Reflections

Following is a selection of short reflective pieces on various aspects of Quaker Christian spiritual life and faith.

Reflections on Jesus Christ

Many of us emphasize Jesus' role as our endearing Prophet who affords us the ministry of God's Truth. In that role, Christ anoints ministers to preach the everlasting gospel to all creatures and that is the ministry that speaks to me.

Other folks, and this includes most Protestants, limit Jesus to His priestly function. In that office, Jesus pleads with the Father to forgive us for our sinfulness. Yet we need to pray to God.

But Peter reminds us that indeed Jesus is the Bishop of our souls. He functions as our heavenly overseer who elucidates our tendencies to disobedience. But Jesus is not merely our individual Bishop but He affords us the power to extricate sinfulness in our Christian communities. Although Jesus is our loving savior, He is cognizant of our tendencies to be disobedient.

No wonder God ordered our Conservative meetings to establish a body of overseers to assist Jesus in overcoming our potential to be disobedient. One of the tasks that Jesus assigns these ministers  is whether to approve applicants for membership in God's holy body. Conservative Friends in true gospel love interview the potential members of the community to discern whether they were faithful and were willing to be Jesus' witnesses. And when the overseers understood that the candidates were indeed desiring to be Friends, they encourage the Meetings to accept the applicants.

Yet when members of the meeting exhibited tendencies to become disobedient, Jesus encouraged the overseers to labor with our Friends - reminding them that Jesus expected these souls to listen and obey His small and penetrating voice. Jesus is the true overseer who cleanses His Church when we are not completely faithful. The ministry and oversight  committee are His instruments in encouraging faithfulness.

In addition, overseers would visit families to encourage them to participate in Bible studies to hear God speaking to all people. This included family worship, not only for a particular family but for their friends also. In the visit, the overseers would emphasize that all members of the body should attend weekly meetings which waited on the Lord for spiritual guidance.

God has assigned Jesus many offices to serve the Church. We, in turn, need to be obedient to fulfill Jesus' expectations.

Arthur Berk 05-27-2011

George Fox, as well as other 17th century Friends proclaimed that Christ Jesus is our everlasting prophet who not only elucidates God's commands to be understood, but urges us to do what our heavenly Father requires of His people. Jesus is our ruler and teacher. We, in turn are His people.

Early in old testament history, God informed Moses that "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him." God, of course, was speaking of His only begotten Son whom we are required to hear and obey. Yes, Christ is our heavenly teacher who shows us the essence of God's Truth.

The Hebrew people understood that this particular prophet, our Lord and Savior, was not limited to forecasting future events in God's kingdom, but like Moses, promulgates the need and benefits for God's people to obey our Creator. The Hebrew people, as a result, were anxiously waiting for his presence - and He did come as the servant of God.

As the servant of God, he declared that the true followers of the Lord are required to be peacemakers in God's mercy while loving each other in the same way the Lord loves us. Jesus ordered his followers to not only recognize the truthfulness of his mission but to promulgate His commands wherever He sent them. This is the power of God which the apostle Paul recognized - and Jesus indeed is the source of this everlasting power.

Small wonder that George Fox and other early Quakers recognized that indeed Jesus is our everlasting prophet who continues to teach us - that is, if we are faithful. This prophet requires us to be obedient now as He elucidates His loving presence in us as well as among us. We need to hear His teaching as individuals as well as His church. Jesus opens our hearts to witness to the benefits of His kingdom.

Yet we must not limit ourselves to just hearing our master but the Lord requires us to do the work He requires. In other words, as Friends we are called upon to follow the Master's instructions whenever and wherever we hear Him. . . Our prophet certainly speaks to us in God's goodness.

In this goodness, our prophet may require a meeting's elders to speak Truth to a particular family - and we may reluctant to do so. But when we acknowledge the prophetic powers of our Lord the elders in obedience, are commanded to witness to the family - in gospel love. As a result the meeting and the family will be enriched in the Lord's love.

Adhering to the commands to do what the Lord requires is challenging but we must acknowledge that our everlasting prophet is more knowledgeable and compassionate than we humans can be. And, therefore, when we are prepared to witness in Jesus' name we will feel His presence among us.

We are children of the Lord who abide in His love. Let us pray that He continues to teach us. Yes He is our heavenly prophet.

Arthur Berk 09-13-2010

As a Friend who identifies himself with the ministry of early Quakers, I embrace the Quakerism articulated by John Wilbur, who strove to maintain simplicity, ideologically speaking. In unity with first generation Friends, Wilbur proclaimed that indeed Christ is present in the midst of His people, relating to us as a living being who differentiates in our hearts right from wrong. In other words, He crushes the power of the evil one within us.

Yes, Christ has come and is here not only to teach His people themselves, but to encourage us to live in God’s righteousness. God loves us so much that He sent His beloved Son to teach us to love each other as God loves His creation, which includes us humans. Small wonder that Christ serves as the everlasting prophet who reveals God’s instructions for us to follow and implement. Early Friends also recognized that this same Jesus functions as our loving Shepherd, who consoles us in His everlasting love, which empowers us to love and forgive even our own hurts.

Yet because Friends recognized that they were a spiritually poor people in desperate need of the Holy Spirit, they knew that they needed to wait on the Lord as a faithful community, not only to accept God’s everlasting Spirit, but also to obey His commands outwardly. Early Friends, as a result, became witnesses in Truth. They inspired their friends to strive for peace and justice in addition to establishing schools for youngsters. But Friends acknowledge their aspiration for the love and power of God. Small wonder they often met in silence.

That is why Wilburites, such as myself, strongly urge other Friends, other humans in fact, to wait on the Lord, recognizing that the Living Christ is active in our hearts, and will continue His activity, so long as we are willing to hear that profound prophetic voice. This enables us to understand that we must not seek quick solutions for the various problems that trouble us. To the contrary, like early proponents of our loving theology, we need to seek God’s intervention consistently with a willingness to reject our intellect and be guided by the Lord.

But God’s message of hope and love is not for us alone; the Lord requires us to spread the Gospel by encouraging our Friends and neighbors to open themselves to Jesus’ enduring peace that is a gift for humankind.

Arthur Berk 09-2009, Reprinted from The Spark

In early Hebrew history, people of Jewish heritage searched the scriptures for spiritual answers to their questions. Remember God at first communicated with such Jewish figures as Abraham, Moses, and Jeremiah to enunciate His laws which appeared in the Hebrew scriptures. Small wonder that Jews relied on the Bible in their search for spiritual Truth. Let us not forget that the Lord did order His covenant people to rely on the Bible as their prime source of faith.

Yet the Lord did promise His adherents that He would send a Messiah to them like the prophet Moses whom they needed not only to hear outwardly but to obey His divine messages of Truth. They needed first to wait for Jesus' appearance and then recognize God's commands. Despite the miracles of healing, which include feeding the hungry, few recognized His divinity. The Jewish Establishment demanded that their people rely on outward laws rather than the anointed one for answers to their prayers.

Fortunately there were individuals such as Mark, Peter and John who were not only prepared to listen to the Lord but sought to obey Him inasmuch as they understood that Jesus was not just speaking for Himself but for our Heavenly Father. Because Christ's Spirit pervaded their souls, these disciples heard that they were commanded to love their enemies, feed the hungry, minister to the sick and, most important, preach the Gospel to all people, not just to their fellow Hebrews.

As a result of His Heavenly teachings, Jesus announced to His followers, that the World powers would eventually execute Him. Peter and the other disciples were shocked. They expected Jesus to be among them physically. But the rulers feared His presence and eventually executed Him thinking that they overcame their competition. But God raised Jesus and anointed Him as the living Christ.

That is why at Pentecost the disciples were encouraged to bring people, many different tribes, to welcome Jesus' presence among them. Needless to say, these humans heard Him preach in their own languages. They heard Him proclaim that He is their Lord who teaches them directly. Jesus also instructed these willing souls when they witness in Christ's power to proclaim that they are rendering ministry in the name of Christ.

Consequently, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews declared that at first God's people searched the scriptures for ultimate Truth but now if they are obedient rely on the living Christ for ultimate Truth without neglecting biblical study. Christian communities therefore waited on the Lord for guidance.

Eventually various political entitles seized control of Christian communities and installed emperor worship. Yet there were individuals who resisted the State's intrusion and still preached in the name and power of the Lord. Among these people were the early Quakers such as George Fox who heard the Lord proclaim that there is one Christ Jesus who can and does speak to their condition.

Because these Friends heard Jesus enunciate spiritual Truth, they understood that Jesus opens Scripture to them. Once they submitted to Christ in their biblical search, they understood the essence of Biblical Truth; Christ is the author and finisher of our faith, a faith that enables us to reconcile our lives to God.

But early Friends, in submission to the Lord, heard that their faith was not private property but belonged to Christ. Is it any wonder these Friends moved by our precious Lord preached the necessity to gather and wait on God for inspiration as well as instruction. And they followed the command of Jesus to preach the gospel to all people they contacted. For that obedience, many early Quakers, including George Fox, were imprisoned and suffered economic hardship. The English government eventually passed the 1691 toleration act which enabled Quakers to worship, as a group.

Some Friends were willing to accept this toleration and adhere to the premise that they were one church among many. But George Fox and other early Friends rejected this compromise and continued proclaiming that the Lord required all people to wait on Him. George Fox encouraged His Friends to preach this gospel to blacks and native americans among other people. They even invited minorities to worship together as one body in Christ. Indian elders began to recognize in worship that Jesus' spirit moved them to recognize God's presence.

Christ is moving us to reach out to other people in His name. Our ministry is of the Lord and will promote His Kingdom, if we are faithful.

Arthur Berk, 01-28-2010

In this day and age we often hear people speaking of Jesus, often mentioning His Biblical teachings as well as His desire to provide eternal life for folks who have demonstrated a willingness to follow Him. And that is good.

Unfortunately we have not recognized that He is alive and present in the midst of His people - and we are His people when we are willing to listen to that ever-present voice within us. Yes, Jesus, the glorious Son of God, is preaching to us as vividly as He taught His disciples.

When we listen and obey that prophetic voice, He takes away our propensity to indulge in violence or psychological oppression. Rather, our great Savior implores us to love our adversaries to such an extent that they too will be encouraged to recognize the power of God.

Thus Jesus gathers us as a people prepared not only to listen but also to obey. And when a community is ready to receive His love, Jesus prevails on us to love each other as well as the Holy One.

Then in relating to Christ, we, thru His power, are led to serve our fellow humans under the direction of God. When we become a people of the most high, Jesus is here. Let us recognize that we need to let Him rule our lives.

Arthur Berk 06-23-2008

When we open ourselves to the Lord's presence, God reveals His love, His instructions, and His creation inwardly to us. These are God's gift to those who strive to obey our heavenly Father. God continues to reveal His Truth when we are in prayer. Even before God created us in His image, He prepared His Word, our beloved Jesus Christ who ministers to us in enduring love. We need to thank God for sending the everlasting Word into our souls which crave for God's everlasting Light.

This Word is the author of our scriptures of Truth. In Genesis 3:15, God proclaimed that the seed of the woman (Christ Jesus) would crush the devil, the essence of evil. Through this scriptural revelation, we have the understanding that if we are faithful, God will overcome evil and the seed of the woman will prevail. Likewise in Isaiah 9:6 God sends His beloved prophet with a message "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." This son will serve as our prophet, our King, our priest, and our Savior.

Christ came first to minister to the Jewish people and through servants such as Paul and Timothy to Gentiles also. Jesus urges us to love our enemies, to refrain from swearing legal oaths, and above all, to love each other as He loves us. Despite the fact that humanity crucified Jesus, God, in His gift to us, resurrected our beloved Lord and sent Him first among the apostles and then into our hearts where He rules us in gentleness and kindness. The author of the Book of Revelation in hearing the Lord, reveals that the Lord is knocking on the doors of our hearts to sup with us if we are willing to obey. In this everlasting supper, Jesus reveals our potential for tenderness and caring. Only then are we prepared to serve Him and our Friends and Christ will guide us in His love.

