desired and delighted in, but they waited expectantly and listened intently for what was of God. And they did this within the community in which they lived. 

This is why I chose the scripture reading from Amos this morning.  It shows that Amos was just a member of the community – he was a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees. But the Lord told him to go prophesy to his own faith community.  He was part of the community or family of Israel. 

This is very much the model for us here at First Friends – we too are a community or family of faith. And this is what we do when we gather in waiting or unprogrammed worship. We silence and center ourselves, entering a time of waiting worship, to intentionally listen to what God is speaking to our condition.

That is why every Meeting for Worship at First Friends has a good amount of waiting worship or is completely unprogrammed. And during this time, we listen to our Inner Christ and that of God in our neighbors, that is if they decide to share in a vocal ministry. And then we test or act upon what is being said within our community. 

What comes forth out of these times of expectant waiting should be things that delight the Lord – things that are kind, seeking justice for ALL people, righteous or moral in nature, and grounded in truth. And when they do, great things happen, bonds are formed, action is taken, community is built, and our world is changed. 

So, when we come together, and a person among us senses the “quaking” bubbling up from within them. Our role is to be like the prophets and be experienced listeners.  

Sometimes people are nervous when sharing and even have a hard time sharing, or they share in an awkward way, or in a tone or from a perspective we may find confusing or just don’t like. 

Again, we must become experienced listeners. It may not be clear at the moment. We may even question this is the word of God for us all. We may even be quick to say, “Well, that is just that person’s agenda or soapbox.”  But if we are not listening, we may miss the message. 

Howard makes a clarification that I feel is very important about what the “word” means in the phrase, the “word of God.”  He says,

The Hebrew word dabar is very ordinary and is typically used to mean “word, thing, affair, something,” subject to its particular context.  So, we might rightly think of the phrase “word of God” in a particular oracle as referring to the content, the message, the expression of what God is doing.  But we need not read it “words of God” in the narrow sense that each word is spoken exactly by God, which leads mistakenly to seeing this process as dictation. Some find comfort in the narrower reading, but most interpreters recognize that various prophetic writers/speakers had different literary styles, vocabulary, and more.  That is, they reveal individuality and craft.

I think that is what we see within our community of faith at First Friends.  People are not simply getting up and saying, “I have a word from the Lord for you.” But they may be helping us get a better picture of it through their own perspectives and life experiences. 

And as we listen, instead of writing off people or discounting them because of what we may know about them, we should be listening intently to what the Spirit has moved in them to say. 

Howard goes on to explain this further by explaining the phrase, “mystery of collaboration.”  He says,

God is involved guiding a message (perhaps you prefer “inspiring a message”) and the writer [speaker] is listening and crafting that message.  It might flow, it might resist, it might come in bits or all at once.  And in the process, there may well be moments when the writer [speaker] wonders, where did that word/phrase/image/tune come from? Yet in the attention and struggle along with the surprises of it, a message to share comes clear.

Folks, we are human vessels of this “word of God” within our context and community – just like the prophets we read of in the Bible.  And that means we have a two-fold calling as Friends in this community.  We must become experienced listeners to both that of God in us and in our neighbor, and also be willing to speak up or act upon that word for the sake of our community.   

I don’t know how many times, people tell me after worship, “I really felt led to speak out of the silence, today, but I didn’t?”

·        What if what they were going to say would be a prophetic word to this community – and we missed that opportunity? 

·        What if what they were going to say would give us a greater vision of what God is doing or could be doing in our midst? 

·        What if what they were going to say would spark the call or change the course of someone else’ life? 

I could go on, but I think you get the gist of what I am saying. So today, as we enter waiting worship, I want us to really listen both to that of God within us, and if someone speaks out of the silence, to that of God in them.  And remember if you feel you are being led by the Spirit to share a word of God – consider the community in which you are sharing it.  Don’t be like those people who just want to throw their judgements or God words around, but rather share it so we can be challenged and drawn into a better relationship with that of God within us and our fellow Friends.  Ask yourself this morning:

·        How might I become a more experienced listener in my community?

·        Have I ever felt I had a “word of God,” but I did not share it?  Why?

10-8-23 - Jonah – The Successful Prophet that is Disappointed in God’s Grace - Beth Henricks

Jonah – The Successful Prophet that is Disappointed in God’s Grace

Jonah 3:1-10, 4:1-2

Rediscovering Jonah by Timothy Keller

A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament by Bruce, Birch, Walter Brueggemann, Terrence Fretheim, David Peterson

Jonah The Reluctant Prophet Monologue by Rabbi Brett Krichiver

Friends, I am here with you today as Bob and Sue are traveling to Austin Texas this weekend to visit their son Alex.  Over the last few weeks, Bob has been speaking and we have been hearing and reflecting on the role of prophets and our challenge to respond to a call from God when we hear it.  Today, I want to delve more deeply into one of the prophets in the Old Testament, Jonah.  I think most of us have heard some version of this story as Jonah is the prophet that was swallowed by a whale, spent 3 days in the whale’s belly and was finally spit out onto the shore.  All this because Jonah didn’t want to be this prophet to go to Ninevah with the word of God to repent. 

A few years ago, I heard Brett Krichiver, Rabbi at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation.  He shared a message about the prophet Jonah and I was taken by his words.  He mentioned the story of the prophet Jonah as a sacred text read during Yom Kippur every year that focuses on repentance.  Brett talked about Jonah as a fascinating character in the Old Testament who was afraid of God’s call and ran away because he didn’t want to be successful in his message of prophecy to the people of Ninevah.   This was not what I remembered from this story as I always thought Jonah ran away and was swallowed by a fish because he knew how difficult the call was from God and didn’t want to face it and was afraid.  So, this idea that Jonah ran because he was afraid of being successful intrigued me and I was interested in digging deeper to understand its message.

Most of you have heard the story of Jonah from Sunday School.  How God told Jonah to go to the people of Ninevah and tell them to repent and turn towards God.  Jonah doesn’t want to do this and instead gets on a ship with other sailors, and they experience a tremendous storm on the sea.  The sailors have a meeting to figure out who on this ship is causing this storm and all eyes are on Jonah.  They don’t know him, where he comes from or what God he serves.  Jonah says he is a Hebrew and worships the Lord God.  He knows his disobedience is the cause of the storm and he tells the sailors to throw him overboard.  The sailors are scared to death of dying at the sea and yet they also don’t want the blood of an innocent man on their hands.  They begin to franticly row to shore but the storm is too intense, and they make no progress.  At this point, Jonah either jumps in or is thrown into the storming seas.

A whale swallows Jonah whole and he stays in the belly of the fish for 3 days.  The fish then vomits Jonah onto dry land.  God calls out again to Jonah to get up and go to Ninevah and speak repentence to the people.  Jonah reluctantly makes the journey and declares Ninevah will be destroyed if they don’t repent. His prophecy is undoubtedly the most efficient prophecy on record, if we measure the amount of behavior change based on the number of words spoken.  Jonah’s prophecy, in Hebrew, is only five words long: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be destroyed.

 Surprisingly all the people and the leaders and the King ask for repentance and turn to God.  And God decides to spare Ninevah.  Jonah is not happy about this decision and is mad at God and sits at the edge of town waiting to see what happens to the city.  God made a bush to come over to shade Jonah and he was thankful to be out of the hot sun.  But then God sent a worm that attacks the bush, and it withers and dies.  Jonah just wants to die.   God says to Jonah in the last verse of the book, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night.  And should I not be concerned about Ninevah, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left.”

To give some context to help us better understand this story, most scholars believe this book was written in the post-exile period (after 539 BCE).  In the book A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament authors Bruce Birch, Walter Brueggemann, Terrence Fretheim and David Peterson agree with the description of post-exile period because the people of Yahweh could return to places they had been forced to leave earlier in the century.  But the post exile period has never ended because the Jewish community had been spread out to so many places after the Babylonian exile far outside of their original land.  The diaspora of the community was far reaching.  There were many questions they were asking themselves.   Who are God’s people when they live in such disparate places?   How should Israel organize itself to be Israel?  Does Israel desire a King (or submit to the authorities in the places they live) or a Messiah, a spiritual leader to be anointed?  Must they worship only Yaheweh as they lived among many communities with multiple Gods.  Do they have to be born into the community or can they convert to it?  The Jonah story appears within the context of this wrestling with identity in the Jewish community.

Jonah is a great example of satire, and the writer identifies Jonah as an anti-hero, a reluctant prophet, a prophet that did not follow God’s leadings, ran away from the call, became angry at God with the outcome and yet God still is able to use him. 

The book of Jonah is very different than the other prophetic books which focused on repentance of Israel and Judah. Most of them had little success to turn the Hebrews away from their wickedness and back to their covenantal obligation to God.  Jonah on the other hand is sent to the people of Ninevah, non-Hebrews, who were known to be evil and ruthless and enemies of Israel.  He was able with few words to turn the entire community and leaders to God. What a contrast to see Jonah’s success with the people of Ninevah versus the other prophets and their failure to change the hearts and minds of the kings of Jerusalem.

This is a book about God’s justice and mercy and mystery. God would save the wicked city of Gentiles in Ninevah and yet allow the temple to be destroyed in Jerusalem.  In the NRSV commentary it says, “ In this story we encounter a God who is indeed concerned about social justice but who, in the mystery of God’s ways, permits the sovereignty of the divine heart to overrule the requirements of divine justice.”

 Jonah is such an unlikely prophet – most prophets offer insight, foresight, predictions, compassion and courage.  Jonah does not encompass any of these characteristics.  He also operates without energy and without initiative, he seems passive and willing to die when things don’t go his way. 

It also seems like Jonah’s faith is not as deep as his allegiance to his race and nationality.  This story leaves us with so many more questions than answers.  But it seems to speak at its deepest level that God is a God of mercy and compassion and embraces individuals and communities beyond what is comfortable with us.  Some of these people and communities we don’t like, we don’t agree with, are different than we are, not part of our tribe, and we believe are evil.  And God saves them!

Jesus references Jonah in Matthew 12:38-41 when scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign from Jesus. He says the sign given is from the prophet Jonah.  Jesus connected the 3 days Jonah spent in the belly of the fish with the 3 days that the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth.  And the people of Ninevah repented at the prophecy of Jonah and Jesus then tells the scribes and Pharisees that they are seeing something greater than Jonah in front of them.  Jesus is connecting his ministry to those that are not Jewish and revealing the immense reach of God’s love and mercy.

I like what Tim Keller says in his book, Discovering Jonah, “Is this book about race and nationalism, since Jonah seems to be more concerned over his nation’s military security than over a city of spiritually lost people?  Is it about God’s call to mission, since Jonah at first flees from the call and later goes but regrets it?  Is it about the struggles believers have to obey and trust in God?  Yes, to all of those – and more.  A mountain of scholarship exists about the book of Jonah that reveals the richness of the story, the many layers of meaning, and the varied applicability of it to so much of human life and thought.”  “The book of Jonah yields many insights about God’s love for societies and people beyond the community of believers; about God’s opposition to toxic nationalism and disdain for other races; and about how to be in mission in the world despite the subtle and unavoidable power of idolatry in our own lives and hearts.”

I want to close by reading a part of a monologue that Rabbi Brett gave several years ago taking on the role of this complex and multidimensional character Jonah,

At first, I ran.  For the centuries that followed I have asked myself this single question – what was I running from?  Did I honestly believe that God could not follow?  Could not see?  Did I imagine it was possible to hide?  But I ran.  Perhaps I ran to something more than I was running from God.  Away from the Land of Israel, certainly, but towards the sea, towards freedom, justice?  I don’t know what.