Through Jesus' calling, we will be given the love and power to resist and overcome Satan. The author of The Book of Revelation, much to our disappointment perhaps, never speaks of what we try to call our “natural goodness, but only emphasizes our ability to obey Jesus with the power we receive from God. With the power of obedience, God reveals that we can, in addition to waiting on the Lord individually, become a community to gather in worship to seek and find God's guidance.

We must be willing to abandon our own understanding to live in the Lord's domain. We will, as a result, understand God's message to His people. We will then be prepared to follow Jesus whenever and wherever Jesus leads us. When we cry "Come, Lord Jesus, come," and He comes - and we feel His coming - we will recognize that indeed Jesus is God's revelation.

Arthur Berk, 11-18-2010

Sometimes we can become enthusiastic about concepts rather than willingness to be called by the Lord or living in His reign. Our concepts tend to be our own ideas devoid of God's love and Jesus' power. In such situations, unfortunately, our intellect becomes more important and to such an extent that we forget to seek the love and power which are gifts of the Lord.

What is required of us - all people, not just Friends - is God's calling for His adherents, to surrender to Jesus to hear His inward commands, as a result, abide in His directions wherever we are. Remember the ruling Lord who gathers His present day apostles to obey the Father our generous creator who cares for all creation.

Small wonder that Jesus in His beatitudes (Matthew 5) reminds us that we need to recognize our own poverty, spiritually speaking, our emptiness, in other words, to absorb our Heavenly Father's guidance in spirit and in Truth. When we eliminate our own propensities, we realize that we do become a holy community dedicated to serving one another in Jesus' government.

In this holy submission, We recognize that Jesus is our reconciler who affords us the desire to love each other as He loves us. Yet we need to welcome that love within us to recognize this reconciler. Of course we have many concepts of reconciliation - far too many - which block surrender. But once we absorb that particular power in us and, just as important, among us we will become a gathered body in His name.

Likewise, Jesus is our peace - even though humans have so many ideas regarding heavenly peace. But when we do surrender, Jesus in His Father's love, affords us the power and willingness to seek peace. Early Friends recognized this power when they understood Paul's admonition to accept the spiritual armament of God enabling them to recognize that each of us is a creation of the Lord. This understanding of God's power enabled George Fox to declare that he lived in the love of God which takes away the occasion of war.

In that same power and love, when we study the Bible, we realize as a community that we are not concerned with concepts of God but with and in obedience to His commands. When we do surrender, the author of scripture, Christ Jesus, delineates God's expectations, imploring us, among other things, to wait on Jesus for true love and true power. In our waiting, Jesus often leads us to scriptural passages which do speak to our condition. Conservative Friends, in obedience to our Lord, would read passages that moved them to obedience without debate. Let us remember, therefore, that the Bible is the book revealing God's commands and expectations for His people.

Jesus admonished His hearers as He is admonishing us to worship God in Truth and Spirit. Conservative Quakers in their obedience in unity with our founders waited on the Lord to hear and obey His Truth. But before we utter a verbal word, we must recognize spiritually speaking, that we recognize the power of Christ calling on us to be a caring obedient people. Because Jesus chooses those who should minister vocally, we must understand that the vocal expressions belong to the Lord to empower His adherents. When we gather in worship, we strive to be obedient. And we who listen are expected to recognize that the outward words spoken in our worship are God's ministry. When we wait in obedience without vocalizing, we too are in the power of the Lord.

To put it succinctly, our lives, when we are obedient, reflect the power of the Lord. Yes, we must be aware of His presence at all times.

Arthur Berk, 03-01-2010

Friends are able to recognize that Jesus, indeed, is communicating with us in such a magnificent manner that we not only hear Him but, perhaps more important, obey Him as He speaks.

Small wonder that we discern that this same Christ Jesus who affords us such love and understanding as our everlasting prophet communicated with such vigor to the Biblical servants recorded in the Old Testament in addition to his Friends to whom He ministered directly. That is why this Son of God asked His disciples who they felt He is/was. And because they were under the power of God, these disciples declared that He is the living Christ who came to lead them to God's Kingdom.

But when Jesus admonished His followers with the fact that although He was with them in spirit, He would leave them physically to return to His Father, Peter objected. Peter desired that our Loving Lord remain with them physically. He did not understand that Jesus would continue to guide them after His crucifixion and resurrection. And indeed He is with us now when we are able to submit to His Lordship.

Fortunately George Fox and other early Friends heard Jesus speak to them directly. While
resisting the evil forces of his generation, George Fox heard the declaration that there was one, Christ Jesus, who could speak to their condition. And indeed our Savior did speak to them as Lord of their lives. That is why early Friends were able to understand the true meaning of the Scriptures of Truth and eventually God, instructed these Friends to wait on the Lord before they established spiritual gatherings that would and did the divine work assigned to them. So long as Friends were able to hear and obey, they were able to communicate God's words of love and instructions.

We have heard many of the same words that pervaded the ministry of early Friends. We, as a result, are willing to be gathered by the Lord to bring His love to all people. Some of us are determined to visit meetings as well as some Friend's Churches to encourage them to hear the Lord ministering to His people. This is how the everlasting Gospel can be revealed to obedient folks who wish to serve God.

Some older Friends, recognizing their physical limitations, are able, nonetheless, to encourage the somewhat younger Friends to travel in the ministry. But we caution our Friends to wait on the Lord for Him to reveal His presence. We need our Lord to enunciate Truth before we can reveal Christ's everlasting Truth.

Ohio Yearly Meeting Friends when we gather hear Christ promulgating His love for humankind. But that message is not just for us; it is for His creation. We are not an isolated sect but at our most potent a communicator of Christ's everlasting words. In our faithfulness, we promulgate Truth wherever we go.

Arthur Berk, 07-13-2011

Today ‘s culture tempts us Christians to appear independent, seeming to rely on our own strength rather than on the Lord’s to discover and live in Truth. The Hebrew prophets, as well as the early followers of Jesus, knew otherwise. They recognized that we are all poor desperate people, in dire need of the Lord’s guidance, through which we can develop a positive relationship with the Holy One and experience His.love. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed with ardent fervor: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa.: 40: 28-31)

Jesus teaches us to love each other as God loves us. He loved those who obeyed his commandments, referring to those disciples as His Friends, who knew the Master’s voice. Today many of us do wait on the Lord for love, grace, and Truth, as well as for the power to become adherents of our loving God. Like the apostle Paul, we know that Christ Jesus offers us a special grace, enabling us to discern right from wrong. This grace encourages us to overcome evil within ourselves and outwardly. The Lord affords us His power, but only if we listen with open hearts. When we open our hearts to both God and His beloved Son, we live in spiritual liberty and learn the essence of comradeship

Although the Lord’s grace supplies us power to become His true disciples, we will, nevertheless, know suffering. Early martyrs did not escape imprisonment and even death while serving the living Christ. We are God’s servants and His witnesses. The Lord expects us to be examples of the truth that overcomes evil. We need to be prepared to serve in the grace and light that He provides.

The Lord is waiting for us to develop the gifts He has given us. He expects us to live without violence, as He did, thus becoming witnesses to people reluctant to embrace true pacifism. He is also waiting for us to address the needs of our neighbors. Jesus shows us that if we are open to His love, we can welcome strangers in our midst and meet their needs. God expects us to become more caring about the troubles of other humans. Once we demonstrate our faithfulness, this King of kings will increase our capacities to help in trying situations. When we pray for His help, do we listen to the Lord’s response? Do we experience His presence as we minister to others?

As we taste of the power of God when we obey His promptings, we must remember that we are not the Almighty. We are still human beings in faith, hope, and love. Christ might not call on us to finish a task we have begun but will empower others who have demonstrated their faithfulness to extend the Lord’s blessing upon people. The Lord is constantly teaching us outwardly, in addition to inspiring us with His Spirit. Recognizing our limitations, Christ works to increase our capacity to serve our fellow human beings. God is waiting for us to love Him completely.

Arthur Berk, Reprinted by permission from The Conservative Friend, 02-2007

Before Jesus departed from His human Friends who were His first disciples, Christ prepared a last meal for His loyal followers, admonishing them that whenever they eat bread made with human hands and drink man-made wine, they should remember Him and His prophetic declarations, That was the last time Jesus met with His disciples as a human body.

Later on, before He ascended, He did meet with His disciples, again supplying them with human food. As the Gospel according to John illustrates, they did not recognize Him. Fortunately, they heard His utterance to feed his sheep. Then Christ departed.

Then Jesus returned not only to His faith followers but to all people who are willing not only to listen to His profundities but, more important, perhaps, to obey His loving commands. As the Book of Revelation declares, this Jesus knocks on our inner doors and invites us humans to sup with Him. But we need to wait on Him to participate in this blessed supper.

Friends, to open our hearts to Jesus's loving presence, we must encourage our Lord and Savior to quiet our souls and hear Him inspire us inwardly with His powerful presence. That is the true supper that the Lamb of God provides. May we be witnesses of God's love.

Arthur Berk, 07-07-2008

As the apostle John reveals, Jesus continues to knock on our inner doors willing to reveal great truths to us if we are able to hear our Master communicate inwardly. But we need to be willing to be receptive to that small voice.

Like the apostle John, we need to wait patiently for Jesus to utter His commands. Then and only then are we able to welcome our Lord's ministry which we receive silently. In that silence, Jesus proclaims God's Truth into our craving hearts. We, in turn, recognize that the Lord is visiting us with the special power of God.

More likely than not, Jesus when we listen will convey His revelation of His Father's peace so eloquently that we are able to eliminate our violent tendencies even when we are provoked. We begin to realize that we are becoming His disciples because our Lord is supping with us.

In this inward communication with Christ, we hear His plea for His Church to become merciful as well as forgiving. Jesus reminds us personally that we are required to forgive one another for the hurts we have afflicted. In this relationship with the Lord, we overcome our belligerence.

Fortunately because we recognize that we are poor in spirit, Jesus enriches us when He knocks on our doors to sup with us. He teaches us that we are not naturally good or obedient. That is why, in His supper, we learn to be obedient to His calling.

Yet He does not only visit His followers occasionally but continues to communicate whenever we invite Him into our souls. He continues to knock as He loves us unconditionally, all of us. He pleads for us to become His people in the all affirming love He provides.

Jesus does not just knock on our doors individually but is willing and able to teach us as His Church while we wait on Him as a body of true believers. Jesus, in His supping, communicates the same message for people obey the Father in all ways. We need to hear that message whenever we meet.

Because Jesus sups with us does not mean we should neglect the Scriptures of Truth of which our Lord is the Author. The Bible affirms what Jesus reveals inwardly. In that way of studying the Bible we are encouraged to become adherents of Gospel Order. In addition, the Bible enables us to recognize the numerous times Christians were able to follow Jesus' commands.

Meanwhile, let us open our hearts to Jesus when He sups with us. Yes the Lord is present.

Arthur Berk, 01-14-2011

Jesus chose Peter as one of his first disciples in initiating the Kingdom of almighty God. And Peter, no doubt admired Jesus for His sharing of God's Gospel with the poor and repressed, for healing the sick and infirmed, and for declaring that we are His Friend when we listen and obey the Holy One. No wonder when Jesus asked His followers who He was, Peter declared He was Lord and Christ, our savior in the midst, in other words.

Yet Peter became disappointed when Jesus reminded this ardent disciple that He needed to travel to Jerusalem to be arrested and eventually crucified for obeying His Father, God over all. Eventually, God resurrected His Son who now serves us as our living Lord. Eventually, thru the teachings of Christ Jesus, Peter acknowledged the importance of Jesus' spiritual
presence as One who teaches His disciples the meaningfulness of His teachings. Yes, Christ lives and directs us in all facets of our lives; but we humans are required, as His original disciples were, to listen and fulfill His teachings.

Peter certainly did. During Pentecost, Peter addressing Jesus' followers declared, "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19)

Like Peter, we need to recognize Jesus' presence—His power to bring us to His Kingdom where, in addition to obeying Him, we have the opportunity to serve in His glorious name. This message was as vital to first century Christians as it is to us, today.

Peter moreover discerned in the ministry of Christ, that it is not necessary for a minister to be overly eloquent or particularly sagacious but speaks as God leads. He writes, "if one ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 4:11)

No doubt George Fox and other first generation Friends heard a similar message originating from the Lord. That is why these 17th century ministers evangelized in the everlasting gospel. Their listeners heard these preachers in the same power of God.

He can speak to us in the love He spoke to Peter. Let us, in turn, listen and obey the same voice.

Arthur Berk, 02-09-2007

 

Acts 2:36, Peter in his address to the new converts at Pentecost declares most emphatically "That God has made this Jesus...both Lord and Christ."

This refutes the contention that Jesus and Christ are separate beings. To the contrary Christ Jesus is God's only begotten Son who in the power of His Father conveys the everlasting Truth, provided that we Christians are willing to receive His Ministry.

Some Christians unfortunately wish to question Jesus' love and power by claiming that our Lord and Savior no longer lives. This contradicts much of the New Testament which speaks so eloquently of His Crucifixion and resurrection.

Along with Peter, may we proclaim that Jesus is our true Lord who, in the telling words of George Fox "has come to teach His people Himself." Truly He is the Word of God.

Arthur Berk, 04-16-2007

Reflections on Scripture

Conservative Friends, like the original Friends, believe that Jesus Christ is the Word of God. We take seriously the verse in the Gospel of John that says, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1: 14) We also believe that the Word of God inspired the writers of the Bible. Conservative Friends, like earlier Friends, often refer to those writings as “scriptures,” the term used by Jesus and by New Testament writers.

Early Friends’ Understanding of the Scriptures

Although by modern standards George Fox had only a rudimentary education, he knew the Scriptures well and used them often in personal study and in his ministry. It is clear that Fox considered not the Bible but Jesus Christ to be the Word of God. In his Epistle 249 Fox declares, ”For the Scriptures of Truth are the words of God ... (T)he Word was in the beginning, and Christ’s name is called the Word of God. But Christ is neither called scripture nor writings ....” Douglas Gwyn, in his Apocalypse of the Word, states, ”It is perhaps Fox’s most valuable contribution that he rejoins the Spirit and the Word in prophetic experience of the risen Christ. While he presents Jesus Christ as the one Word of God, present and teaching by his Spirit, he places scripture, the historical record of the Word’s work, as the words of God. The true Word is the Christ who is speaking now.”

We should not gather, however, that Fox belittled Scripture. He records in his Journal that “I had no slight esteem of the holy scriptures, but they were very precious to me, for I was in that spirit by which they were given forth, and what the Lord opened in me I later found was agreeable to them.” Likewise William Penn, in his Advice to His Children, writes “The holy scriptures of Truth were blessed to me.... I charge you to read (the scriptures) daily; the old testament for history chiefly, the psalms for meditation and devotion; the prophets for comfort and hope; but especially the new testament for doctrine, faith and worship.” In his Apology, Robert Barclay declares that Friends value (the scriptures), ... to which...no other writings are to be preferred. They are “very comfortable and necessary to the church of Christ.”

Early Friends held, as Conservative Friends do now, that only through the work of Christ within them can people can understand the truth in Scripture. Referring to the Gospel of John, Fox wrote in his Journal, “And I saw that none could read John’s words aright with a true understanding of them, but [i.e., except] in and with the same divine Spirit by which John spoke them, and by his burning shining light which is sent from God.”

Friends can be differentiated from other Christians by where their primary religious authority on earth resides. For Catholics, the institution of the Church has primary authority on earth. For Protestants, the Bible is the primary authority, while for Friends the Spirit of the Living Christ has primary authority.

Barclay argues that Scripture also is a valid source of religious authority, secondary but not in opposition to the Spirit of Christ. Because both the Scriptures and the divine revelations experienced within come from Christ, they are compatible and in unison. Barclay insists that “divine and inward revelations do not and cannot contradict the Scriptures of Truth.” Similarly, “whatsoever doctrine is contrary to (the Scriptures’) testimony may therefore justly be rejected as false.” Barclay affirms that Scripture is of great benefit to Friends seeking to know and follow the Living Word of God. Conservative Friends have maintained that understanding in an unbroken stream from the first Friends.

The Bible Among Conservative Friends Today

For present day Conservative Friends, Jesus Christ is an ever-present reality experienced among us as the Living Presence; Christ is the foundation on which we build our faith. Because the Scriptures were inspired by Christ Himself and because Christ remains unchanging (Heb.13:8), the two must agree. Ohio Yearly Meeting Friends value the Scriptures. OYM’s Book of Discipline includes this Advice (#16): “Be diligent in the reading of the Bible and other spiritually helpful writings....” OYM Friends today use the Bible in many ways:

  1. Business sessions begin with a period of waiting worship, followed by a reading from Scripture.
  2. Upon the conclusion of each evening program at yearly meeting, a portion of Scripture is read aloud.
  3. In our traditional Bible readings, we gather in the presence of the divine Inspiration that gave forth the Scriptures. As different Friends are moved, they select a passage of Scripture and read it aloud, without introduction or explanation, allowing the Word present to minister to us about what was just read.
  4. Ministry in meeting for worship often includes Scripture as part of the spoken message.
  5. Many individuals and families have a regular time for the daily reading of the Bible.
  6. Some Meetings have a Bible study group in which a passage is read aloud and discussed a few verses at a time.

John C. Smith

The early Friends, and certainly George Fox, were raised on Scripture; for any literate person of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, the Bible was, if any book could be deemed so, required reading! One's education had Scripture at its core. While it is true that knowledge of Scripture per se had no "assigned" value, it was certainly an assumed one! How to explain to a Seeker who Jesus Christ was/is if not through the stories of Scripture including the Old Testament prophesies and their later fulfillment articulated in the Gospel narratives?

The early mystics spoke of the experience of "God within" as being a process not of searching but of growing in awareness of something already there; something that, as in John 1, had always been "In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God and the Word was God..." Their concept of God/Christ was, however, formed from reading the Gospel and creating an inner "picture" and experience of Jesus that could be meditated on and contacted through the development of the "prayer without ceasing" spoken of by St. Paul - without the reading, no such idea of Christ could have been manifested and no experience of God within could have been named.

Additionally, the early Friends called themselves so because Jesus stated that he had called his disciples, "Friends." The simple truth is that Scripture was central to the development of all Christian faith and cannot be less so today. The Good News ( the Gospel ) was written down to be read and passed on. Quaker Christianity was, I believe, a way of making the experience of what Teresa of Avila called the "interior castle" central to the life of the Christian; central but experienced within an assumed didactic knowledge of the person and character of Jesus of Nazareth!

George Fox was an avid student of Scripture as was any professing Christian of the day; perhaps he only omitted something he felt to go without saying? In terms of Salvation, we need to make a distinction between our inner experience of the Light and what the Light represents, between our mystical reality and our Faith and eternal Hope. We are told, through Scripture, that our Salvation rests on our Faith and Belief in Jesus as Lord . . . how would we know that Truth without the words? Is the reading of Scripture essential to Salvation as a thing in itself?
No. Is it, as our path towards understanding what a life in Christ is to look like and what is required of a believer who would be Saved? Yes, I believe it is.

Michelle Wilbert, 01-10-2007

We Friends who wait on the Lord for love and divine guidance understand that God reveals Truth through His revelations in scripture. Jesus opens us to the true knowledge of the Bible. His eternal Light that overcomes our natural darkness.

Because the Biblical scribes discerned God's proclamation to His people, they revealed that God provided Light that pervades our souls. This light is not a natural light but as the apostle John enunciates the Light is the Word of God. "THAT WAS THE TRUE LIGHT" which give light to every man (woman) coming into the world (John 1:9).

Likewise in Genesis, the Biblical scribes heard the Lord proclaim that the seed of the woman would crush Satan. This confirms our knowledge through the power of Christ, that we require Jesus's intervention to overcome the evil one. Because we can be influenced by Satan to perform evil works, God requires us to wait on His Son to overcome the baneful evil of Satan. Yes, Christ overcomes Satan. We can and should thank the Biblical writers for revealing God's Word on the perniciousness of His adversary.

Likewise we should be thankful to Jeremiah for revealing that God has written His laws inwardly. Yet we must pray for the insight God provides in sending His commands into our souls. Jeremiah's discernment leads us to wait on the Lord for his inward law.

Before Jeremiah heard God's Truth, Moses wrote and revealed that God would send His covenant people a prophet like Himself whom we must hear and obey. This prophet's Kingdom would and does include all people willing to listen and obey the Holy One.

And indeed, as the New Testament writers proclaim Christ Jesus has come to teach us. Through the writings of John, we understand that we who refer to ourselves as Jesus's followers must love each other in the same way that Jesus loves us. Christ moves us to read that scriptural passage over and over again for our edification, if not for our love.

There are many more scriptural passages that illuminate the loving power of God. But what I need to say that Jesus reveals not only in our hearts but through His biblical writers who waited on the Lord. That is why the Bible is so important for my spiritual welfare. And that is why I would urge Friends to pursue Bible study in the name of our gracious Lord.

Arthur Berk, 10-06-2008

In Fox's letter to the Governor of Barbados, he writes:

Now concerning the Holy Scriptures, we do believe that they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God through the holy men of God, who spoke, as the Scriptures of Truth saith, "As they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21); and they are to be read, and believed, and fulfilled and he that fulfills them is Christ; and they are profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

- Journal, "Letters to the Governor of Barbados," p. 604

But early on, in Fox's life, he had not yet received the true revelation that there is one, Christ Jesus that could speak to his condition. Therefore, the Bible was a mystery to the young Fox until God revealed Christ Jesus. Then Christ opened up the Scriptures to Fox and enabled him to discern the Truth in Scriptures. Small wonder Fox realized that Christ was and still is king of kings and lord of lords.

God was concerned about possible misinterpretations of His rulings for humankind. Therefore, He first sent the Hebrew prophets to declare that we need to turn our swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. In other words, He was instructing His people not to resort to the violence in their adherence to God's commands.

God felt his people did not listen and seemed to be in rebellion and therefore, He sent Jesus to correct the misconceptions about God's relationship to His people. Our Heavenly King and Prophet came and declared God's Truth to His People:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says 'You fool!' Shall be in danger of hell fire.... You have heard that it was said of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery in his heart. . . Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord'.... You have heard that it was said 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist evil. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

- Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 33, 38-39 (NKJV)

No wonder Fox discerned what was important in the Bible. He listened and obeyed Christ who admonished his disciples to love each other as He loved them.

Small wonder Fox alluded to the beginning of the Epistle to the Hebrews often in his ministry.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made worlds...

-Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV)

Yes, Fox and other early Friends because they understood the role and power of Jesus recognized that we need Jesus' enlightenment to understand Scripture entirely. Our own minds are too finite for us to interpret God's words and Fox and his followers understood our limitations. Therefore, in their reading the Bible, they relied on God's intrusion to bring them to an understanding of what God required of them.

Early Friends never discarded the biblical writings. They relied on the Holy Spirit to delineate God's writings. In that way, we can be a true people of God. To put it simply, we need to become conversant with biblical writings but we must rely on Jesus to understand the commands of God for His people.

Arthur Berk, 01-05-2007

If men are allowed to carve for themselves, and to receive such parts of Scriptures as they like, and to reject such as they do not like, and so hew out and contrive a system agreeable to their own condition and inclination, and in their own wisdom, then there must be (as we already see) a very great variety of confessions of faith, and so contradictory as to produce a great scattering of sentiment among the people, tending greatly to infidelity; because when the natural man seeth the liberties taken with Scriptures by professors, to cull and divide and reject for themselves, as well as their disagreement among themselves; as also the bad examples and unholy lives which such constructions naturally lead to; what encouragement has he for trying to be a Christian? If through faith professors were possessed of this one Spirit, it would enable them to see eye to eye, and to be of one heart and one mind touching the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and a great encouragement to others to look towards them. He that disbelieves any one of the Divine promises or Attributes, as applied to man, and sets his heart against it can have no reason to expect any benefit from such a promise.