But I knew in that moment it was justice I sought.  Not talk or sermons or explanations or riddles.  I wanted cold, hard and deserved justice.  The hatred swelled up inside of me like a stone, heavy and cold until I could not contain it.

Here’s the thing.  Last night I had a strange dream.  I dreamt the future.  I saw that these Assyrians who rule Nineveh now,
will one day destroy my people and take the Temple.  And God asks me to give those people the same chance of redemption that Israel would receive?   Something inside me just broke.  As a young man I tried to follow the commandments as best I could.  I heard the passion of the prophets and I wished to be as strong and courageous and clear.  I waited patiently when the day would come, I would be called myself, as the prophets of old were called, to fulfill my destiny and speak in God’s name.

So, when this dream came, I knew it was time.  I knew that God would not let this terrible tragedy come upon God’s beloved people.  I knew that Nineveh would be punished.  Could it be, I thought, that I would have the great honor of saving my people by cursing the Ninevites?

“The word of God came to Jonah  and said, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgement upon it; for their wickedness has come before Me.”

          I started to pack almost immediately.  I knew this journey would be difficult, Nineveh is a very large city, the King not known for treating guests politely.  I would likely be captured, even tortured.   These are not Israelites, I reminded myself.  They do not have the same, special relationship with God, the same ritual of Teshuvah, I doubted they would even be smart enough to hear God’s word if I shouted it at them.

          But something stopped me suddenly. My half-packed bag dropped from my hand.   Suspicion grew in my head and suddenly I grew dizzy.  If God wanted to destroy a city, certainly he would not send a prophet at all.  I know the Torah; I have studied it my entire life.  I remember the tale of Abraham and his cousin Lot.  I know that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and stopped only to inform Abraham of his Divine plan.  There was no announcement, no way for them to escape justice.  Only Lot in his righteousness was spared.  And even then, they had to sneak him out moments before Judgement Day arrived.

          Why would God give these non-Chosen, temple destroying, Assyrians even a moment’s notice before wiping them off the earth?  And why must I be there when it happens?  Something just didn’t add up, and before I knew it, my bag still only half-packed, my feet took me away from Nineveh, away from Jerusalem, away from my homeland and God’s special chosen place, running towards the sea, running away from God.

          Sometime along the way these words formed in my head, “I will not stand by and watch Jerusalem’s captors kneel and bow down before my God.  I will not offer them a chance to repent and be forgiven.  I will protect my people.  I will show God that He can’t just go around forgiving everyone.  I will remind God that there is true evil in the world, and it deserves to be punished.  This is the justice I demand of God; I deserve that much!”

Friends, we enter our time of unprogrammed worship which is our Quaker communion.  We enter in silence to quiet our hearts and minds to listen to God’s voice.  If God is speaking to you directly, please hold this in your heart and ponder its meaning.  If God is placing a message that we all need to hear, please come to a microphone here in the front or back and share with us.  As we reflect, I ask you to consider this story and your place in the narrative with these queries. 

Are we like the Ninevites, ready to listen to God’s word and change our ways?

Or are we like Jonah, demanding justice for others even as we plead for mercy for ourselves.

What prophecy is God calling to you today?

10-1-23 - They All Had the Same Vision – Peace

They All Had the Same Vision – Peace

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

October 1, 2023

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. This week I continue my series on the biblical prophets.  The scripture I have chosen is from Romans 12:9-18 from the Common English Bible.

Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil and hold on to what is good. Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good. If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.

In February of 2009, I was attending a campus ministries conference in Los Angeles. The conference was held at Rancho Capistrano, at the time this was the Retreat Center for the Crystal Cathedral – yes, the mega-church television ministry that hosted Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power each Sunday while I was growing up.  Today, the retreat center is owned by another mega-church ministry, Saddleback Church, where Rick Warren and his bestselling “Purpose Driven Life” books were birthed.

At the conference, I was sitting at a table at dinner time sharing pleasantries with other campus ministers from across the United States, when we broke out into a discussion on theology. This was a common theme among ministers serving a variety of denominational colleges and universities. I had recently begun my doctoral program at George Fox Evangelical Seminary (now Portland Seminary) and was talking about my exploration in African American spirituality and the theologies we saw during the Civil Rights Movement in America. I shared that I had written a paper on Gandhi’s influence on Martin Luther King Jr.’s Spirituality during the Civil Rights movement which brought a lot of questions and discussion. 

It was out of this conversation that the rest of my night changed course. Sitting across from me was Terry McGonigal, a veteran campus minister from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. I did not know Terry that well, but he was hanging on every word I shared.  Finally, he could not contain himself anymore and shared that he was working on his PhD and thought I should read part of his dissertation which he titled, “If You Only Knew What Would Bring Peace: Shalom Theology as the Biblical Foundation for Diversity.”

Wow, that title piqued my interest, but since we weren’t as tech savvy as we are today, he actually had to send it to me when he returned to his office after the conference. Wanting to glean as much as I could from Terry, for the rest of the night and into the early hours of the morning, me and a couple other interested theology nerds talked Shalom Theology with Terry.  It was clear that he considered Shalom the nucleus of the Bible. He drew me in when he spent about 5 minutes showing us how everything in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation was pointing to Peace or Shalom.

Terry was the one to first show me how each of the prophets, even though they talked of destruction and God’s disappointment in the people, would ultimately find their way to Shalom. That once you get through the poetic rhetoric of repentance, destruction, and God’s wrath, the final outcome they were presenting was a world at peace with God and one another. 

A few years later, Terry’s work on Shalom Theology would find a prominent place in my doctoral dissertation’s biblical chapter.  There I would spend an entire section on what I called “Shalom Prophesied.”  I even opened the section by saying,

“Often we think of the minor prophets of the Old Testament as harbingers of judgment and gloom…[BUT]…If you are careful in your reading, you will see in each a prophetic word of God’s desire to restore this world and his people to shalom.”

I then went through the prophets one by one and showed this common focus on peace, something that was foreign to me and actually would, later down the road, change the course of my theological thinking.  When you make the outcome peace in the present, instead of heaven or hell later, the Bible opens up in new ways. It also paints a different picture of Jesus – who we interestingly title the “Prince of Peace.” 

Much of this is due to what Howard Macy labels the “world God intends.”  Listen to what Howard says in “Befriending the Prophets.” 

The prophets offer soaring images of the world God intends. Isaiah describes a reign of peace without limit, where justice and righteousness prevail. He also looks to a time when nations will stream to hear God’s teaching and will beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning tools.  Amos calls on Israel to “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an over-flowing stream. Israel’s singers join in the vision, using words that often accompany each other in the prophets: “Faithful love and truth have met; righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth springs up from the ground; righteousness gazes down from heaven. Such grand words encourage us and inspire hope.

The prophets warned of what the people of their day were making of the world, and they made it clear they were destroying or getting in the way of what God intended.  Thus, they packaged their messages in big words like repentance, redemption, and restoration. 

Instead of using big religious words, we might say it a little “more frank,” today.   

·        What the hell are you doing?

·        Do you realize the consequences of your actions?

·        Do you notice how this is affecting you and those around you? Do you care?

·        What are you going to do about this?

·        How is this going to bring peace? 

I am sure as I just read those “more frank” ways of saying what the prophets were trying to convey that you heard those words through someone in your life?

Maybe a parent or relative, a teacher or mentor, even a close friend.  I bet it even possibly churned up an emotional response.  Maybe you even had an image of a finger pointing in your direction or a disappointed face staring you down.  And I bet you could feel your reluctance to answering or responding in the core of your being. These types of messages are very difficult to hear and respond to, because they speak to the depths of our condition.  

Now, you can understand why the prophets were run out of town.  Take away all the religious words and put it in plain language and this was tough stuff. 

On that note, let me take you on a brief walk through some of the prophets and what they were trying to say.

The prophet Hosea was calling for people to turn from their ways that had gotten way out of control, so far that people had begun to sacrifice humans and follow false idols.  Hosea cries out, “What are you doing? You have got to stop this.”  And while Hosea is freaking out, God reminds him to tell them about the promise.  And Hosea comes around to reminding them that God wants to free them, that death is not the answer, but that he wants them to return to shalom and peace with one another.  

The prophet Joel also wants his people to turn from their ways, but reminds them that if they do, they will see restoration, renewal, blessing and ultimately peace.

The prophet Amos took a slightly different approach by emphasizing social justice as the true expression of piety and says the change that needs to come is to turn from your ways and turn to simpler living and being mindful of social justice. God’s word in Amos 5:11-25 reads,

Seek me and live....You trample on the poor and force them to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them...You deprive the poor of justice in the courts.... Seek good, not evil, that you may live.... Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-falling stream...

Through Amos, God decries those who make a practice of skimping on the measure of goods for sale to the poor, “cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat...” (Amos 8:6).

The prophets are calling for their siblings in the faith to turn from these ways – this is not turning to faith in God, but it is a call to stop cheating people and treating them dishonest and start caring for one another, especially those in need.  And when they start doing that, then Amos says they will restore shalom (Peace) and be transformed.

The prophet Obadiah, much like Jeremiah, states boldly,  “As you have done, it will be done to you.” But if they realize what they are doing, they too can find the peace that God intends.

After running from God, the prophet Jonah goes to Nineveh where, as a result of his preaching, the people and their king actually turn from their ways and peace is restored to the land. This becomes a perfect example of what God intends.  And in this example, we all can probably relate to Jonah in not wanting to be the one to speak up and say what needed to be said. In the end he answered the call and Jonah was shocked at the outcome of shalom in Nineveh.

The prophet Micah spoke directly to the people about having a new attitude and lifestyle of peace…where they will stop their fighting and wars and actually beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.   

The prophet Nahum prophesies as a contemporary of Zephaniah and the young Jeremiah. He, like Jonah addressed Nineveh, saying it would fall if it did not change its ways. Yet he too in the end gives hope for a restoration to shalom.

The prophet Habakkuk begs for shalom in his cries to the Lord;

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen?... Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?...” (Habakkuk 1:3).

“Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?...” (1:13).  

I can relate to Habakkuk – those are queries I too have asked, but in the end he too shares God’s plan not only to restore peace, but to teach the people to know the Lord’s ways – which as I showed last week were, kindness, justice, and righteousness (or moral living).

The prophet Zephaniah points out that the chosen people of God, Israel, were not exempt from this.  It may end up being a small remnant in the end, but there will be some who turn and embrace the way of shalom – Zephaniah says that remnant of people will be those who are meek and humble and who trust the Lord’s ways. 

The prophet Haggai’s words show the personal consequences of obedience and disobedience. Yet amid his cautions and chastisements, Haggai says that “The Lord will fill the temple with glory” and bless them in the end with a restoration of peace.

Like Haggai, Zechariah says the Lord calls for true social justice, mercy, and compassion rather than just insincere fasting. He also speaks of a king who will come to restore the peace - some consider the description to be of Jesus, but it may just be coincidence.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!... See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.... He will proclaim peace to the nations.... His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:10).

Thus, the people of the northern and southern kingdoms will be reunited and there will be peace again. More than anything this was to be a beautiful picture of global shalom.

The prophet Malachi brought a message of hope to the people of God’s restored community who had begun to lose hope.

What each of the Minor Prophets were prophetically arriving at was the fact that God was going to bring shalom to the lives of his people and ultimately the world; through the obedient and transformed lives of those same people.

That same prophetic voice was evident in Jeremiah as he responded with a vision to rekindle God’s shalom to the people of Israel:

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.”

And finally, Jeremiah prophesies further about God’s plan to restore shalom by making a new covenant with his people:

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)

So, I think it is clear the ultimate intention of the prophets were to urge the people to live together in ways that made for peace (shalom). To live as a community of peace, they would need to turn from their ways and learn the ways of God – righteousness, justice, loving kindness, and this week I will add truth.

We talked briefly about those last week, but to bring them more into focus. Howard says,

“The prophets see righteousness as practical living.” Meaning “They point to daily ethical behavior, often with special attention to the poor and needy, the widow and orphan, and the foreign resident (“strangers”).

For the prophets, it wasn’t all turn and burn, but rather turn and see your neighbor and those who you are living with.  Are you treating them honestly, kindly, and generously? This right living together is what brings shalom to our world.

How about you and me?  Do we see our neighbors – those who we are living with, working with, worshipping with?  Do we treat them honestly, kindly, and generously? 

Thus, Howard says, “So to be righteous, maybe a bit oversimply, is to do the right thing, steadily, habitually, daily, in our ordinary rounds.” 

Then there is justice, which often is overlapped by righteousness and this is where we get the concept of Social Justice.  Please folks, if someone says to you that Social Justice is not biblical – they are downright wrong.  It is directly linked to who God is and what God intends.  Howard points out that for the prophets the idea of justice was connected to God’s character, actions, and guidance.

Sometimes our laws and government and even our own personal wants get in the way of helping our neighbors. Dishonesty, cheating, and exploiting people for gain is not what God intends. 

How about you and me? Who do we take advantage of with our privileges or who are we not willing to defend? 

And then there is love/kindness which Howard says is maybe the most difficult to discuss because we do not have an adequate word in English to express the word we find in Hebrew – hesed.  It can be translated love kindness, love mercy, love goodness, or better than most, “embrace faithful love.”  Many just use the translation of “steadfast love.” But Howard points out that it is the character of God’s love that should guide us.  He says,

“This challenges us to imagine how our love toward our neighbor can be generous and attentive, how it can persist and never give up, how it can be kind and compassionate, not just tolerant and polite. This love is not about feeling or about what one earns or discerns. Instead, it is a love of presence, desiring and working toward the best for the other.”

How about you and me?  Are we aware of our love toward our neighbor?  Is it generous, attentive, persistent, kind and compassionate?  Are we working toward the best in our neighbors?

Finally, the fourth word that prophets often use is truth – which Howard says points to reliability, dependability, of things being firmly established.  We are taught that we can always depend on God, but the bigger question, especially if there is that of God in us is, are we reliable and trustworthy as well?

When the prophets called the people to turn from their ways, it was clear that they had become unreliable and not trustworthy to each other.  When we undercut our trust with one another we create as Howard points out chaos, confusion, and we damage our life together. 

How about for you and me?  How reliable and dependable are we to our neighbors?  Can our neighbors trust us?  Where might we be damaging our life together?

Once we strip away the cry of the prophets and get to their root message – we find it about living ordinary lives with our neighbors. Their words were and are disturbing because they meet us in our present moments and call us to take the high road – to be better people. To see our neighbors and want what’s best for them.  And when we begin to do that – then we will begin to see that peace (shalom) that God intends for us! 

Now, let us enter waiting worship.  As we center down, take a moment to review the queries I just presented to us.  Here they are again.

·        Do we see our neighbors – those who we are living with, working with, worshipping with? Do we treat them honestly, kindly, and generously? 

·        Who do we take advantage of with our privileges or who are we not willing to defend? 

·        Are we aware of our love toward our neighbor?  Is it generous, attentive, persistent, kind, and compassionate?  Are we working toward the best in our neighbors?

·        How reliable and dependable are we to our neighbors?  Can our neighbors trust us?  Where might we be damaging our life together?

9-24-23 - Becoming God-Enthralled People

Becoming God-Enthralled People

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

September 24, 2023

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  This is our third week looking at the biblical prophets. Again, I am basing my messages on Howard Macy’s book, “Befriending the Prophets” from Barclay Press. The scripture I chose for this week is Jeremiah 9:23-24 from the Common English Bible.  

The Lord proclaims:
    the learned should not boast of their knowledge,
        nor warriors boast of their might,
        nor the rich boast of their wealth.
No, those who boast should boast in this:
    that they understand and know me.
I am the Lord who acts with kindness,
    justice, and righteousness in the world,
        and I delight in these things,
            declares the Lord.

Last week, as I came to the end of my message, I talked about the word, “know.” I said that the meaning is not just a knowing about God, a kind of abstract head-knowledge. But rather it is knowing God by heart, a complete whole-hearted, relational knowing as in the Great Shema of Deuteronomy 6:5. And as Howard stated, “It is a knowing that forms, guides, and compels us.”

In our scripture for today, you heard the prophet Jeremiah warn, that those who boast should not boast in knowledge, might, or wealth (the most common things that humankind boasts about), but rather God says that if you boast, boast in that you understand and know me (God).”

And that means you are boasting in a God who acts with kindness, justice, and righteousness in the world and delights in these things.

These days, I think many Christians have this scripture turned completely upside down. Often Christians in our world today are boasting, even manipulating through boasting of their understanding of correct knowledge, might, and wealth, and they are using them to keep people in line and grow their ministries (or maybe more appropriately we should say their businesses).

Actually, many Christians, today, utilize the teachings of the prophets to boast and boldly proclaim a faith that is based on knowing and believing correctly, utilizing power structures to keep people feeling guilty and controlled, and even to accrue great wealth.

You can see all three of these being utilized, just by turning on your T.V. and watching a Television Evangelist (ironically, who often labels themselves modern-day prophets).

Or you can see it with churches that wholly merge their faith with a political party.  It doesn’t take but a moment to notice that correct knowledge, might, and wealth are boasted by many politicians throughout the world, while kindness, justice, and moral living are neglected.

It was the Prophet Jeremiah who juxtaposed this correct knowledge, might and wealth with these three very different topics of kindness, justice, and righteousness.

He is saying that instead of boasting about correct knowledge, might and wealth – our boasting should be seen through being kind to one another, seeking and promoting justice, that ALL people are treated fairly and equitably, and personally living a right or moral life with our neighbors. 

Jeremiah says these are what we are to know and delight in because these are who and what God is all about.  I love how Howard puts it in his book,

What God delights in offers an enticing vision in itself.  God longs for people to act justly, to show unrelenting mercy, and to live with each other, day to day, responsibly and generously.  It’s no accident that this sounds so much like Micah’s description of what God requires:

“Act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

The first two words in Hebrew are the same, justice (mishpat) and kindness (hesed). Walking humbly with God comes near the sense of knowing God. 

Knowing God is something like knowing dear friends, except we discover that it goes well beyond just knowing what delights God.  As we come to know God ever more fully, our hearts begin to be shaped more and more toward God’s heart.  We are steadily transformed until we share God’s heart, until we ourselves delight in what God delights in. 

Just take a moment and think of someone who you consider kind, just, or moral. Maybe it’s a relative, a neighbor or friend, a person from history.  We find ourselves draw to learn from and be around these types of people and often they are the prophets speaking into our lives, probably because they have come to delight in what God delights in. 

Immediately, I thought of my grandfather, Bob Barker. Yes, that was his name, but he was not the one of the Price is Right fame. My grandfather was a simple man who I would definitely describe as kind, just, and moral.

He worked on the railroad and painted houses for a living, before being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cancer the same year my mom found out she was pregnant with me.  His life was greatly altered by the cancer diagnoses, but due to choosing chemotherapy his cancer went into remission for the first 18 years of my life.

Before I was even old enough to know him, he would take an early retirement from the railroad and take up some new hobbies. He and my mom decided to take oil painting classes (this is one of his painting that hangs in our homes), and he transformed his entire backyard into a rose garden with hundreds of different roses from around the world.  His art studio and gardens became my classroom and proving grounds for what it meant to be kind, just, and moral. 

On Saturdays, I would ride my bike to my grandparent’s house, help grandpa cut bouquets of roses (much like this one right here) and then we would get in his little blue Chevette (which would one day be my first car) and travel to the places he frequented in our little town of New Haven, Indiana.  

There he had placed flower vases everywhere from the counter at the post office or bank to next to the cash register at Rax Roast Beef. He would go in and switch out the roses every couple of days, strike up conversations with whoever was at the counter. And he always treated each person equally no matter their life situation. To him, there was no difference between the banker and the person who made his sandwich. 

By sharing what he delighted in he would bring a smile on the faces of complete strangers. He also became prolific in his oil painting. Each year, I would go spend several days with him at the Grabil Fair where he would sell his paintings. Those days were not filled with business interactions as much as life conversations. As I listened, I realized that my grandfather was getting to know the people, their lives, their struggles.  He may talk of his battle with cancer or the challenge of keeping the bugs out of his roses, or where he was inspired to paint the scene on the painting which they were purchasing. 

Even though my grandfather lost his battle with cancer when I was in high school, he did not miss the opportunity to be a prophet in my life and many, many others.  He embodied what Howard described - people who act justly, show unrelenting mercy, and live with each other, day to day, responsibly and generously. 

Anyone who knew Bob Barker, still today, can tell you a story of his kindness, his treating all people fairly, and his right living. I was blessed to learn as his apprentice, but more than anything when I look back now, I realize that what I was experiencing was that of God in my grandfather. 

Whether it was his challenging life on the railroad or his cancer diagnoses, he learned to boast in the things that delight God.  And that is because I believe my grandfather knew God deep down in his being. 

In the book, Befriending the Prophets, Howard reminds his readers of the talk, “Have You Ever Seen A Miracle?” by the late Quaker and mystic Thomas Kelley. In the talk, Kelly describes people who have become “wholly God-enthralled.”  He says,

They have moved beyond devout practice or religious belief. They are folks who have had “moments of blinding vision” as they encounter God’s holiness, splendor, and ‘the sheer beauty of [God’s] persuading, all embracing Love. They come to know God as “a living internal dynamic deep within us.” And they come to live with the “royal-blindness of Eternity.” This comes both from God’s persistent initiative and from the human willingness to yield to it and be transformed by it. The prophets were God enthralled people who were wholly gathered into God’s active presence in the world.  They saw it, collaborated in it, spoke and acted out of it.  They were captured by God, and their faithfulness helps us see God more clearly ourselves.

My grandfather was just that…a God-enthralled person and his faithfulness helps me continue to see the God in me more clearly.

I wonder how often our ventures in this world are not prophetic because we have simply bought into boasting about correct knowledge, might, and wealth instead of becoming God-enthralled and delighting in kindness, justice, and moral living?

I wonder how our politics would change if we elected people who sought out kindness, justice, and moral living instead of correct knowledge, might, and wealth? 

I wonder how our communities would benefit, our schools, our libraries, our city councils, if we chose and elected leaders who delighted in kindness, justice, and moral living?

I wonder how our families would change, if we were parents, grandparents, guardians, and relatives, who delighted in kindness, justice, and moral living?

I think the prophets were trying to tell us something about our future, folks.

Well, let’s stop there this week and center down into waiting worship. And as you enter waiting worship, take a moment to ponder the following queries.