Let me, in opening, delineate what clarity our Lord has granted me: The power of our Lord is over all and He has the power to touch all in His creation. He yearns after them and calls them, whether or not they have ever had the opportunity to receive the Scriptures or had the great grace to explore them. Those who make an idol of the Bible, calling it the Word of God, giving it the title of our living and present Lord, do miss the mark (John 1:1-5, Revelation 19:11-16). It is Christ Jesus our Lord whose grace gifts us with salvation, if we will but seek Him, wait upon Him, and do His will. It is not scripture that brings grace, but Christ Jesus, though He most often and most easily utilizes the scriptures to bring people along. This is certainly the understanding of our early Quaker forbearers, the holy men and women of God in scripture, and many today.

That said, I feel it upon my heart from our Lord to offer caution in the discussion of scripture and salvation:

First, we can too easily become centered on our individual experiences with scripture and our own experiences of being drawn to Christ Jesus. While our witness to our own rescue from the World can be useful to a point, it can also lead us inadvertently to equate our experience as the common or even universal experience of men and women today. Yes, some do find that early on in their lives they're turned off by Scripture or have no significant acquaintance with it and yet Christ Jesus leads them along until they are finally open to Him, engaged with Him, and have passages of the Bible opened to them by His Spirit. Yet many others have grown up with an appreciation and love of the Scriptures. For these many the use of a word like "inessential" to describe the Scriptures will simply move them to reject what we have to say, because they are aware of how significant (this is not to say "sufficient") the Scriptures have been in their own salvation and sanctification.

Second, we must be sensitive to how others than ourselves may read and respond to the words we are using. We live in a time in which the World denigrates Scripture, ridicules it, and seeks to dismiss it. After all, its words from God stand too often as a judgment against the World's evil actions, destructive politics, lack of responsibility and self-control. If we say that the Scriptures are "inessential" to salvation, the ready response of fallen human nature is "Good! I don't have to deal with them. They're not important. Anyway they're full of falsehood, myths and violence, and are very difficult to read and understand. Good riddance!" One Friend has noted: "if not resisted, the Spirit will guide us all individually, and will provide a personal relationship with God based on direct experience of His presence, guidance, and love." If not resisted, but the World and our own selfishness resist mightily and Christ's people must be careful not to feed that resistance. Ill considered statements on our part will simply feed their rejection of both Christ and Scripture and make it far more difficult for them to find the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

While our first Friends and Barclay witnessed and testified to God's ability to reach all men and women, whatever their circumstances, they in no way dismissed the importance, usefulness, and efficacy of the Scriptures in the work of salvation and sanctification. We must be most careful in the words we use, because we should not imply that the gospels and the words of our Lord "inessential;" that our Lord's life, crucifixion, sacrifice, and resurrection are "not required;" that, if such knowledge is "not required" and "insufficient" for our salvation, we may ignore them completely and consign them to the ash heap of history. Certainly these are the easy spins the World can put on our words, spins that point out where our words might lead others.

Fourth, ill chosen words may not only encourage those in the World to continue to resist our Lord's calls, but it may also retard the salvation and sanctification of those who might be richly helped by contact with us. Those who love the Scriptures, but are stuck and stalled in Bibliolatry will hardly be helped by the way a declaration that the Scriptures are "inessential." In our haste to point to what is essential to salvation, we risk inadvertently throwing into the negative much of what the Lord has given us to assist us in finding and walking on the straight and narrow Way: His witness in the lives and counsel of others (the authority of the Body of Christ: that authority comes from Christ the Head of His Body), the Scriptures, and that cloud of witnesses from the ages that have left the testimony of their lives, exhortations, and admonitions. These gifts are given us to aid us and ease us on the Way. Would it not be far better to give these gifts their positive due, rather than declaring them "not essential," thus inadvertently encouraging our brothers and sisters to ignore and neglect them as unimportant?

Finally, I see a common danger in emphasizing too much our individual experience and our personal beliefs. Consider the observation that "If not resisted the Spirit will guide all of us individually, and will provide a personal relationship with God based on direct experience of His presence" [italics mine]. We live in a culture that has made an idol out of individualism.  The over-emphasis of the personal and individual in salvation language is both typically American (a reflection of our mania for rugged individualism and self-reliance) and the ground of much trouble, sorrow, and lost community today. It is essential that we recognize our Lord's call to be His people and His power to gather us. Our first Friends found that their spiritual unity in the faith was their most impressive witness to the dying World around them. They had given up themselves to be His people and to do His will in all things. Becoming God's people—not just our personal salvation—is the hard work of sanctification, because it requires us to yield up ourselves and see others as better than ourselves. Yet, to allow ourselves to be truly gathered into God's people becomes one of the most precious and strengthening events of our life in Him and one of the strongest witnesses to others of the reality of our Lord's power and presence.

Know that I put forward these comments only that we all may be drawn more completely into our Lord's precious Kingdom and strengthened in our labor to call our dying World to His salvation.

Terry Wallace, 01-18-2007

Revelation is beyond doubt the most endangered book of the Christian canon.  It remains an irony of note that the danger proceeds, not from worldly minds, but from Christian ones.  Under Christian maltreatment, and in our lifetime, the plain text has been variously insulted, bent around, bowdlerized, distorted almost beyond recovery. To the point where a robust handbook of hope, a work of enormous import to Christians beset in olden times, has all but lost its credential. The Book of Revelation is now commonly taught as a nightmarish labyrinth, leading inexorably to despair of the Christian enterprise in the world.

Thus we hear talk that strikes one with the horror of ultimate irresponsibility: Revelation counseling an inevitable "showdown" war between good and evil forces, closely identified, stalemated, sealed in their hostility, dead set against all compassion. The book urgently requires rescuing, rehabilitation under sane hands.

Such were the hands, as is acknowledged among Quakers and many others, of George Fox. Like Bonhoeffer after him, like Jagersaetter and the noble student resisters known as "White Rose," like Barth and Stringfellow and Ellul, like anti-war resisters of our own time and place, in jail and out, under obloquy and good report, Fox, disarmed and disarming, met "evil times," scripture in hand.

Thus he was enabled to overcome the times.

Thus are we required to meet our own "evil times," and prevail over the brutality and enticement of yet another war.

Revelation here has passed to other hands than Fox's; yet they are the same hands.Which is to say, these are Christian hands. They hold the book in honor, as befits a holy text. They interpret with care, even with fear and trembling, knowing that the words of God are given for our instruction, our reproof, and above all, for our encouragement.

May this sensible treatment of the plain sense of Revelation help us to endure days of darkness and unexampled violence, even to rejoice. The Christ of Revelation, we need reminding, is also the Christ of the beatitudes, of Calvary, of resurrection.

Daniel Berrigan

This is Berrigan's introduction to George Fox and the Book of Revelation by Arthur Berk, published by the New Foundation Fellowship. The introduction is reprinted here by kind permission of the author. Crossroads Friends used Arthur Berk's book in the study of Revelation, and found it helpful.

Reflections on Ministry and Preaching

Sometimes people feel that to become a minister, we need academic training provided by the theological colleges. They do provide outward knowledge such as historical events that occur in Church History in addition to writing a prepared sermon that speaks of God. But as God revealed to George Fox "that being bred at Oxford or Cambridge was not enough to fit and qualify men (women) to be ministers of Christ".

As the Apostle John illustrated, it is the anointing within that teaches us Jesus' Truth. But we need to be willing to receive God's proclamation inwardly. Small wonder that Friends wait on the Lord to discern God's everlasting ministry. This Truth spoken by the Lord is sent into our hearts for us to discern God's wisdom. Otherwise we utilize our own knowledge to differentiate between right from wrong.

But we need to pray to our heavenly Father for spiritual understanding. When, as a result of our praying and waiting, Christ in His everlasting mercy, does reveal God's Truth into our craving hearts. We will become acquainted with and live in, our creator's will. Through the Lord's intervention, we will begin to comprehend God's intentions for the human race.

Likewise, it is the Lord who reveals the power of evil within us. Universities might teach us concepts of right from wrong - and often we justify our participation in Satan's work through adhering to our outward conceptions. God, though, enables individuals to feel the inward evil. This helps us strive for Jesus' goodness.

Those of us who strive to be ministers of the everlasting gospel - the Lord's Truth - must not only be cognizant about the Lord's inward message but, equally important, need to understand God's workings in other individuals. Again universities might teach concepts of relationships but God's power enables His followers to discern His activity in other humans encouraging them to see Jesus' all embracing love. Of course we need to witness to our devotion to the Almighty before we can influence our Friends to seek Jesus' guidance. It is because the Lord sends His anointing we can determine that our good Lord continues to communicate.

When we become ministers in Christ, God gives us the power of eldership meaning we are able to challenge our fellow beings who are exhibiting ungodly behavior. More likely that not, individuals who have not received God's anointing are hurting themselves more than other humans. No wonder, when we have been faithful, God affords us the ministry to be given to the disobedient with the faith that our Friends will become part of the body of Christ.

To put it succinctly, God in His ministry to George Fox taught him true eldership. Fox, therefore, did not encourage his friends to attend universities to live in the gospel. Rather our good Lord revealed the goodness of the anointing within for Friends to receive. And it is Christ Jesus who enlightens us in God's grace.

May God continue to guide us as we open ourselves to His Kingdom.

Arthur Berk, 12-23-2010

I am a plain Friend. I teach Speech at a Catholic seminary/college. As you know, traditionally Quakers practice waiting worship; we wait in the Name of Jesus Christ. We wait in silence. Sometimes the Holy Spirit moves an individual to speak. We do not have a Minister who leads the congregation. That does not mean we do not preach. Some of the most inspiring preaching I have ever heard has been during the waiting worship at our biyearly Quaker gathering in Barnesville, Ohio.

As a speech teacher in a seminary I think a lot about training young men to become good preachers. Yet as a Quaker I really didn't think that my own religious tradition had anything in particular to offer my students when it comes to preaching. The other day something happened in class to change my opinion. In fact it made me see that Quakers have something very important to theories of preaching or Homiletics.

Why am I sharing this in The Call and not in a journal of Homiletics? Because the Quaker tradition is a precious jewel that we as Quakers often think applies only to ourselves. We sometimes forget that we have traditions that could be of profound use to others. I think our "preaching" is one of those traditions. It's something we should all feel free to share as the treasured jewel that it is.

One of my students said something to me that made me realize that Quakers do indeed have something special to offer to the discussion of preaching. He asked me how a Quaker knows when it is time to stand and speak; how does the Friend know that it is truly the Holy Spirit leading and not the individual's own ego? I said that we pray long and hard about that very thing and sometimes we hesitate to stand for that reason. Some Friends have taken years to discern if a specific message was truly from the Holy Spirit or from their personal opinion and ego. But when we stand we "just know" that it's time. The Spirit is moving in us and we stand with a sense of obedience. He looked a little confused and I spent a moment trying to find a better way to put a somewhat mystical experience into clearer words, when one of the other students said, "Yes! That's it! And when you do speak out of the prompting of the Holy Spirit, you forget all about being nervous – the words just flow." I was impressed with this young man's insight and obvious experience of speaking from the Spirit. I told him that in fact if I stand at Meeting and do feel nervous, I often sit right back down again because I feel that it's me and not God that's doing the prompting.

I'm not saying that this is a cure-all for the inevitable speech anxiety of public address. But it is often true about the type of Spirit-led speaking that occurs in a traditional Quaker Meeting, and obviously it was true for this young man studying for the Catholic Priesthood. When we are truly Spirit led, the words flow and a certain self-consciousness tends to fade away. Some might even consider this a kind of test that tells us if we should really be speaking. I know I have come to think of it that way.

Perhaps what Quakers have to offer to the discussion of preaching is a sense of speaking out of silent and holy waiting; a sense of moving over a bit and waiting to hear what the Lord wants to say through us at that unpremeditated moment. I've often seen fine Protestant ministers close their eyes and wait in silence for several moments before they began their sermon. I've thought, "Ah! They're waiting for Him; this will be a good sermon." And it almost always has been.

Certainly as I teach young people to develop sermons and speeches I teach them lines of reasoning, argument and refutation, fallacies, good organization, voice and articulation, etc. That's what every speech teacher does. But perhaps I also need to teach them about waiting, about silence, about "centering down" to that place where it is the Spirit that moves first and our words follow after the waiting. Perhaps this is something very special that Quakers have to offer those who speak of God, whether they are sermonizing or just talking. Maybe they will find that this helps to create more sermons filled with fire and wonder, or tenderness and awe. As a seminary teacher I think it might help my students struggle a little less with speech anxiety and a little more with being an avenue for God's inspiration.

So when we are asked if we have a Reverend Minister for our Church, we naturally must say "no," but we can follow it by saying "That doesn't mean we don't have any good preaching!"

Francis-Clare Fischer, reprinted from The Call, Issue No. 1 for 2007

Ministry in brief is the communication from our Lord to His people who are willing to listen as well as obey whenever and wherever God speaks. For us to receive this vital message, we as the sheep of Christ need to empty ourselves from our own thoughts and illusions and center on the heavenly wisdom of our Creator.

Sometimes God deems it important to witness to us personally. In those moments we as individuals need to be aware that Christ is speaking to the needs and heavenly desires of individual members of His blessed Kingdom. In those moments, it is necessary for the individual to abandon his thoughts and ideas to receive God's spiritual knowledge which is far superior to our own, despite our propensity to imagine otherwise. Remember Jesus blesses those apostles who recognize their own poverty and therefore are prepared to recognize God in their inner souls.

When we are in profound relationship in the Father, God speaks to us at different times. Small wonder we need to be prepared to hear our precious Lord wherever we happen to be. Friends, God's ministry is far more vital than our own. That is why when He contacts us, we are called upon by Jesus to cease our outward activities welcoming the Lord with and in our silence. As a result, we have the opportunity of first hearing the Lord communicate in our hearts and then obeying the Spirit He affords us.

In addition to relating to our spiritual needs, God may render us a message that speaks to the condition of another individual, perhaps a member of His blessed congregation. In this ministry, God will eliminate our own concepts of the person, giving us, in worship, the desired outward words to communicate. In such circumstances, if we are faithful we will be uttering our Lord's ministry and not our own. Yes we need to be attentive to receive God's words that speak on another's wants and desires.

Of course if we have demonstrated our spiritual loyalty, God will give us a message to be spoken in Meeting for worship which of course speaks to the needs of that particular meeting. Yet we need to be careful in discerning Jesus' message. We must wait on the Lord for clarity in our ministry. . .Because of our faithfulness in listening, we will be speaking our Lord's word for the benefit of the congregation. The meeting will be blessed in the power of God.

Our witness for God's Truth is also an aspect of Jesus' ministry. Because we can be tempted with our own ideas in activities we plan to undertake to foster the community, we are required by the Lord to wait on His unction before attempting to participate in activities we feel are necessary. Let us remember He is our King and His knowledge is far greater than our own. Thus when He prepares us for witnessing, He is ministering to us in His Truth. Our waiting will enable our precious Lord to sanctify our witness augmenting our effectiveness. We will become true servants of Christ in obedience to ministry.

When we faithfully minister in Jesus' name, God will empower us with the blessings of His eternal love.

Arthur Berk, 03-25-2010

George Fox, in visiting New England Friends asserted that he came to bring people to Christ and leave them there for Christ to show them the true ministry. These people expected Fox to serve as their pastor, but he reminded these souls that Jesus is their true pastor and he was called by the Anointed One to return to England to help establish gatherings in Christ.

Nonetheless he expected these Friends to establish meetings with a special outreach to Native Americans. He wrote epistles imploring them to share the Gospel with people of color in addition to addressing the temporal and spiritual wants of Friends. He reminded Friends that they are a people of God who were expected to form and establish meetings under the guidance of the Lord.

Earlier in Quaker history Margaret Fell and George Fox sent clothing as well as letters of encouragement to Friends preaching the Gospel in other countries. Such Friends often resided in these places until their meetings became solid in the Name of the Lord. Yes, these dedicated Friends needed economic help and George Fox and his wife were able to supply that help through fundraising.

That is why after the establishment of quarterly and monthly meetings, ministers became available to not only preach the Gospel to the world, but equally important, to work with others to establish meetings—and they were supported by weighty Friends who were guided by the Lord. These ministers felt led by the Lord to encourage other Friends to become involved in building the Kingdom.

And remember Fox, along with William Penn, visited Germany to encourage German Quakers to reach out and establish gatherings that waited on the Lord. They spent many months in this mission to unite with Christ in ushering in the Kingdom.

If we are intent to bring individuals to Christ, God will show us the way.

Arthur Berk, OYM 2010

When George Fox traveled in the New England area, Friends and others invited this minister to remain there and become their pastor. He rejected their overtures with the reminder that they, as well as we today, have a loving gracious pastor who guides us lovingly, provided that we not only hear Him in His love but obey Him in all ways.

Fox emphasized to His Friends that he brought people to Christ and left them there for Jesus, not George Fox or any other individual, to rule them. Fox implored His Friends to wait on God for love and guidance in order to become a people of the Lord who strive to relieve individuals from their problems in addition to working for God's peace and justice.

The Lord, as a result of Fox's obedience, moved him to continue in His gospel travels with the message that Christ was present for those residents as He is today.

Arthur Berk, 07-28-2008

First generation Friends in their advice to new Quakers taught the younger people that when they speak to others it must be in the power of God who so graciously affords life as well as wisdom.  Ministers emphasized that we need to wait on the Lord before we entreat other people.  We have learned that powerful advice through listening to the Lord.

Small wonder the Apostle Peter through listening to Jesus declared, "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability that God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever." 1 Peter 11.

We receive this most important advice in Christ Jesus. That is why Conservative Friends wait before they speak, demonstrating their obedience to the Lord. May we pray for the calling to preach this  gospel in the name of our living Lord.

Arthur Berk, 08-18-2008

Reflections on Healing

We know that George Fox was a healer. We know the early Christians were healers. Where has this lost element of healing gone? it has not gone far. It is deep within each follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. He promised us that if we followed Him we would be healers. The early Christians and Quakers, that renewal of primitive Christianity, were healers. They expected healing and it occurred.

It is not my wish, not for a moment, to suggest that Friends eschew the help of the medical community. In fact I was raised in Christian Science where there were frequent and terrible consequences from rejecting doctoring. No, we have much to be grateful for in modern medicine. And yet, each of us longs for a deeper healing than any could be found in a pill. We long to fin ourselves whole and complete in Christ.

That healing is available to each of us at this very moment. What would such a healing look like? Would it involve perfect bodies? I think not. After all, even Christ and George Fox did not crave a perfect body. But we may still look to them to see how a healed self appears. It appears as one who is perfectly accepting of all that God gives us in this life. “Not mine but thy will be done” was the claim to health which Christ accepted. His perfect peace was not contingent upon the perfection of body, but was found in opening His arms to all that God required of Him.

This perfect acceptance is our healing. Might it mean a healing of body? Sometimes it does indeed. George Fox healed. Once when he healed a young woman people who saw this miracle asked him how it was done. He said he looked beyond the body and its ills until he saw nothing but the Light. The body of the young woman was healed. And yet when his own poor body, battered by the abuse of prison, at last was left lifeless, can we assume that he was not looking into the Light? I think not. He accepted whatever healing the Lord gave, be it improved bodily condition, or peace within a broken body.

We can expect healing. But we must not outline the nature of that healing. No doubt Fox would have been tickled pink if his body was suddenly whole and vigorous as it had been in his younger days, but in looking at the Light, in seeing nothing else, another and higher healing was given him; he was taken Home.

After many years in Christian Science I was at last released into the loving arms of Friends. I had never experienced healing in Christian Science, though I had diligently prayed for such healing. Once a young Quaker, I continued to pray for healing. I thought that healing was the sign of a true Christian. Yet I was outlining what I meant by healing. I was dictating to God. I meant the healing of the physical body. It did not even occur to me to look for anything else. It took some years among Friends before I understood what it was I saw among Quakers. I was seeing healed lives, regenerated by the deepest trust in God.

I was much drawn to Friends. I wasn’t sure why, but I saw a peace in their eyes, a beauty and grace in their lives, a quiet trust in their smiles. In time I understood this was the look of a healed life. Some had various physical problems. My lifelong training in Christian Science told me that such problems were because they were not truly healed in Christ. But nowhere had I met such committed Christian lives as I found among Friends. Nowhere had I found such calm trust.

At long last I let go my assumptions about what healing looked like, and my outlining. I turned at last with a more humble heart to the Scriptures and the works of early Friends. I stopped reading them with an overlay of Christian Science, as I had been doing. In essence I had said, “Where it corresponds with Christian Science it is true, but nowhere else.”

I doubt my eyes yet shine with the beautiful trust I have seen in older Friends, but I like to think they are shining a bit more. I know my heart is more peaceful than it has ever been before. Is my body healed of all the irritating aches and pains? No, as I grow older they grow more. But they bother me very little. He stands before me day and night. I wake to say, “Jesus, I trust in thee!” And all else seems unimportant. This, to my poor mind, is the greatest healing for which I could ask. It is all I wish.

Francis-Clare Fischer, reprinted from The Call

Reflections on Prayer

About Prayer

We know that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.
He knows the challenges we face, and what we need, better than we do ourselves.
We know that God answers all prayers, whether we recognize and understand the answer or not.
For these reasons, many Friends spend most of their prayer and worship time
listening to the Holy Spirit, rather than in specific, detailed prayers of petition.
Many Friends seek through prayer to unite with the will of God, and to embrace His plan for us.

"To be ready to listen means that we are ready to receive whatever God wishes to say. Yet our hearing is often hindered by presupposition and prejudice.... If we limit ourselves to what we want to hear, not many of us will hear what we need to hear. It is critically important that we move past our personal preferences and allow God to say to us whatever He wills.... As those who would serve God, we have not been asked to serve in 'an advisory capacity.' It is our role (and our high privilege) to wait upon His Word and do His bidding, whatever that may be."1

"When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathens do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."2

 


1. Henry, G., Diligently Seeking God, Word-Points: Indianapolis, 2003; quoted in The Conservative Friend, Number 24, Fifth Month 2006.

1. Henry, G., Diligently Seeking God, Word-Points: Indianapolis, 2003; quoted in The Conservative Friend, Number 24, Fifth Month 2006.

2. Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, quoted in The Gospel According to Matthew 6:5-8, The Holy Bible, Authorized King James Version, 1611

As the apostle Paul admonished "pray without ceasing." If we are in unity with Paul, we would be in contact with God constantly and He would be knowledgeable about our concerns and aspirations, so knowledgeable, in fact, that our Lord would instruct us immediately on how to resolve our difficulties. Yet we need to be in relationship with the living Lord at all times to hear, and more important, to obey Him in His gift of all powerful love.

Yet few of us are praying unceasingly, much as we may have the desire to do so. Small wonder we need to wait on Him in awe to receive Jesus' instructions as well as His love. We may bring several concerns for Him to respond, hopefully fulfilling our desires for help. But since God is far more knowledgeable, He may command us only to center on a few of our concerns. We may have the talent to be effective - with God's grace.

Praying to God, we must, if we are faithful, understand that the matters we bring to God, He has heard and even sent His love. For example, if we pray for a sick individual, we can and should assume God has sent his care to the unfortunate individual - and we should praise Him for being such a loving God. What we would need to discern is what the Lord requires to alleviate the pain and discomfort of the person. For such instructions, we pray and the Lord will respond.