·        Who is someone who has been kind, just, and moral in your life? Have you ever thought of them as a prophet speaking into your life?

·        How might I be more kind, just, and moral in my circles of influence?

·        What do I need to do to become a more God-enthralled person, so others may see the God in me more clearly? 

9-17-23 - Stir It Up!

Stir It Up!

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

September 17, 2023

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  This morning I am continuing my series on the biblical prophets.  The scripture I have chosen for this week is 2 Peter 1:21 from the New International Reader's Version.  

21 It never came simply because a prophet wanted it to. Instead, the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. So, prophecy comes from God.

This week, in Part 2 of looking at what we can learn from the Biblical Prophets, I want to tell you a story. It is personal and was one of the reasons I gravitated to this sermon series when I was contacted by my friend, Howard to read his book. For those interested, Howard Macy’s book which I am basing this series on is “Befriending the Prophets” from Barclay Press.   

To set up the story, let me go back to last week when I mentioned that for prophets, being between God and the people they belonged to, and loved, was often awkward and sometimes painful, particularly if the message they had to deliver was harsh.

When I was in Oregon, we were deep in the throes of the same-sex marriage debate in our Yearly Meeting and my job was being threaten on many fronts.  Pastoring a Meeting through this was not easy and often left me with sleepless nights.

As a pastor I had many hats at Silverton Friends, as do Beth and I here at First Friends - some you know of and others you might be surprised we fill.

Along with those hats, as a Recorded Minister among Friends, we also have a calling to always be aware of the balance between being “pastoral” and “prophetic”.  In seminary we are warned often about the distinctive differences.

Actually, it gets a bit wild among Quakers, because we are quick to remind our leaders that everyone is considered a minister among Friends.

Footnote here: That means everything that I am talking about today is for EVERYONE in this Meetingroom (or online).

Last week I showed a theme running throughout the scriptures – that being one of the main goals or outcomes for the prophets (early and latter), even Jesus, Peter, and Paul were for ALL people (each of us) to prophesy and become disturbers in our world.

Quakers took this stream that runs throughout scripture seriously, linking it with their understanding of equality to put us ALL in this category – meaning we ALL have the ability and potential to be prophets, ambassadors, disturbers for the love of God.

If you take a look at the stories of the prophets in the Bible, you will quickly find that there were people who valued them and people who wanted them dead – there was no real in between.  Sadly, the polarization in our world today, has perpetuated this and left many prophets without a voice or in fear of utilizing it.   

So, let me take you back to Silverton, Oregon for a moment and let me share. I was sitting in my office one afternoon when a member of our Meeting showed up for his weekly visit. Usually, it was Tuesday morning. He had already been to McDonald’s to grab a breakfast sandwich and cup of coffee. I would know he was arriving because his black lab, Buckley, would run into my office, turn the corner by my desk, and greet me with a big wet lick and a happy bark.  Then through the door, Chuck would enter in his work cloths, suspenders, and felt fedora hat. 

This day, in Chuck’s hand he held what looked like a canoe paddle (actually, this one). Since Chuck and I had a good relationship, I joked with him saying it looks like your “up the creek, but you HAVE the paddle!)  He laughed and then quickly handed it to me.  He said it was a gift that he made – but it wasn’t a canoe paddle. 

Instead, as he sat on the couch in my office and Buckley found his way to my rug, he said that this paddle-like thing was what he called a “giant stir-it-up stick.” He then explained that as the pastor of Silverton Friends, it was a gift for me and represented the fact that I had listened to the Spirit and God had stirred up the church in a big way.  We both began to laugh.

It was just what I was needing for someone to say and do for me at this time, especially as the tensions within our Meeting and our Yearly Meeting had grown and become almost unbearable. 

But I will never forget his next words, because I was quick to disagree with them. 

He said, “You have been prophetic in your words and what you have done here.”

I shook my head and said, “No, Chuck.  I don’t think you should use that word to describe me. I am no prophet, I am just willing to call things as I see them.”  Not realizing that calling things as I see them could be more prophetic than I knew.

So, he said, instead he would call me the “pot-stirrer” – which in Oregon, at that time, probably had a completely different meaning. 

What we did end up talking about was how my willingness to call it as I saw it – allowed others to be free to speak up and share as well what God had put on their hearts.  Even Chuck felt he was given a word for our Meeting and took a turn preaching.  As we continued to talk, Chuck began to list others who also became more vocal and shared their hearts at Silverton Friends and even in the community. 

Looking back now, what I realized was that I was more of a facilitator of the prophetic messages arising around me. We at Silverton Friends kind of took turns on the prophetic words without formally recognizing them. My hope was always to free the voices around me so we could all benefit from our combined wisdom. Yet, the oppression and challenge to my ministry and many others was coming from people who thought that their message was the true word from God.  A battle that many in organized religion continues to fight daily.  

I had hoped that in those moments I was more faithful or obedient than I was prophetic. I will be honest, during that time, I wanted to quit the ministry more than my Meeting knew. To think that I was considered the “pot-stirrer” by anyone, was not really an honor, but always had me questioning why I would speak up or stay and engage. 

I found myself reading the prophets a lot during this time. Jeremiah was one I found I could relate to – he actually got to the point of saying he was no longer going to speak in God’s name.  I could relate to that. Actually, I know many pastors, good Christian people, even some Quakers who have decided that they do not want to speak for God anymore – they say as I did, it makes life more difficult, even miserable at times. 

As I said on numerous occasions during this time, I did not feel in the depths of my being released from Silverton, so I tried hard to stay obedient to the call of God in my heart. And that was very hard as people wanted to run me out of town.

Howard points out that the prophets in the bible didn’t exactly volunteer for the job. When we (you and I) are being led by the Spirit within us to speak up, to act, to even challenge the status quo, I believe it is because of our unique calling, a vision that becomes clear to us, or even the environments where we find ourselves in that moment.   

There were similar themes with the prophet’s callings - some a little more dramatic than our encounters.  For some prophets it was a burning bush, a vision or dream, even a “word from the Lord” where a mission was laid out. 

I have told this story on many occasions, but when I was considering a call, which I was beginning to feel deep down inside me to become an Anglican Priest, Sue and I were on a trip home from Chicago to New Haven, Indiana.  As we were discussing what I should do, I mentioned that I wish I could have a sign. I am sure many of you have been at this point saying, “If only I had a sign…”

But at that very moment, I looked up and there on the side of the highway was a giant billboard that read, “If you are looking for a sign, then this is it – join the priesthood.” I about ran off the road. 

Please understand, it doesn’t have to be that dramatic or clear – even though that was pretty awesome. 

I have had people tell me, I feel a leading to do this, or say this, or act on this and it came after reading a book, or watching a T.V. program, talking to a friend, or while walking on the beach. There are lots of ways that we hear the call on our lives to speak out or follow a specific path. 

I always think of how our stamp program began here at First Friends – and please here me on this, I believe our Stamp Program has been prophetic in so many ways. It has been a visible sign that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation. 

And it came about because Amy Perry was moved by something I said in a sermon, and deep down it stirred in her the desire to take over the stamp program and bring it to First Friends.  I believe whole-heartedly that Amy’s call to take over the stamp program was a prophetic moment for Amy and First Friends. And her prophetic vision has been contagious to so many of you and others around the world. The stamp program has flourished and grown and oppressed women in third-world countries are being impacted and freed to start their own businesses by her acting on what God put on her heart that Sunday morning.

Again, Amy would probably deny that this was a prophetic moment and just say she was being obedient.

Howard points out that with the prophets in the Bible, God initiates the contact, perhaps in a burning bush, a vision or dream, or a word from the Lord [or billboard or even in a sermon] and lays out the mission. Typically, the prophet-to-be objects, “Who me? Do what? You definitely have the wrong person here.”

I think we all are surprised when we get the nudge, or call, or have an insight that others are not seeing. The same was true for many of the prophets. For example: 

Moses said he did not talk well and objected to what God had put on his heart.

Jeremiah said he was just a lad, too young, perhaps even a nobody.

Gideon said his family wasn’t anything much to speak of.

Amos flat out denied being a prophet and blamed it right on God.

We ALL like to make excuses or question our calls. I have heard them and said them. 

What will people think if I speak up?

I am not that adventurous to go there?

Other people are better at saying what I am feeling?

I think that may be too political?

What if things change after I say something?

Howard points out that even though the prophets made excuses and didn’t volunteer or sign up for the job, God still chose them.  And God often would add “Do not be afraid. I’ll be with you” because fear is what usually grips those called to being prophetic or speaking up.

The important thing to note is that in each of the cases, the prophet was obedient. Howard says it is because “they came to KNOW God in ways that would not let them go.” 

As you may have heard, the word “know” is a loaded word in many languages, especially Hebrew. In this case, to know God doesn’t just mean knowing about God, an abstract head-knowledge of God – which many denominations hold in highest regard.  But rather, Howard says,

“Its knowing God by heart, a completely whole-hearted, relational knowing as the great command requires: ‘Love the Lord with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength.’ (Deut. 6:5 the Shema).  It is a kind of knowing that forms, guides, and compels us.”

As Quakers this totally makes sense. Especially since we believe there is that of God within each of us.  Our obedience, our action, our speaking up prophetically, all flows from our knowing the God within us – or as the Hebrew people said, “that resides in our hearts” and then permeates our entire being! 

That is why I think the greatest obstacle for you and I being prophetic in our world today, in our families, in our relationships, even in our communities is OURSELVES.  We second guess ourselves. We don’t want to admit that we may have an important word from God.  We hold ourselves back from taking that needed action. We worry, fear, and have neglected to embrace our prophetic voice that the God within each of us is calling us to use.  What would happen if we embraced it and actually spoke up? I sense it would begin to change our world.

So, let’s go back to my time in Silverton, a couple years later, Chuck and Buckley showed up again in my office. Things had calmed down and we were moving in more welcoming ways.  This time Chuck had hand-crafted a box (this one) for me.  And in the box was a note that accompanied this miniature version of that giant stirring stick. The note read:

Bob, if the original “Stir-it-up” Paddle (by virtue of its size) subliminally encouraged you to over-zealous moments, I apologize. The 2014 model is, perhaps, a safer unit: less horsepower, etc.

Directions for use, “stir-it-up” paddle, model #2014:

Season all things with patience, kindness, and love;

Listen deeply to the Holy Spirit,

And stir appropriately.

God bless you and all your family.

Chuck, [his wife] Val, and Buckley

And those directions are the perfect way for me to close this message. 

As you and I feel lead to speak, act, or engage prophetically in our circles of influence, and as we become visible signs that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation, remember to season all things with patience, kindness and love, then listen deeply to the Spirit within you, and finally stir appropriately (sometimes it will be in small ways and other times it will be in much bigger ways) – just remember to stir it up!

Now, as we enter waiting worship, I hope you will consider the following queries:

1.     When have I avoided sharing or acting prophetically out of some worry or fear?

2.     Have I ever sensed a call from the God within me? What did I do with it?

3.     How may I be formed, guided, and compelled to prophetic action by getting to know the God within me better? 

9-10-23 - We Need More Disturbing People

We Need More Disturbing People 

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

September 10, 2023

Welcome Friends to Light Reflections. This Sunday at the Meeting is Kick-Off Sunday. The text I have chosen for today is Joel 2:28-29a from the Voice translation.  