Although I desire to kneel before the Lord in prayer, witnessing my obedience to the Lord's power and love, there are times when I am physically unable to do so. Nonetheless, I feel God will forgive me. We must realize that we are the Lord's servants, not His equals. That is why, when we feel called to pray, we need to be prepared to follow His command, despite possible inconveniences for us. We are His people, let us remember that in our prayers.

There are times when Jesus moves us to pray during Meeting for Worship. On these occasions God instructs the meeting to become involved in the concerns of an individual and his or her family. The meeting then in the name of Christ ministers to the people in need - in God's way, not with our own ideas. We may need to pray at another time, if we do not fully comprehend God's wishes in these matters. Small wonder we must pray "unceasingly."

People may ask if God requires a meeting to pray for peace with justice. The answer is a definitive yes. Christ commands us to be peacemakers, even if we suffer as a result of our adherence to the Lord. Yet we pray to receive guidance on what activities we need to pursue and, equally important, what proposals we need to reject, no matter how idealistic they seem to us. We are here to serve the Lord. To do that, we need to have the faith that "God is over all." Friends, we must trust God's wisdom. In prayer, we receive that wisdom.

Let us follow Paul's advice and learn to listen to God with consistency. Then we will know and follow God wherever He leads us.

Arthur Berk, 11-14-2007

"But above all he excelled in prayer. The inwardness and weight of his spirit, the reverence and solemnity of his address and behavior and the fewness and fullness of his words, have often struck strangers, as they used to reach others with consolation, The most awe-full, living reverent frame I ever felt or beheld, I must say, was his in prayer. And truly it was a testimony he knew..."

As Willam Penn witnessed with much admiration, George Fox surrendered to God completely as he prayed. In Fox's prayer, he waited on God for deeper spiritual love and knowledge with the profound understanding that Christ awareness was much greater than his as it is greater than our own. Fox, in other words, waited on the Lord for ways to spread the goodness as well as the inspiration of the gospel. It is the same God that motivated early Friends to pursue Gospel Order.

Today we need to pray for ways to implement the Lord's aspirations for his people. May we listen!

Arthur Berk, 03-10-2008

I begin with selections that illustrate the commandment to pray, followed by passages that illustrate the how-to:

 

I Thessalonians 5:16-23 [Paul's "Pray without ceasing." The anonymous classic The Way of a Pilgrim is the journal of a nineteenth-century Russian pilgrim whose spiritual calling was to practice unceasing prayer]:

[16] Rejoice evermore. [17] Pray without ceasing. [18] In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. [19] Quench not the Spirit. [20] Despise not prophesyings. [21] Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. [22] Abstain from all appearance of evil. [23] And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) reads "test everything" for "prove all things" and "shun every form of evil" for "abstain from all appearance of evil." Paul's meaning here seems to be that wherever evidence of evil appears, we should banish it from our heart, speech and actions, not that our primary concern should be the maintaining of "appearances."]

 

Luke 18:1 [the Parable of the Unjust Judge]:

[1] And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; [2] Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: [3] And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
[4] And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; [5] Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
[6] And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. [7] And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? [8] I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

["and not to faint," 18:1: the original Greek reads kaì mê enkakeîn, literally "and not to go bad," or as the RSV has it, "not to lose heart."]

 

Colossians 4:2-4:

[2] Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; [3] Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: [4] That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

 

Ephesians 6:10-18 ["praying always... in the Spirit." For prayer "in the Spirit," see Romans 8:26-27, below]:

[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. [11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. [12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. [13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; [15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: [18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints....

 

I Timothy 2:1-4 [prayers to be made for everyone, rulers in particular]:

[1] I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; [2] For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. [3] For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; [4] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

 

Matthew 5:43-45 ["Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you"]:

[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. [44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; [45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

 

James 5:13-16 ["the heartfelt prayer of someone upright works very powerfully" (NJB). This passage is the Bible's most specific encouragement to pray for healing]:

[13] Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. [14] Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: [15] And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. [16] Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

 

Matthew 6:6-9 ["your Father knows what you need before you ask Him" (NJB)]:

[6] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. [7] But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. [8] Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. [9] After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name....

 

Matthew 7:7-8:

[7] Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: [8] For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

 

Mark 11:24:

[24] Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

 

John 9:30-31 [The response to his interrogators of the man born blind]:

[30] The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. [31] Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

 

Some "how-to" advices about prayer:

 

Romans 8:26-27 [The Bible's most pointed advice to let the Holy Spirit direct our prayers]:

[26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. [The NJB reads: And as well as this, the Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness, for, when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words; and he who can see into all hearts knows what the Spirit means because the prayers that the Spirit makes for God's holy people are always in accordance with the mind of God. The Greek for "in groans that cannot be put into words" or, as the RSV has it, "with sighs too deep for words," is stenagmoîs alalêtois. Stenagma and the verb-form stenazô (groan or sigh) appear, significantly, in Acts 7:34, where Stephen retells God's words to Moses at the burning bush, "I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning;" and also in Mark 7:34, where Jesus "looking up to heaven, sighed" in the course of his healing a deaf person with a speech impediment.]

 

James 1:5-7:

[5] If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. [6] But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. [7] For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

 

James 4:2b-3:

[2] ...ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. [3] Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

 

Prayers smell good:

 

Revelation 5:8:

[8] And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

 

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)

John Edminster, 11-24-2007

Every man's life is a continual state of prayer; he is no moment free from it, nor can possibly be so. ...as the heart works and wills, such and no other is its prayer.

If therefore the working desire of the heart is not habitually turned toward God, if this is not our spirit of prayer, we are necessarily in a state of prayer towards something else that carries us from God and brings all kind of evil into us. Pray we must, as sure as our heart is alive; and therefore when the state of our heart is not a spirit of prayer to God, we pray without ceasing to some or other part of the creation.

William Law (1686-1761), "The Spirit of Prayer," in Robert Llewelyn (ed.), Daily Readings with William Law (Springfield, IL: Templegate, 1986), p. 64.

 

Oh! How have I prayed for the lost world! For all the souls of mankind how hath my soul bowed in unutterable breathings of spirit before my God, and could not be silenced until he quieted my spirit in righteousness and excellency of his will, and bid me leave it to him. And as touching this nation, and the several sorts in it, even those who seem most cast off, and without all sense; yet the preciousness of their souls have I spread before the Lord my God with tears.

Isaac Penington, "Some Observations upon...Romans 14:20 (1662)," in Works, v. 2, p.308

 

Perfect prayer must be the love of God. The excellence of this prayer does not consist in the number of words that we pronounce, for God sees our hearts, and knows all that we want. The heart asks only what God wills that we should have. He who does not desire with his whole heart, makes a deceitful prayer. How few are there who pray!

François Fénelon (1651-1715), On Prayer [p.109]

 

Notice that in Scripture the word 'prophecy' is used of prayer as well as preaching.... Thus every prophet's task is to speak partly as the voice of God (in preaching), and partly as the voice of the people (in praying): 'If you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth' (Jer. 15:19); 'And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!"' (Neh. 8:6).

William Perkins (1558-1602), The Art of Prophesying (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1996), p. 7

 

_Hasten unto God._ Why? Not because we ought to. Fellowship with God isn't a bitter duty. Fellowship with God is the deepest joy of human existence. It is the Pearl of Great Price, for which we should sell all we have, and in joy, purchase the pearl.... You and I are not full selves until we are in God's Presence and He is visibly in us, alive, energizing, glorying,  making life miraculous.

Thomas Kelly (1893-1941), The Eternal Promise (2nd ed., Friends United Press, 1988), pp. 128-129.

 

SCRIPTURAL SELECTIONS ON PRAYER, II

Some exemplary Biblical prayers:

 

Genesis 4:13-15: God's mercy to Cain.

[13] And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. [14] Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
[15] And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

 

Exodus 32:31-32: Moses offers himself.

[31] And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. [32] Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin - ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

 

1 Kings 3:5-15a: Solomon's dream; his prayer for "an understanding heart."

[5] In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
[6] And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. [7] And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. [8] And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. [9] Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
[10] And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
[11] And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; [12] Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. [13] And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. [14] And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
[15] And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream.

 

Luke 17:5-6: The prayer "Increase our faith."

[5] And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
[6] And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

 

Luke 18:9-14: The publican's prayer.

[9] And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
[10] Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. [11] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. [12] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
[13] And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
[14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

 

Mark 14:34-36: Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane.

[34] And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. [35] And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. [36] And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. [This prayer is recorded in all four of the canonical Gospels. Cf. Matt. 26:39, Luke 22:41-42. John 12:27-28 sets a variant at the time of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. For Jesus' statements that He had come not to do His own will, but His Heavenly Father's, see John 5:30, 6:38.]

 

Luke 23:33-34: Jesus prays for his executioners.

[33] And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. [34] Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

 

Acts 7:59-60: Stephen prays for his executioners.

[59] And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. [60] And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

 

Acts 16:25-31: Paul and Silas, imprisoned at Philippi in Macedonia.

[25] And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. [26] And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. [27] And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
[28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
[29] Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, [30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
[31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
 

See also Acts 12:3-19: Peter's miraculous release from imprisonment at Jerusalem, after the Church had prayed for him.

Revelation 4:2-11: The beasts' and elders' prayers before the Throne of God.

[2] And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. [3] And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. [4] And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. [5] And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. [6] And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. [7] And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. [8] And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
[9] And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, [10] The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, [11] Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

Revelation 22:20-21: The Bible, as we've received it, ends with John's prayer:

[20] He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. [21] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

John Edminster, 12-08-2007

The first refused prayer in the Bible - interpreting the word "prayer" broadly - was Cain's offering, Genesis 4:3-7. As first in a series of acts of kindness to Cain, the Lord suggests a way to remedy the situation:

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. [4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. [6] And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? [7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

I think that the closest the Torah comes to comedy is the story of the priest-prophet Balaam - complete with the Bible's only talking animal other than the serpent of Eden, Balaam's ass (Numbers 22-24). Balak, King of Moab, anxiously seeks Balaam out to curse the approaching Israelites, then in their last year of wandering before entering the promised land. At the king's insistence, Balaam three times builds seven altars, sacrificing bullocks and rams on each, but each time pronounces a blessing on Israel rather than a curse: "How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?" (Num. 23:8) Balak's "refused prayer" receives Balaam's inflexible answer, "Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it" (Num. 23:20).

Prayers from unrepentant sinful lips, prayers for things contrary to God's will, and prayers directed to beings other than the One God - these can never be expected to bear fruit:

And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. [27] And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. [28] And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. [29] And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. - 1 Kings 18:26-29

But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? - Psalm 50:16

He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. [4] I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. [5] Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. - Isaiah 66:3-5

They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. [11] Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. [12] Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. - Jeremiah 11:10-12

The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. [31] Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. [32] Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. [33] If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. - John 9:30-33

But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. [21] Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. - Acts 8:20-21

The world seems full of people who think themselves faithful believers in God who, for all their religious punctiliousness and orthodoxy, have a heart that is "not right in the sight of God" and so suffer delusions of their own righteousness and make prayers that "cannot reach" God.