     Then in those days I will pour My Spirit to all humanity;
        your children will boldly and prophetically speak the word of God.
    Your elders will dream dreams;
        your young warriors will see visions.

    No one will be left out.

Being that it is Kick Off Sunday, I usually begin this season with a new sermon series. Since throughout most of the summer, VBS, and even at Annual Sessions we looked at Light and Darkness, I felt I wanted to go in a completely different direction to start us off this Fall.  And the subject I have decided to teach on, may come as a surprise to some of you. Most churches today, especially Friends, avoid discussing it or pass right over it.  And honestly, I would have followed suit.

That is until last year about this time, I was contacted by my friend and former Professor Emeritus of Religion and Biblical Studies at George Fox University, Howard Macy.  I consider Howard a “Weighty Friend” who has spoken great wisdom in my life during some tumultuous times. On occasion we still talk over Facebook messenger or by email, but this time he was reaching out to me to read and possibly endorse he latest book. Without hesitation I told him to send it my way, and I would immediately read it.  When it arrived in my inbox, I quickly opened it and found a very brief little book of only 6 chapters/essays and an introduction.

I have said on many occasions, that it seems that as the people I find the most wise and profound in my life continue to hone their thoughts, their books get smaller and more concise. If you don’t believe me look at the size of Richard Rohr, Parker Palmer, or even Phil Gulley’s books – they have become smaller over time but almost pack a bigger punch.

The book that Howard sent me fit this description. At only 75 pages, I read it one setting, yet stopped multiple times to reflect, pause, and even ponder what all was being said.  This little book opened my eyes to something I had not seen before in the pages of scripture. Thus, when I went to write my endorsement of the book, I said the following:

“I cannot recall the last time I preached on the biblical prophets, but that is going to change. Howard Macy has reintroduced his readers to these neglected characters and revived their messages for our times. More than ever we need “disturbing people” willing to guide and challenge us in the way of righteousness, justice, love, and truth. Throughout this book, you will find a renewed call to pick up this prophetic mantle and bring peace and hope to our world.” 

So, this Kick Off Sunday we are going to take another (or maybe your first) look into the biblical Prophets – not individually, but more as a group.  Think of it as Howard says, “looking at a family photo rather than individual portraits.”  And as with most of my sermons, we are not going to nail down all the answers, or tie up loose ends, this series is to help give us new insights, as well as whet our appetites for more as we personally ponder and study throughout the weeks ahead. 

This morning, I want to follow Howard’s advice and give a brief overview or refresher of the prophets, so we are starting on a hopefully similar page.

Just hearing the topic, some of you may already be considering checking out right now, the idea of the prophets may seem to you irrelevant or even boring. I thought the same, but had to believe that my friend, Howard, had in all his wisdom seen something more (and I believe he has).  So, I hope you will join me as we explore how to befriend the prophets again in 2023. 

Let’s start with a brief overview from Howard. 

A common short description says, “The prophets spoke to the people for God and to God for the people.” It simply captures the basics. Another common way of speaking of the prophets is to note that, in Israel, there were three offices: prophet, priest, and king. This honors the reality that prophets played a significant role, though it neglects the fact that it isn’t an official role, unlike those of the royal and priestly families.  Prophets were only appointed by God.

Of the several metaphors people use to speak of the role of prophet, I find the idea of “ambassador” compelling.  An ambassador represents a particular government and is authorized to speak on behalf of that government. In a sense, prophets are ambassadors of God’s government, God’s realm, which is much broader than simply the people of Israel and their kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  The Israelites understood that God’s sovereignty extends over all the earth, over all of creation.  So, the prophets come as ambassadors from that realm, speaking with the authority of the sovereign.  For the prophets, being in between God and the people they belonged to and loved was often awkward and sometimes painful, especially if the message they had to deliver was harsh.

Christian history defines two groups of prophets that are seen in the Hebrew scriptures – there is the former or early prophets starting with the prophet Samuel.  And yes, there were other prophets before Samuel like Abraham, Moses, Miriam, and Deborah, but most historians separate them from this category.  The Early Prophets refer to those between 1000 to 800 BCE.  This would also include familiar characters like Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha. Most of their stories can be found in the Hebrew books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.

What are labeled the Latter Prophets are those after 800 BCE.  You would find their writing in the books Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and several others.

As Howard states,

For the purposes of our family photo of prophets here, we will treat the prophets as very much alike over the centuries. They share similarities in their interactions with kings and queens, their messages to the people, their calls, and their common themes. 

If there is one word that has been used to describe modern-day prophets, it must be the word – DISTURBER.  You cannot think of names like Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Galileo, Charles Darwin, Mohammed Ali, John Lennon, Greta Thunberg, and so many more who challenged the status quo without utilizing the word, disturber. Even Martin Luther King Jr. was given the title “The Peaceful Disturber” during and after the Civil Rights Movement.

Rabbi philosopher, Abraham Joshua Heschel called the Hebrew prophets “some of the most disturbing people who have ever lived.” They are in a similar category to those names I just read off.  Yet too often when we think of “disturbing people” our first response is to avoid them – probably because they are actually not disturbing us, but rather challenging us, making us feel uncomfortable, or maybe even deep-down a bit guilty.  

I agree with Howard that the world needs more disturbing people. People who can envision the wonders of life together that God intends for us.  People who can see through and call out the ways we corrupt that life. And people who can teach us how to walk in God’s ways. That is who the prophets in the scriptures were.  And as we begin to get to know them better, just maybe like many of our Quaker ancestors, we too will take up their mantle and become like them. 

Yet, before we get to the point of befriending the prophets, let’s take a moment to talk about some of the obstacles which arise in getting to truly know them. Howard points out several obstacles that I just want to hit on briefly.

1.     Their Role and Character: Often people think the prophets were eccentric cranks totally obsessed with the end of the world.  OK, I admit, sometimes the prophets can seem a bit weird, but remember they were ordinary people like you and me – and let’s be honest, we can be kinda weird at times, too, correct?  

Howard gives us a slightly different definition and it is much more relatable:

“A prophet is a visible sign and enduring witness that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation.” 

Just take some of the “disturber” names I listed before and put them in his definition. For example: Martin Luther King Jr. was a visible witness that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation.

Friends, each one of us, with that of God within us, can live into that description.  Eric, Mary, Wolff, Abby, Ed, Lisa, Corrine, Larry…Fill your name in here… is a visible witness that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation.  

2.     Unfriendly Translations: One of the biggest obstacles to understanding the prophets have been the translation of the scriptures we have been reading. Many traditional translations draw us by their beautiful phrasing BUT block us from the true or deeper meaning.  

For example, many love the King James Version for its lyrical beauty, but a more modern translation that uses current phrases that we would utilize today are much more helpful in understanding deeper meaning.  This is exactly why I will often utilize The Message, The Voice or some other modern translation within my teachings.

3.     Miss their point: Most of what the prophets were saying were said to people of a specific time and place nearly 2500 years ago. That means you and I are going to need some background to get their point.

Sadly many, simply have distorted their words to fit their theologies or desired outcomes – which have led to dangerous conclusions that many of us have been hurt and abused by in other faith communities.  

4.     Poetry vs. Prose: As with differing translations, we also need to understand that most of the prophets’ words were written in poetry rather than prose. Often the lines come off as brief, sometimes even graphic and upsetting, causing us to have quick reactions.

I like what Howard suggests for us to do when reading the poetry of the Prophets. He says,

“…you have to listen patiently, soak in it, let it soak into you. Let the images live and the word plays do their job. Slow down and listen.”

5.     Misleading Expectations: In the scriptures, God sent prophets to particular people in specific circumstances to give words of guidance, hope, warning, or correction. And we should believe that those people in their context would understand what they were saying. 

Too many people today, think that what the prophets said were filled with codes and with baffling lingo that people throughout the ages have had to decipher or unpack. 

Let’s be honest, this is what sells Left Behind, End Times, Bible Coding, and Rapture books, and creates followings…but this was never the intent. It is all due to seeking out…

6.     Hidden Meanings: Howard says,

“Trying to tease out hidden meanings, mostly to serve our curiosity and need to control, generally obscures what the prophets have to say while we are looking for the things they don’t say.  The clear witness and major themes of the prophets, if we receive them, will challenge us to live today as fully as they did the original hearers.”

            And finally,

7.     Unapproachable:  We love to put people today on a pedestal (and we then love to take shots at them to knock them off). We kinda have done that with the prophets as well. In Christianity, we use a variety of different words to describe these people – when I was an Anglican, we went more along with the Roman Catholics and called them Saints.  Many Evangelicals and Protestants simply call them prophets but hold them almost to a saintly state.  And even within Quakerism, we often talk about Mystics attaining a level that is almost other-worldly. 

In each case, overtime, people have given these saints, prophets, and mystics an almost superhuman quality that after a while removes us from relating to them.  I immediately think of the many myths of Francis of Assisi, or the power of Billy Graham, and even though I love our own Quaker mystics, I have heard people talk of Elton Trueblood in this manner.

Friends, please hear me on this, each saint, prophet, or mystic, was first and foremost – JUST LIKE YOU AND ME. If anything, these people we admire, listen to, and follow, should as Howard says, “…remind me of how faithfully all of us can actually live ordinary life a day at a time.

And that brings me to my final point as we wrap up this first sermon. There is this interesting thread running through the scriptures that Howard points out.  Moses in his prophetic role, pushes back on Joshua saying, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them.”  Later, the prophet Joel exclaims God’s promise (and our scripture for today):     

Then in those days I will pour My Spirit to all humanity;
    your children will boldly and prophetically speak the word of God.
Your elders will dream dreams;
    your young warriors will see visions.

No one will be left out.

Multiple times in scripture, the disciple Peter exclaims that the Spirit of God was poured out on the people he was speaking to and even on occasion to the Gentiles and it says they all began to prophecy.  

The Apostle Paul even includes prophecy as one of the gifts that he hopes will be poured out and available to all people.

So, what does this mean?  Well Howard closes with this…

“They [these prophets] hold out the prospect that, individually and in community, we can all share the identity and the witness of the prophets, which is another reason to come alongside them. I know well that many folks resist taking for themselves the title “prophet” and shy away from regarding themselves as a prophet. I share that reluctance. But despite that, as the Spirit calls us out and empowers us, all of us can be visible signs and enduring witnesses to God among us.  We can point to God’s steady presence and how the extravagant love of God pursues us. We can call people to join in the ongoing longing and work for renewal and healing restoration.  We can invite folks to know God intimately and to embrace what God delights in – compassion, justice, and right living.  We can join the prophets in being disturbing and helpful people for the love of God.”

So, are you ready to join the prophets over the next few weeks and learn from them how to be disturbing but helpful people for the love of God in our world?

As we ponder that, let us enter waiting worship this morning. I also have a couple more queries that may help you center down and focus during this time of expectant waiting.

1.     What have been my perceptions of the biblical prophets?  Have they been positive, negative, or neutral, and why? 

2.     Who have been disturbers in my life? What have I learned from them?

3.     How am I a visible sign and enduring witness to God among us?

9-3-23 - "Glimpses of the Sacred"

Glimpses of the Sacred

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

September 3, 2023

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  This morning’s scripture is a little different.  It is from the Apocrypha or the Deutero-Canoncical Books.  These are the scriptures that land between the Old and New Testaments. The reading I have chosen is from Sirach 15:14-17.

It was he who created humankind in the beginning,

    and he left them in the power of their own free choice.

If you choose, you can keep the commandments,

    and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.

He has placed before you fire and water;

    stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.

Before each person are life and death,

    and whichever one chooses will be given.

I have had several conversations over the last few years about First Friends and what makes it so unique. One of the things that I always express is that we have a theologically diverse gathering of people.  Even though we have a spectrum of beliefs, we somehow find a way to come together. 

Some of the reasons this is possible is because of the variety of opportunities we offer from Bible Studies to Book Groups, from Programmed to Unprogrammed Worship, from opportunities to serve others to opportunities for self-examination, from events for the young and old alike. 

Actually, I have come to realize that First Friends is like no other church or meeting I have known.  It is one of the truest examples of the Kingdom of God talked about in scripture that I have ministered among – and I mean that with my whole heart.  Sure, we have our issues, our challenges, our quirks and quarks, but overall, First Friends is the closest I have ever been to what I have dreamed of for what is called “The Church.”  Some days I am in awe of what all we do, who all we are, and the beauty that is First Friends.

A while back, a friend of mine from a more Evangelical background asked me about First Friends and I found myself having a hard time describing it to him. He had some specific markers I needed to hit, but he was baffled by the fact that we had a spectrum of beliefs and theologies within our gathering. His mindset was more like I described last week in my message - a “cookie cutter Christianity” where all people were striving for the same goals, beliefs, and actions. 

I told him the closest we would come to similar beliefs would be our dedication to our testimonies or S.P.I.C.E.S., which intrigued him.  Yet, I explained that how we interpret them is unique to each Friend and even each Meeting.  Those SPICES (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship) are also on a spectrum of understanding among Friends. 

His Evangelical mindset reared its head at this point and said, “Well, I can see there could be differences in those, please tell me that you all have the same view of Jesus, right?” 

Well…I knew he was not going to like my answer, but I shared with him that there were a variety of views of Jesus among our Meeting – just like there were a variety of views of Jesus in the Bible, or in history, or throughout other faiths.  I knew I was headed into dangerous waters, but I also knew that this is one of the things I love about First Friends. 

He could not wrap his mind around the fact that we had this much theological diversity.  That some were not big on Jesus and that others felt Jesus was everything – and somehow that was “allowed” at First Friends.  “Allowed” I said, “No you mean encouraged.”

I also have had other people who have come to talk to me from a much different perspective. They tell me how they have found themselves being drawn to Quakerism, but consider themselves Atheists or Agnostics. It is something about the philosophy of Quakerism that has drawn them to be part of our community.    

As one who is not afraid to or unwilling to delve into difficult conversations, I want to talk about this in more detail this morning.  I want to step outside our religiosity, our faith structures, and our traditions and examine Quakerism from a philosophical bent. 

A fellow Quaker Kim Baker wrote a blog post that I read recently that had me pondering how I might explain Quakerism outside of the traditional methods we often utilize.  She starts out by telling the following story,

My parents are firmly atheists and also very open to religious ideas. Both of them were raised Quaker and went to meeting every Sunday of their childhood. They met at a Quaker university and married in a Quaker ceremony in which they exchanged their own vows. They didn’t stick with it though. When they started their new lives away from their families, they moved from the East Coast to the West Coast and stopped going to meetings. By that time, my dad was an atheist and remains so to this day. He turned 80 this year. My mother is a bit more undecided, but religion is not a big part of her life either.

Then listen carefully to what Kim goes on to say,

“While they no longer believe in God in a traditional way, and they didn’t raise me in the religion, the philosophies have stuck and been passed on to me. Even though I don’t identify myself as religious, I still adhere to the basic philosophies of Quakerism.”

What she is describing is both a unique aspect of Quakerism and also an aspect of what many would label spiritual formation.  As Quakers we would say the seeds are planted and remain when they transcend our lives and speak to our universal condition. 

Unlike other faiths, their creeds or dogmas lead to them getting stuck on certain beliefs for this very reason.  They run into roadblocks or discouragement when their understanding of their faith cannot be questioned or transcend their understanding. 

I always think of when my wife, Sue spoke out of the silence and told the story of when in high school she worked at the grocery store and a fellow employee saw her reading her bible and questioned her.  He asked her to explain what she believed without using the Bible to explain it – leaving her with few words and pondering an entirely different approach. 

Kim goes on in her blog to point out some of the Quaker Philosophies that have spoken deeply to her condition and then to translate them to a more universal audience. I think these have really helped give me new ways of looking at Quakerism, how it transcends organized religion, and how it has shaped my evolving understanding of just what I believe and the impact it can have on ALL people – not just those who are seeking a religion to follow.  

Let’s start with the first Quaker Philosophy:

God is inside each and every human being, so every person is equal and you should never kill or harm another person; doing so is harming God.

Kim says regarding this philosophy: 

“When I really think about this, the idea of God becomes decentralized and I connect with that idea. Far from being the God in the paintings, you know the one with the gray beard who lives in Heaven, God is the sacred part of each of us, a part that recognizes the sacred in others and respects, everyone. For me, that means I have a responsibility to do as little harm as I possibly can. I am a teacher, so when I teach, I need to honor the learners because I am, in fact, one of them.  I find this philosophy beautiful; it stops me from acting only in my own self-interest. We are not separate, we are part of a greater whole, when I harm someone else, I am actually harming myself. So, whether you believe in God or not, you can believe in the sacredness that connects us all and makes us into a community.

I will be honest, growing up a Lutheran and then becoming an Anglican, I spent a lot of time hearing we are made in the image of God – the Imago Dei.  Or maybe you were taught as I was that if you believe correctly, Jesus will sit on the throne of your heart.  Clearly, there was something about the Divine being within us that was important to understand and for me its meaning has continued to develop (or spiritually form) over time. 

But it wasn’t until I was among Friends, and I heard “there is that of God in everyone” that I started to grasp this sacredness which Kim speaks of. Over time and a lot of questioning, searching, and study, I have learned that it does not matter if we call this sacredness in us, God, the Divine, the Light, the Seed, or Jesus, but rather these are just labels we use to describe it. 

What really matters in the present moment is whether we acknowledge the sacred part in each of us. That we realize as I said last week that we need each other.  That we have, as Kim said, a responsibility to honor, not harm, and respect our neighbors, so ultimately, we can connect with them and create a stronger community.  Sadly, most of my religious upbringing was focused on just the opposite - on me getting it right while pointing the finger at and judging my neighbor. Instead, what Kim points out is an equality that eliminates this judging and finger pointing.    

Let’s move on:

The next Quaker Philosophy she points out is: Your morality should be based on your inner conscience.

Kim says, “Because God is not separate from me but rather a part of me, I am perfectly capable of figuring out what is right and what is wrong and acting accordingly. I love this because it prevents me from outsourcing my morality. So many times we are asked to do things that we don’t agree with morally, but because we are taught that a higher being is telling us how to behave, we go along with it and even sometimes defend it.

This philosophy sometimes gets Quakers into trouble because they follow their conscience instead of the law. For example, they were really active in the Underground Railroad and helped slaves escape because slavery goes totally against the tenant that God is within all of us, and because of that, all of us are equal. Quakers continue to be active advocates for equality, defending immigrants regardless of the current political climate.

I don’t need to believe in God, to believe in following my conscience. I take responsibility for my actions because ultimately I am the one who is performing them. The government or some other powerful group can tell me what to do, but I am not simply a tool for that organization to use, I follow my own guidelines in life. Those guidelines are not written in stone, they change as I learn new things and my understanding of the world changes.

I have come to realize that God, religion, politics, even education systems, and yes organized religion can easily become a cop out or a way for us to sidestep taking responsibility or using the minds the Divine has given us to make good and honest decisions. We have been given a conscience for a reason.

Taking the time to center down, to listen to what our heart is saying, has often been sidestepped for someone else’s thinking. As Quakers we talk about listening and waiting on the Spirit.  I have heard many people debate whether that Spirit is Divine or our spirit – in which I often reply – It is both. 

And when we are confused at what our conscience is telling us, we go to trusted Friends, to clearness committees, to people we can trust who may have the wisdom to unpack the mysteries. 

Folks, many of our contemporary dilemmas are not spelled out in the Bible or even addressed in our Faith and Practice, but have we thrown out reason, taking time to contemplate, to listen and wait on the Spirit to speak to our condition.

When I was an Anglican Priest, I had a Bishop who would say to me, “Have you come to a decision? (about a specific situation).”  I would answer no, and he would say then continue to wait until you sense clarity.  I would ask, “How long?” And the bishop would simply reply, “As long as you need.” I realized that I was not waiting on God to give me the answer, as much as I was waiting to be made comfortable with my decision. 

Probably the topic I waited for clarity on the longest was on Same Sex Marriage.  Everyone wanted to tell me what God thought, what the church thought, what the Bible thought…but over time, it was science, my friendships, my own family that helped bring clarity.  Sue and I walked with a friend who came out to us, who began dating a partner of the same sex, and finally were married.  As we travelled with them, we experienced the vitriol, the pain, and the shaming that took place from people who said God hated them, that the church did not want them, that they were somehow less than human…and it became very clear this was not what I believed.  I then made a decision to not be part of this, but to see that of God in ALL people.

Finally, one last Quaker philosophy: You don’t need a priest or religious rituals to have a connection with God.

Kim says, Sometimes I love rituals and ceremonies. I recently got to see the Semana Santa processions in Granada, Spain, and found them beautiful in their way. For me, however, they are not a religious experience, they are fascinating, but I don’t connect with them. The things that make me feel connected to a greater whole are much more random and unpredictable.

Once, while sitting in a hidden grotto near a river bank, the cottonwood fluff mimicking snow, the sun illuminating the grass, water, and rocks, I felt that I was a part of everything around me. I was inextricably connected with the trees, the water, the insects, and the air.

Another time, while leading a discussion on plot arcs in my literature class, everyone became singularly focused. Ideas flowed, one connecting to another, as 26 brains worked together to understand the world more fully.

In these moments, I know that I am not alone.

As I said before, I grew up in churches with lots of religious ritual and tradition. As an artist I have to admit I love religious art and sacred places.

Yet as I have done on many occasions, I have made a spiritual map of my life to plot out where I have sensed what Celtic Spirituality calls the “Thin Places” where the Divine is more present in our lives.   On my spiritual map there have definitely been places in nature like the National Parks with my family or the Oregon Coast with my doctoral cohort, and there have been religious rituals like being ordained a priest or recorded as a Quaker minister, or moments like teaching a group of 23 black women in Chicago about the Bible and having them break out in singing Amazing Grace or giving my first sermon in 8th grade on Christmas Eve. 

Today, I find painting, going on a road trip with my wife (or family), reading a good book, working in my garden, or having a cup of coffee with one of you – just as much a “thin place” as one of those more grand experiences. 

If you follow me on Facebook, I have spent the summer posting “Blooms of the Day” of the many varieties of plants in our gardens.  Watering the flowers, pulling the weeds, and seeking out the beauty of the garden each morning, has become a sacred moment of my day – almost devotional in nature. Our backyard has become a sanctuary of sorts.  There I find myself connecting on a deeper level. It grounds me and centers me to be ready for my day.  I have realized at this stage of my life, it is one of the most sacred things I do.  No pastor, no bible, no church involved.  But as Kim said, “In these moments, I know that I am not alone.

So, that is where we will end this week. Please know that this is just a teaser to get you thinking and there is a lot more to discuss around these issues. And no, I am not saying, there is no need for God or that Quakerism is just a philosophy. 