And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart. - Jeremiah 7:31

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. [22] Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. [23] Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. [24] But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. - Amos 5:21-24

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. - John 16:2

Though God "chooses their delusions" (Isaiah 66:4, above), the responsibility for being deluded ultimately rests on the individual soul, which we must suppose began the chain-reaction of delusion by making a primordial choice of darkness over light, of untruth over truth, of the creature over the Creator, of spiritual numbness and ignorance over spiritual awareness:

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. - John 3:19-20

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; [19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  [20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: [21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, [23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. [24] Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: [25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. - Romans 1:18-25

Christian and Islamic tradition agree that prayers from the damned are not fulfillable:

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: [20] And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, [21] And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. [22] And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; [23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  [25] But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.  [26] And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. - Luke 16:19-26

And they who are in the fire will say to the keepers of hell, "Pray unto your Sustainer that He lighten, [though it be] for one day [only], this suffering of ours!" [But the keepers of hell] will ask, "Is it not [true] that your apostles came unto you with all evidence of truth?"  Those [in the fire] will reply, "Yea, indeed." [And the keepers of hell] will say, "Pray, then!" - for the prayer of those who deny the truth cannot lead to aught but delusion. - Qur'an 40:49-50 (Asad translation)

There are, however, certain prayers of the righteous, the prophets, the saints which go unfulfilled, in spite of the Divine reassurance "ask, and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9).  What are we to make of them?  Righteous Job begged and begged for an explanation of his suffering, and for a long and painful time, God was silent.  Even Jesus' own "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:39) was denied Him.  Knowing the goodness of God, one must assume that all our righteous but denied prayers are among the "tears" that God will one day wipe away from our eyes (Revelation 7:17, 21:4).  But perhaps, when our tears are wiped away, it will be clear to us that all our prayers now have been fulfilled, after all, and in a better way than we could have imagined.  Paul wisely counsels us that the peace and joy that are to be ours are far greater than any pain we suffer now in this life, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us," Romans 8:18.  A few lines later (8:28) he writes, "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God."

Paul's prayer for the removal of the "thorn in his flesh" was refused, but with an explanation that led the Apostle to learn to "glory" in his infirmities:

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. [8] For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  [9] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  [10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.  - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

We all pray, every moment of our lives, for the things that promise gratification, safety, and freedom from pain: house, parents, brethren, wife, children.  This is natural.  But Jesus, Greatest of teachers, bids us detach ourselves from these things for God's sake - to suspend our prayers to always have them about us, to be ready to give them up, to pray rather to be made perfectly serviceable to the Divine Will: "for whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25).

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. - Luke 18:29

This is reminiscent of the prayer of Solomon for "an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad" (1 Kings 3:9), which so pleased the Lord that

God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; [12] Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart... [13] And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. - 1 Kings 3:11-13

It is simply a matter of discerning the right thing to pray for:

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. [30] For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. [31] But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. - Luke 12:29-31

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. - 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (KJV)

 

POSTSCRIPT: The phrase from the Qur'an quoted above, "the prayer of those who deny the truth cannot lead to aught but delusion," suggests the futility of prayer - which is always a reaching out for God - for those whose dominant motive is to flee from God, those who, in Paul's words, "hold the truth in unrighteousness," or in John's words, "love darkness rather than light."  One simply can't have it both ways.  Those familiar with Shakespeare's Hamlet will recall King Claudius's agonized soliloquy (Act III, Scene iii) which links his inability to pray to the fact that he hasn't been willing to surrender the profits of his sin, "my crown, mine own ambition and my queen:"

...Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will:
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent....
And what's in prayer but this two-fold force,
To be forestalled ere we come to fall,
Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up;
My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'?
That cannot be; since I am still possess'd
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.
May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?

In spite of his discouragement, Claudius has a moment of hope, and kneels to pray.  The sight of the murderer on his knees dissuades Hamlet from killing him, and Hamlet withdraws, unseen, leaving Claudius to rise from his failed prayer with the couplet -

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

John Edminster, 01-05-2008

Reflections on Plainness

I was just browsing through the sites on the Internet devoted to modest clothing. There aren’t oodles of them, so it did not take a great deal of time. But one Orthodox Jewish site had some wonderful reading material about why they dress modestly. It set me thinking.

The site told a story which I had heard before. Several Orthodox Jewish young people were asked to speak at a liberal synagogue. They were modestly dressed, and were asked to explain about that. They explained, in essence, that covering with modesty keeps the sexual expression of life safely inside marriage. One of the teenage listeners, a boy, said: “But I don’t see anything sexual about a woman’s elbow!” And an Orthodox boy cried out, in all innocence, “Oh! That’s too bad!”

Jewish Orthodox women and men cover from below the elbow to the neck. The men wear long pants and the women wear dresses long enough to cover most of the calf area. And, of course, the women cover their heads and, for many, all of their hair. Plain Christian men and women do not have quite so strict a code but it is certainly similar. Why do we do this?

There are scriptural reasons which most of us know. But why should scripture be so concerned with what we wear? It has occurred to me that scripture directs Orthodox Jews, Conservative Muslims, and Plain Christians to be more realistic about sexuality than most of the prevailing culture. We need only point to the steep rise in sexual crimes in the “enlightened” modern world to support this suggestion. The human sexual urge must, like that of all creatures, be fairly strong. If it were not so, we would think twice about the pain and danger of childbirth and view our sexuality with great fear. But that is far from the case, no matter what our religious persuasion! The Lord created us in such a way that no matter what the ultimate pain and danger, we would be drawn to each other.

Our sexuality is sacred. It is the door through which life comes. Modesty protects our sexuality and grants it a reverence of which the modern world is almost completely ignorant. Modesty is a commitment to keeping our sexuality cloistered within the walls of marriage.

And once we have submitted to that blessed cloister, we find that it does something unexpected. Modesty allows all forms of the human body to be beautiful. In the modern world only extremely thin men and women can be scantily clad and still maintain a modicum of dignity. The rest of us look woeful at best. Our beauty is actually hidden by modern dress, or the lack thereof!

Yet when we are modest those imperfections, which even air brushed models possess, are kindly draped and guarded. The eyes which see them are only those which love us most and very much in spite of our many imperfections. The world finds round and bountiful bodies so horrifying that young women, and an increasing number of men, starve themselves to death rather than face the possibility that they may not have the body of a model.

In fact, only three percent of the population is genetically inclined to have a model’s body! And even models often do not have these perfect bodies. The pictures are often airbrushed and now with computers they are changed and enhanced. I was stunned to find that the poster advertising Julia Roberts in the film Pretty Woman in fact showed a model’s body with Julia’s head. Now if this remarkably beautiful woman is not beautiful enough, what hope have the rest of us poor mortals?

All jesting aside, our hope is modesty. Modesty gives us a freedom the world cannot give. My students feel they are greatly liberated and not bound to wear much of anything at all, even to class! Yet they are plagued with fears about their bodies and with a level of self consciousness which is debilitating. This is a serious problem for my students who are going into a field which is extremely harsh and critical of their appearance. I tell them that they should enjoy their beauty [and they are all beautiful], and that this is the time of their lives when they are often at the height of their beauty. They need to stop all the self hate, and love what they are. They, at least, must believe in themselves. My words very often fall on deaf ears. Because my words run so counter to the world which tells them that they are never pretty or handsome enough. . . but maybe they will be if they buy this and that product.

Women and men are disrobed in modern culture precisely because that disrobing sells products. If all were dressed modestly, eschewed makeup and fancy clothing and covered our heads, what would advertisers do? They are dependent upon people being uncovered and filled with disgust because they are not one of the three percent with the body of a model. What a way to run a world!

And of course, not only does it do terrible damage to the people so disrobed. It does horrific damage to the larger world. We, in the so-called developed world, are the smallest portion of the world. But like the lords and ladies of old we exploit the majority of people in order to maintain the vanities of our lifestyle. Modesty does not answer all those problems, to be sure. But it could answer a few. The sweat shops are not turning out cape dresses and prayer caps! And how much smaller our wardrobe needs to be if we have only a few sets of clothes because, by and large, each piece of clothing looks much the same.

Holy modesty really is holy. It preserves the sanctity of our sexuality. It provides for our inevitable imperfections. And grants the sight of them only to loving eyes. It gives us great freedom. We can walk streets of the world with calm and confidence, unfettered by the shame of imperfect bodies and blatant sexuality. Wherever we go, we walk in the cloister which Scripture has prepared for us.

Francis-Clare Fischer, Reprinted from The Call

"Friends, keep out of the vain fashions of the world; let not your eyes, minds, and spirits run after every fashion (in attire) of the nations; for that will lead you from the solid life into unity with that spirit that leads to follow the fashions of the nations, after every fashion of apparel that gets up: but mind that which is sober and modest, and keep to your plain fashions, that you may judge the World, . . ."

- George Fox

While the issue of plain dress today continues to be a matter of personal leading among Friends, it is an issue that must be worked out individually . Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." Understanding that each of us is led individually to serve God as He wills, it becomes an issue of faith to follow as Christ leads and be obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to therefore hold fast that which is good, even if one stands alone.

This discernment process transcends issues of worldly fashions, group dynamics or individual opinions because it is a calling of a very personal and spiritual nature. When led by Christ we must obediently follow and not allow ourselves to be influenced by the world or our peers. Though most Friends in this day and age do not feel called to plain dress, there are those who do - and that calling is very difficult to deny and is even more difficult for some to make a "logical" argument or defense for.

It may help to know the minds of other Quakers who faced this concern in their lives. I found reassurance in the writings of Friends of both old and new. It was comforting to know that others were similarly challenged and edifying to learn their view points. Elizabeth Gurney Fry, a Quaker humanitarian (1780-1845) wrote, "I used to think and do now how little dress matters. But I find it almost impossible to keep to the principles of Friends without altering my dress and speech. . . They appear to me a sort of protector to the principles of Christianity in the present state of the world."

Kenneth Morse (1898 - 1982), wrote about Quakers that: "They endeavored to keep a single eye unto the Lord, desiring his approval rather than the praise of men. They were therefore not conformed to the world, and did not follow the changing fashion of the world."

Then, there are the testimonies of plain Friends today that are a witness to the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives in matters of plain dress and conservative Christianity. This web site has a wealth of such information.

If this is an issue thee faces in thy life - take heart, God will guide thee! It is important to bring this concern to God through Christ in prayer and seek to know His will for you. Await guidance and the Holy Spirit will lead thee one way or the other. Remember, there is no single "right" answer for all Friends - God's will for thee may be very different than for someone else. We are individually called to serve Him and are individually accountable for our service to Him. Once discernment is clear and if thee is led to plain dress, there are a variety of options for the person seeking plain clothing.

Ever seek to know His will and plain dress or no, let the words of Christ illuminate thy life in all matters - "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16

Kimberly Anne Makela, 01-04-2007

Reflections on Peace

In 1660, Fox reported the following message was sent to the king of England, clearly stating the beliefs and practice of Quakers. This message sent to the king is the earliest comprehensive statement of the Friends’ Peace Testimony, and has often been quoted in excerpted form. For the sake of context and accuracy, it is offered below in its entirety:

A declaration from the harmless innocent people of God, called Quakers, against all sedition, plotters, and fighters in the world; for removing the ground of jealousy and suspicion from both magistrates and people in the kingdom concerning wars and fightings.[i]

Presented to the king the 21st day of the Eleventh month, 1660.

Our principle is, and our practices have always been to seek peace and ensue it; to follow after righteousness and the knowledge of God; seeking the good and welfare, and doing that which tends to the peace of all. We know that wars and fightings proceed from the lusts of men, (as James Chapter 4:1-3), out of which lusts the Lord has redeemed us, and so out of the occasion of war. The occasion of war and war itself, arises from the lust, (wherein envious men, who are lovers of themselves more than lovers of God, lust, kill, and desire to have men's lives or estates). All bloody principles and practices we, as to our own basics, do utterly deny, with all outward wars, strife, and fighting with outward weapons for any end, or under any pretence whatsoever: this is our testimony to the whole world.

And whereas if someone should object and say: "But although you now say, that you cannot fight nor take up arms at all; yet if the spirit move you, then you will change your principle, you will sell your coat and buy a sword, and fight for the kingdom of Christ." To this we answer, Christ said to Peter, "Put up your sword in its place;" though he had said before, he that had no sword might sell his coat and buy one, (to the fulfilling of the law and the scripture), yet after, when he had bid him put it up, he said, "He that takes the sword shall perish with the sword." And Christ said to Pilate, “do you not know that I can now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more that twelve legions of angels?" And this might satisfy Peter, after he had put up his sword, when he said to him, "He that took it, should perish by it;" which satisfies us. Matthew 26:52-53.