Instead, I hope you are hearing another way to see or even speak of Quakerism that may be helpful for more people. And as we change our perspectives and see from different angles, just maybe we will see glimpses of the sacred (or whatever you may call it) in new places, in those around us, in the sunset on a glorious evening, or in the blooms in the garden of our lives. 

I thank Kim Baker for her vulnerability in writing about this and for sharing it for us to wrestle with. 

Now, as we enter waiting worship, I ask you to ponder the following queries:

1.     What is it that draws me to Quakerism?

2.     What Quaker philosophies transcend my religious experiences and speak to a more universal condition?

3.     How am I acknowledging that of God or the sacred in others?

4.     What are the “Thin Places” that I notice in my spiritual journey?

8-27-23 - "We NEED Each Other!"

We NEED Each Other!

Pastor Bob Henry 

Indianapolis First Friends Meeting

August 27, 2023

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. Our scripture reading for this morning is from Romans 12:4-5 from the New Revised Standard Version.   

For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

Last week, I spoke about darkness and the challenges and opportunities it presents.  As I began to think about all that was shared out of the silence last week and the conversations, I had with several of you. I realized how important relationships are to processing our lives, our darkness, and to ultimately finding the Light within us.  

In Turning to One Another by Margaret Wheatley, she says,

Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.

The reality is that we need each other more than ever. It sounds simple, but our world is getting more and more isolated, we make lots of assumptions about people, and we too often take for granted those that are closest to us. 

As well, many of us come to this Meetinghouse caring huge burdens, baggage, and pain, and as soon as we get out of our car in the parking lot we put on a façade and play a character for the next hour or so,

I don’t think that’s what Jesus intended, since the church he set-up was to be about a group of people who care for one another and not just coming to a building. Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

This is why early Quakers called one another brothers and sisters instead of calling them by their titles or status. Today, to be more gender inclusive, I would rather simply use the term, siblings.  We are siblings in one big spiritual family. 

Thus, the church is not just about any people, but about true family – ideally, people who know each other, live life with one another, struggle together, challenge each other, listen to, and help each other, who deeply love each other, and who want the best for each other.   

The United Kingdom’s Faith and Practice describes this so well. It says,  

All of us in the meeting have needs. Sometimes the need will be for patient understanding, sometimes for practical help, sometimes for challenge and encouragement; but we cannot be aware of each other’s needs unless we know each other.

Although we may be busy, we must take time to hear about the absent daughter, the examination result, the worries over a lease renewal, the revelation of an uplifting holiday, the joy of a new love. Every conversation with another Friend, every business meeting, every discussion group, and every meeting for worship can increase our loving and caring and our knowledge of each other.

Folks, I believe that is what a spiritual family is supposed to do for each other.   

In his book, Living the Quaker Way, my friend Phil Gulley wrote about the importance of the community (or I would say spiritual family) for those we consider saints in our world.  He says,

Behind every saint is a community. Think for a moment of our spiritual heroes – Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, Mohandes Gandhi and others.  What do they have in common? Each of them was immersed in a spiritual community that honed their faith, clarified their thought, tested their resolve, and provided support.

Mother Teresa received much public acclaim, but behind her stood the Missionaries of Charity. Thomas Merton wrote beautifully of the spiritual life, but he did so alongside the Trappists at the Abbey of Gethsemani. Martin Luther King Jr. enjoyed the support of his peers in the civil rights movement, the Dali Lama is surrounded spiritually and physically by his fellow Buddhists, and Gandhi had the faithful support of Sabarmati Ashram. I think of my own life and spiritual communities that have enriched my faith and expanded my mind. I can’t begin to imagine how different my life might have been without the people I’ve loved, who have loved me in return.

And it is not just being loved by our spiritual family - It is also about being challenged or as Proverbs 27:17 states: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

It is important to have the influence of people who challenge you to think and do not let you fall into a “cookie-cutter Christian culture” where everyone looks the same, talks the same, or has the same vibe.

This kind of spiritual family can allow for only shallow discussions, without the encouragement of analytical, diverse, and spirited discussion of faith.

True sharpening of iron requires friction, sparks, and pressure. This does not sound like someone who stays strictly inside a comfort zone or within the confines of a group who are just like them.

I think we have to admit that life can be messy.  Our relationships can become estranged or even ended due to abuse or a lack of boundaries, and a variety of other reasons.

Often, we do not know where to turn for help. This is one of the arenas a mature spiritual family can support you.

A spiritual family can be there through the birth of your child, an illness, divorce, or even when you purpose to give up alcohol or substance abuse.

When you need counsel in a difficult life decision, where do you turn? Probably to someone who is wise, a Friend with spiritual insight. Maybe a clearness committee. 

Having a healthy spiritual family surrounding you can be a boon to the turmoil life brings our way. This is reciprocal, a circular relationship, one with a hand up and a hand down.

As it states in the book of Romans each member belongs to ALL the others.

Phil Gulley described this Spiritual Family or Community profoundly when he wrote,

It labors not for its own glory, but for the well-being of all people everywhere. It rejoices when the marginalized are included, when the slave is freed, when the despised are embraced. It sees in its fellow beings not sin and separation from God but potential, promise, and connection. Wherever people love, it is there. Wherever people include, it is present. Whenever people join together in a spirit of compassion and inclusion, this church feels at home, for those values have been priorities from its earliest days…This church seeks to learn, understand, and include. It is of the world, loves the world, and welcomes all people as its brothers and sisters [siblings]. Where boarders separate, this community straddles the partition, refusing to let arbitrary lines rule their conscience and conduct. They are in every sense of the word members of one another.

In Near Occasions of Grace, Richard Rohr talks about what he labels a “Vision of Peoplehood” and it is both a vision and a kind of warning to the importance of relationship.  Rohr says,

The Body of Christ, the spiritual family, is God’s strategy. It is both medium and message. It is both beginning and end:

“May they all be one . . . so that the world may believe it was you who sent me . . . that they may be one as we are one, with me in them and you in me” (John 17:21–23).

There is no other form for the Christian life except a common one. This may even be a matter of culture, if culture refers to something which is shared and passed on. In this sense, I am wondering if there is any other kind of Christianity except “cultural Christianity,” for better and for worse.  

And here is where I think he really nails it.

Until and unless Christ is someone happening between people, the gospel remains largely an abstraction. Until Jesus Christ is passed on personally through faithfulness and forgiveness, through bonds of union, I doubt whether he is passed on at all.

We are now paying the price for centuries in which the Church was narrowed from a full vision of peoplehood to an almost total preoccupation with private persons and their devotional needs. But history has shown that individuals who are confirmed in their individualism by the very character of our evangelism will never create church, except after the model of a service station: they will use it as a commodity like everything else. This is far cry from our “original participation”…in the Body of Christ from the moment of our conception.

Certainly, we must deal with individuals. But the very nature of our lifestyle and our church teaching must say from the beginning what the goal is—the communion of saints, a shared life together as family…the kingdom—here!

The prophet Haggai criticizes the Jews after the exile for dwelling comfortably in their “paneled houses” while the common walls of the temple lie in ruins (see Haggai 1:4, 9). His prophetic call is now and forever. We still think that we can work with the world’s agenda, where career and individual fulfillment are the basic building blocks of society. And we believe that we can build church from those well-educated and well-saved blocks. But God needs “living stones making a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5).

For Jesus, such teachings as forgiveness, healing, and justice are not just a spiritual test or obstacle course. They are quite simply the necessary requirements for a basic shared life. Peacemaking and reconciliation are not some kind of box seat tickets to heaven. They are the price of peoplehood. They express the truth in the heart of God, the truth that has been shared with us in the Holy Spirit, the union in Jesus the Christ who is reconciling all people to God.

So, if you just come to First Friends for my sermons, or Eric, Wolff, the Choir’s music, or our children’s ministry or our small groups, or whatever it is, alone…you may need to ask yourself if you are preoccupied with your individual needs?  That is not embracing the relationships, the personhood, the full benefits of this spiritual family – and it doesn’t allow us to fully be members to one another. 

If the church was truly to be about the people – then our relationships, as Margaret Wheatley stated, “are all there is.”  And if it was God’s strategy to create a spiritual family and be living stones making a spiritual house, then we can’t be just focused on our personal needs or likes, but instead like Phil Gulley said, we must labor not for our own glory, but for the well-being of all people everywhere.

Folks, that is why we need each other more than ever!

I want to close these thoughts this morning with one of my favorite poems by Sue and my good friend, Sarah Hoggatt. It is titled,

The Journey Worth Taking 

From “Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices”

We come from far-off lands,

cultures apart, struggling to 

understand a foreign tongue,

another viewpoint, another way to live, 

to see, to hear God in different words. 

We listen, opening to new sights, perspectives, 

ways to love as we discover

we are unique parts of a greater circle, 

distinctive expressions of the Divine Life. 

Yet our voices together lift up the mountains. 

Our chorus pulses the river down the outward

flow into a world needing to hear the rushing tide. 

We are on a journey and it may not even 

matter so much where we end up, 

but that we rise up to take the voyage. 

We speak the truth of our lives, 

hear each other and are changed. 

We can love without complete understanding, 

Walking the light together while miles apart. 

If in the tension we can find

the one light we are birthed from,

the thread through our stories,

we may discover we are brothers, sisters all

of one skin, one laughter, music, lilting, free, 

if we can just find the courage to come together

And take the journey.

As we enter waiting worship, take a moment to consider the following queries:

1.     Where have I isolated myself from my Spiritual Family?

2.     How might I engage new relationships at First Friends?

3.     What might it mean for First Friends to be “living stones making a spiritual house”?

8-20-23 - "And Now... Darkness"

And Now…Darkness

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

August 20, 2023

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. For several weeks we talked about shining, sharing, and living in the Light, and now…let’s talk about darkness. The scripture I chose is part of one of my favorite Psalms. 

Psalm 139: 7-12 from the New International Version.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

I was thinking this week while sitting in the dark one evening in our front room about when I first really engaged the darkness. I am sure it was when I was young and afraid of the dark and asked my mom for a nightlight – as several of our children shared a few weeks ago in the Children’s Message. 

But then I remembered when I was in junior high. My youth leaders at the time had encouraged us to read a book that was being considered Christian Horror or as one person said the “Stephen King of Christian Books.” The book they were encouraging us to read was “This Present Darkness” by Frank Peretti. (I know for some of you, I just entered your darkness by reminding you of this book.)

“This Present Darkness” went viral in the pre-internet era, selling millions of copies and spreading through word of mouth across churches all over our country. It was sold at almost every youth event and Christian concert I attended in those days. Everyone was talking about it. This was the precursor to the Left Behind series that would have a similar effect a few years later. And it’s easy to see why it was so popular.  This was the peak of what we now label the “Satanic Panic” and in many ways gave the reader a glimpse at what was happening in this so-called dark satanic world around us.  I think at each of my youth events we had a breakout session about satanic worship and the cigarettes, drugs, movies, and rock n’roll that supported it. 

Many seemingly religious folks used “This Present Darkness” to place fear in the hearts of young Christians by opening them up to this wild battle taking place between demons and angels for their soul. It drew me in and at my age had me reading a satanic plot into every moment of my life for several years.   

Forget about monsters under your bed or in your closet at night. Now, in junior high I was learning about angels and demons literally fighting over and around me all day just out of my sight. No nightlight could shed enough light to bring this scary scenario into sight. 

Today, many have written that this book was the primer for helping create in the minds of young people exactly what we see being played out in our country, today.  Just listen to this one description of “This Present Darkness” – I think you will see what I am talking about:  

A sinister schoolteacher steadily grooms kids in their care to accept liberal indoctrination, ultimately leading to the takeover of young minds by shadowy forces. All the while, the teachers are backed by a larger, high-powered conspiracy to control the government, the educational system, and the national media.

That could be taken right out of our headlines, today. And I believe it is deeply connected to our headlines, today. I could go on, but this is not what I want to focus on this morning. If you want to read more about this type of influence, go read “Jesus and John Wayne” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez to have your eyes fully opened to how we arrived at where we are, today. 

For me, “This Present Darkness,” unfairly distorted and categorized darkness. It taught me to fear and avoid those things that others categorized as darkness or could lead to darkness rather than learning from them.

Soon I was being told I could be sent into eternal darkness – which they called hell.  And my heart could become hardened and filled with this darkness and ultimately removed from God. Really scary thoughts for a junior higher. The fear this produced, soon had me labeling neighbors, teachers, groups, even other denominations, and religious faiths as bearers of this darkness. 

My world and my faith soon became bifurcated into things that were good (Light) and those that were bad (Darkness), something the church has embraced for many years and for a variety of reasons – but especially to control outcomes. 

It wouldn’t be until much later, when I would be introduced to a completely different take on darkness. It was Quakers, “experts in the Light” that had a slightly different view of darkness, that wasn’t quite so bifurcated and so connected to being evil or satanic.

I read what Quaker Mark Russ had penned,

“There is darkness as a natural part of being alive, or a natural process we need to work through at different times in our lives.”

I realized quickly that darkness was not always evil…nor was it always bad or   something to fear, but rather something to utilize as part of our natural life system. 

Instead of ridding oneself of darkness, I was realizing it is part of each one of us. 

That changed things a great deal for me.   

One of the most positive descriptions of darkness in Quakerism, again as a natural process, is Jocelyn Burnell’s description. She says,

“Although we tend to equate evil with darkness, we should remember that in the plant world roots grow in the dark. Darkness (and shadows) are as much a part of the natural order as light.”

If you have ever taken a Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator Test, you may have found it helpful knowing your Personality Type, but a few years after it came out, a study showed that it was almost more important for people to spend time exploring their “shadow” sides because it will make them more well-rounded and understand where they struggle.

In her book, which I highly recommend, Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor, she explains the prevalence of both light and dark in our lives this way:

To be human is to live by sunlight and moonlight. We need darkness; it is just as essential to our physical well-being as light. We not only need plenty of darkness to sleep well; we need it to be well.

She goes as far as explaining it as embracing a “Lunar Spirituality.”  Taylor believes most churches today focus on Sunlight Spirituality and do not balance it out with a Lunar Spirituality as well. Thus, they are not prepared for all that the world throws at them.  She goes on to say,

While we are drawn to the light, we would also be wise to understand the values of darkness, even when the darkness represents things that are uncomfortable, unfamiliar, scary, painful and even inconvenient.

Sometimes the way out of darkness begins with our willingness to enter the darkness.

Instead of avoiding the darkness, as we are often so prone to do, have we ever considered how it might prove more valuable to actually choose to enter into it?

To speak more candidly from a spiritual perspective, sometimes the way to God is choosing to go down instead of (instinctually) going up. In other words, when it comes to our desire to avoid, or even expedite the darkness, sometimes…

The way out is in.

The way up is down.

Such are the paradoxes of the manner in which God’s kingdom operates.

Barbara Brown Taylor points out that, if you look up “dark” and “darkness” in scripture, they are unanimous with being negative.

But if you look up the stories, it’s a whole different thing.

“In Genesis, darkness existed before God even got to work as a primal substance. Everything was made by God from dark. In Exodus, God promises to come to Moses on Mount Sinai in a dense or dark cloud. Here, darkness is divine and where God dwells. Abraham meets God in the darkness, Jacob wrestles an angel in the middle of the night, and angels announce Christ’s birth to the shepherds at night. There’s so much that happens in the dark that is essential to the Christian story.”

Folks, dark simply means “without illumination.”

Darkness is what remains in mystery.

It is what is yet unformed.

It is the womb.

It is the inside, the below, the deep, and the cave.

Darkness creates the space of not knowing that allows us each to become enlightened and illuminated with truth through a journey towards our own inner gnosis (wisdom) and light, rather than from an outside source.

This is illustrated so well in arguably the best of the original Star Wars Trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back when Luke Skywalker realizes there is something not right on Dagoba. He asks Yoda what it is, and Yoda tells Luke, he must go find out. Luke askes what is in the cave and Yoda responses, “Only what you take with you.”  Luke then enters the cave and soon finds that he is facing his greatest fear, Darth Vader. Luke quickly pulls out his lightsaber and begins to fight him, ultimately cutting off Darth Vader’s head. But in a moment of enlightenment, Darth Vader’s mask bursts open to reveal Luke’s face below. Luke was on a journey toward his inner wisdom and light, and he comes face to face with his real fear.  A darkness he doesn’t know the full extent of yet but has him searching for the light within himself and within his father. 

In one of my favorite books, A Testament of Devotion, Quaker Thomas Kelly put words to this journey, when he wrote,

What is urged here are inward practices of the mind at deepest levels, letting it swing like the needle, to the polestar of the soul. And like the needle, the Inward Light becomes the truest guide of life, showing us new and unsuspected defects in ourselves and our fellows, showing us new and unsuspected possibilities in the power and life of good will among [humans].

I started this message by talking about a story that gave me a skewed view of darkness. But let me end with a story by Rev. Erica Baron that I think illustrates what I am getting at:

Once upon a time there lived people who loved the light.

As soon as the sun rose every morning, they were up to welcome it, singing songs of celebration for the light. And when the sun went down each evening they sang other songs, sad songs, songs of missing the light of the sun. They loved the light so very much.

They did not love the darkness. Once darkness fell every night, they would hurry to bed, since they could only bear the darkness when they were asleep. Even then, total darkness was frightening to them, and so they always kept a fire burning in every room.

The people’s dearest wish was that the sun would not set in the evening, that darkness would never fall. But every day the sunset and they sang their sad songs and they endured the fearful, sad, strange darkness until they could greet the sun again the next day.

Now in this land were born two remarkable children. They were twins. One was a girl, and she seemed to shine from within. Whenever she entered a room, everything seemed to get a little brighter. And the people loved her very much.

The other was a boy, and he seemed to bring darkness with him. Whenever he entered a room, everything seemed a little dimmer. And the people did not like him. They feared him because he reminded them of the great darkness of the night.

But although the people loved the girl and did not love the boy, the twins loved each other very much. And because the girl loved her brother so very much, the people mostly let him be, even though they were afraid of him.

Now, as they grew, it became clear that these children were, in fact, magical children. The girl had the power to bring life back when it was harmed or lost. When she was a very small child, she could heal small cuts and bruises. When she grew a little older, she could heal broken bones and other larger hurts. And by the time she was a teenager, she could make the crops grow faster and larger and fuller. She could bring plants and animals that had died back to life. The people suspected she could even bring people back to life, but they were a little afraid to ask, and she did not offer.

The boy, on the other hand, had the power to calm and quiet anything. When he was a very small child, he could help his family go to sleep more quickly, thus saving them from the fear of the darkness. When he was a little older, he could calm animals when they were frightened and make them still. Sometimes, he would go first to an animal or a person who was hurt and help them to be calm enough for his sister’s healing magic to work. And by the time he was a teenager, he could calm storms and winds and rains. He could bring anything to stillness.

The people’s love for the light and fear of the darkness only grew with time, perhaps more strongly with the twins always before them to remind them.

And so one day, they decided to ask the girl for a favor. They asked her to see if her magic could hold the sun in the sky and stop the night from coming. The girl was reluctant, but after many, many months of being asked, she finally decided to try, just to get the people to leave her alone. One day, just as the sun was at its highest point, she went out onto the top of the highest hill in the land, and she threw her arms up into the sky, and she asked the sun to stop, to stay right there at the top of the sky forever.

She wasn’t immediately sure that anything had happened. The sun usually moves so slowly. But before very long it became clear that something had happened. The sun had stopped in the sky.

The people were overjoyed. There was a big celebration. They sang all of their songs celebrating the sun. They loved the girl even more—at least at first. For the first week or so, everyone was happy and content.

But soon they began to get tired. Although they had always slept with a fire to ward off the darkness, sleeping in the full light of the sun was another thing altogether. They tossed and turned and woke up constantly. Some of them remembered that the boy could help with sleep, and asked for his aid, but his power of bringing sleep seemed to have disappeared along with the darkness.

After about a month, the exhausted, frustrated people began to see that this constant sunlight was a problem. Though they still loved the light, they began to wish that the sun would once again move in the sky. Each person at first thought that they were the only one who thought this. And given the people’s love of the light and fear of the darkness, everyone was afraid, at first, to say anything about this growing longing for nighttime. But slowly, softly, as they began to confide in each other, they discovered that everyone felt this way. And they finally decided that something must be done.

They went back to the girl and asked her to get the sun to move again. It was her magic that had stopped it, and they figured her magic could make it move again. So, she went back up onto the top of the highest hill, threw her arms up into the sky and asked the sun to move. Nothing happened. She tried again. And a third time, but the sun stayed still. Sadly, she turned to the people and told them there was nothing she could do. There was a long moment of growing panic before the boy stepped forward. “Let me try,” he said softly. Everyone thought about it for a moment and then decided this was a good idea.

So, he took his sister’s place on the top of the highest hill, threw his arms up to the sky, and asked the sun to move. The sun began moving at once, rushing toward the western horizon. Within ten minutes, it had set, and within fifteen, it was full, dark night.

The people were caught off guard. They had all come out to the hill to see if the girl’s magic would work. They had no fires lit—they hadn’t needed them in weeks. They had nothing with them to light their way. They had never been outside at night before, and they were terrified.

At first, they tried rushing home to get away from the darkness, but they soon discovered that rushing when you can’t see where you are going is a bad idea. They slowed down, but still peered at the ground, trying to get home as soon as they could. But then, one of them looked up. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Look!” Everyone looked up, and then they all saw the stars for the first time. They had never been outside at night before, and had no idea of the incredible beauty of a sky full of stars. They all stopped hurrying toward their homes and stood and stared in wonder. And then they realized how very tired they were, and so slowly now, and with more reverence, they started home again. They all slept for a very long time.

The people rested and were glad, and appreciated the darkness for the first time in their lives. Eventually, the sun rose again. As it did, the people got out of their beds and sang their songs to celebrate the coming of the light. But at the end of the day, as the sun began to sink toward the horizon, they did not feel like singing their sad songs. Instead, one of the musicians began singing a new song, a slow, quiet song of thanksgiving for the night. And soon the others joined in. It became their new sunset song.

And the boy and the girl grew up to be a man and a woman, and both of them were now much beloved by the people. Looking at them, still the best of friends as well as siblings, the people remembered that light and darkness are best in balance.

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

1.     What has distorted my view of darkness?  Do I believe it to be a natural part of my life? 

2.     Instead of avoiding the darkness have I ever considered how it might prove more valuable to choose to enter it?

3.     What will bring more of a balance to the light and darkness of my world?