In the Revelations it is said, "He that kills with the sword shall perish with the sword; and here is the faith and patience of the saints." So Christ's kingdom is not of this world, therefore his servants do not fight as he told Pilate, the magistrate who crucified him. And did they not look upon Christ as a raiser of sedition? And did not he pray, “Forgive them?" But thus it is that we are numbered among transgressors, and among fighters, that the scriptures might be fulfilled. That the spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing, as evil, and again to move unto it. We certainly know and testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ nor for the kingdoms of this world. First, because the kingdom of Christ, God will exalt, according to his promise, and cause it to grow and flourish in righteousness, "Not by might, nor by power, (of outward sword), but by my spirit, said the Lord" Zechariah 4:6. So those that use any weapon to fight for Christ, or for the establishing of his kingdom or government, their spirit, principle, and practice in that we deny.

Secondly, We earnestly desire and wait, that (by the word of God's power, and its effectual operation in the hearts of men), the kingdoms of this world may become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ; and that he may rule and reign in men by his spirit and truth; that thereby all people, out of all different judgments and professions, may be brought into love and unity with God, and one with another; and that all may come to witness the prophet's words fulfilled, who said, "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isaiah 2:4. Micah 4:3. So we, whom the Lord has called into the obedience of his truth, have denied wars and fightings, and cannot any more learn them. This is a certain testimony unto all the world of the truth of our hearts in this particular, that as God persuades every man's heart to believe, so they may receive it. For we have not, as some others, gone about cunningly with devised fables, nor have we ever denied in practice what we have professed in principle; but in sincerity and truth, and by the word of God, we have labored to be made manifest unto all men, that both we and our ways might be witnessed in the hearts of all. And whereas all manner of evil has been falsely spoken of us, we hereby speak the plain truth of our hearts, to take away the occasion of that offence, that so we, being innocent, may not suffer for other men's offences, nor be made a prey of by the wills of men for that of which we were never guilty; but in the uprightness of our hearts we may, under the power ordained of God for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well, live a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For although we have always suffered, and do now more abundantly suffer, yet we know it is for righteousness' sake: "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our consciences, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world." 2 Corinthians 1:2. which for us is a witness for the convincing of our enemies. For this we can say to all the world, we have wronged no man, we have used no force nor violence against any man, we have been found in no plots, nor guilty of sedition. When we have been wronged we have not sought to revenge ourselves; we have not made resistance against authority; but wherein we could not obey for conscience sake, we have suffered the most of any people in the nation. We have been counted as sheep for the slaughter, persecuted and despised, beaten, stoned, wounded, stocked, whipped, imprisoned, haled out of the synagogues, cast into dungeons and noisy prisons, where many have died in bonds, shut up from our friends, denied needful sustenance for many days, together with other the like cruelties. And the cause of all these our sufferings is not for any evil, but for things relating to the worship of our God, and in obedience to his requirements. For which cause we shall freely give up our bodies a sacrifice, rather than disobey the Lord; knowing, as the Lord has kept us innocent, he will plead our cause when there is none in the earth to plead it.

So we, in obedience to his truth, do not love our lives unto death, that we may do his will, and wrong no man in our generation, but seek the good and peace of all men. He who has commanded us, "that we shall not swear at all," Matthew 5:34 has also commanded us, "that we shall not kill." Matthew 5:21. So that we can neither kill men, nor swear for or against them. This is both our principle and our practice, and has been from the beginning; so that if we suffer, as suspected to take up arms or make war against any, it is without any ground from us; for it neither is, nor ever was in our hearts, since we owned the truth of God; neither shall we ever do it, because it is contrary to the spirit of Christ, his doctrine, and the practice of his apostles; even contrary to him for whom we suffer all things and endure all things.

And although men come against us with clubs, staves, drawn swords, pistols cocked, and beat, cut, and abuse us; we never resisted them, but offered them our hair, backs, and cheeks. It is not an honor to manhood or nobility to run upon harmless people, who lift not a hand against them, with arms and weapons. Therefore consider these things, you men of understanding; for plotters, raisers of insurrections, tumultuous ones, and fighters, running with swords, clubs, staves, and pistols, one against another; we say, these are of the world, and have their foundation from this unrighteous world, from the foundation of which the Lamb has been slain; which lamb has redeemed us from this unrighteous world; we are not of it, but are heirs of a world of which there is no end, a kingdom where no corruptible thing enters. Our weapons are spiritual, not carnal, yet mighty through God to the pulling down of the strong holds of sin and Satan, who is the author of wars, fighting, murder, and plots. Our swords are broken into plough shares, and spears into pruning hooks, as prophesied of in Micah 4:3. Therefore we cannot learn war any more, neither rise up against nation or kingdom with outward weapons, though you have numbered us among the transgressors and plotters. The Lord knows our innocency in this, and will plead our cause with all people upon earth at the day of their judgment, when all men shall have a reward according to their works.

Therefore in love we warn you for your souls’ good, not to wrong the innocent, nor the babes of Christ, which he has in his hand, and tenders as the apple of his eye; neither seek to destroy the heritage of God, nor turn your swords backward upon such as the law was not made for, i.e. the righteous; but for the sinners and transgressors, to keep them down. For those are not peacemakers nor lovers of enemies, neither can they overcome evil with good, who wrong them that are friends to you and all men, and wish your good and the good of all people upon earth. If you oppress us as they did the children of Israel in Egypt, if you oppress us as they did when Christ was born, and as they did the Christians in the primitive times, we can say, "The Lord forgive you;" and leave the Lord to deal with you, and not revenge ourselves. If you say as the council said to Peter and John, "You must speak no more in that name," and if you serve us as they served the three children spoken of in Daniel, God is the same as he ever was, that lives for ever and ever, who has the innocent in his arms.

Oh friends! Offend not the Lord and his little ones, neither afflict his people; but consider and be moderate. Run not hastily into things, but mind and consider mercy, justice, and judgment; that is the way for you to prosper and get the favor of the Lord. Our meetings were stopped and broken up in the days of Oliver, under pretence of plotting against him; in the days of the Committee of Safety, we were looked upon as plotters to bring in King Charles; and now our peaceable meetings are termed seditious. Oh! that men should lose their reason, and go contrary to their own consciences; knowing that we have suffered all things, and have been accounted plotters all along, though we have always declared against them both by word of mouth and printing, and are clear from any such thing! Though we have suffered all along, because we would not take up carnal weapons to fight against any, and are thus made a prey upon because we are the innocent lambs of Christ, and cannot avenge ourselves! These things are left upon your hearts to consider; for we are out of all those things in the patience of the saints, and we know as Christ said, "He that takes the sword shall perish with the sword." Matthew 26:52 and Revelations 13:10.

This is given forth from the people called Quakers, to satisfy the king and his council, and all that have any jealousy concerning us, that all occasion of suspicion may be taken away, and our innocence cleared.

Postscript - Though we are numbered among transgressors, and have been given up to rude, merciless men, by whom our meetings are broken up, in which we edified one another in our holy faith, and prayed together to the Lord that lives forever, yet he is our pleader in this day. The Lord said, "They that feared his name spoke often together," as in Malachi; which were as his jewels. For this cause, and no evil doing, are we cast into holes, dungeons, houses of correction, prisons, (sparing neither old nor young, men nor women), and made a prey of in the sight of all nations, under pretence of being seditious, so that all rude people run upon us to take possession; for which we say, the Lord forgive them that have done thus to us; who does and will enable us to suffer; and never shall we lift up hand against any man that does thus use us; but that the Lord may have mercy upon them, that they may consider what they have done. For how is it possible for them to requite us for the wrong they have done to us? Who to all nations have sounded us abroad as seditious or plotters, who were never plotters against any power or man upon the earth, since we knew the life and power of Jesus Christ manifested in us, who has redeemed us from the world and all works of darkness, and plotters therein, by which we know the election before the world began. So we say, the Lord have mercy upon our enemies, and forgive them for what they have done unto us. Oh! do as you would be done by; do unto all men as you would have them do unto you; for this is but the law and the prophets. All plots, insurrections, and riotous meetings, we deny, knowing them to be of the devil, the murderer; which we in Christ, who was before they were, triumph over. And all wars and fightings with carnal weapons we deny, who have the sword of the spirit; and all that wrong us, we leave to the Lord. This is to clear our innocence from that aspersion cast upon us, "that we are seditious or plotters."[ii]


[i] The Works of George Fox; The Journal of George Fox (Volumes 1 & 2), pp. 421-426 [return to text]

[ii] When the statement was reprinted, some 20 years later, the following was added: “Courteous reader, this was our testimony above twenty years ago, and since then we have not been found acting contrary to it, nor ever shall; for the truth that is our guide is unchangeable. This is now reprinted to the men of this age, many of whom were then children, and does stand as our certain testimony against all plotting and fighting with carnal weapons. And if any, by departing from the truth, should do so, this is our testimony in the truth against them, and will stand over them, and the truth will be clear of them.”

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalms 119:9-11

We have both been devout Christian pacifists all of our adult lives. However, being consistent on the Peace Testimony is not an easy subject to navigate. Absolutism becomes difficult when our students and children ask us, “But what about World War II, if the Americans and Russians had not entered the war Hitler may well have won. Don’t you think that was right for us to enter the war?” Like most Quakers we have with this issue; the struggle making it all the more clear that we need guidance from the Lord and from our Quaker tradition as we approach this issue.

In their 1660 Declaration written to King Charles II of England, George Fox and others wrote:

We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons for any end or under any pretense whatsoever; this is our testimony to the whole world . . . . The Spirit of Christ by which we are guided is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing of evil and again to move us into it; and we certainly know and testify to the world that the Spirit of Christ which leads us into all truth will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the Kingdom of Christ nor for the kingdoms of this world. . . therefore we cannot learn war anymore.

Those Friends' words are very clear in this statement, which can leave no doubt as to the depth of their absolute commitment to the principle of Christ-like peace. But their words would not have borne such gravity had they not been based on scriptural principals and the clear direction Christ Jesus gave his followers:

"Put up thy sword again into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Matthew 26:52

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9

Do any of these teachings leave room for compromise as we live the Peace Testimony? The writers have always felt that as Christians, our trust must utterly depend on God. Could there be anything that happens in this world that God does not allow? Even the wiles of the Devil are subject to the Lord. So the Lord allows us to stray from His way and He allows us to face the consequences of our sins. Mankind proves over and over again that living outside of moral law, as defined by God, and insisting on self-government in such a way as to deny God's sovereignty, have always been the reason and the only reason for suffering and violence in this world. Ephesians clarifies this for us in chapter 4 verse 18: “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

When we are called by Christ, we are called to live in peace, advocate for peace and peacefully, trustfully rely on the fact that God has everything under control. To do otherwise denies His sovereignty just as much as those who participate in wars and strife in an admitted state of godlessness. But note that God has always called His people to action. If we are living the Peace Testimony that we find affirmed in scripture we are being asked to work for God’s world. That may mean non-violent social action; it may mean a devoted and contemplative life or prayer for the entire world, or both. But God calls us to be peaceful, not to be passive. He calls us to work for His goodness, justice and peace by living peace, acting for peace, praying for peace; and we would contend that it is clear, we are never called to take up a weapon.

It is certainly impossible not to feel emotionally charged and enraged by the myriad gross injustices and horrific crimes that make up the history of mankind; but taking up weapons to fight against a world, not seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, is not only absolutely futile, it makes one no better than those initiating those crimes in the first place. We lose our precious place as honorable ambassadors of peace, with no further right to lay claim to the righteousness of peace, if our actions contradict our words.

In times of despair where godlessness seems to prevail, instead of reaching for a gun a true follower of Christ should be compelled to drop to their knees, or even prostrate themselves completely before the Lord and beg, BEG - with the tears and grief of our hearts pouring out, for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven; to cry out for His direction in all our actions. To participate in violence, shows that our interests and trust lie not in God's Heavenly Kingdom. Our actions are in conflict with the Lord’s teachings. He will guide our actions so long as we devote ourselves to His peace and a life lived under His sovereignty. No action, no matter how noble the world views it, will lead to His peace if He is not guiding it. If we turn from Him we are not acting as His workers in the field.

How can we possibly do anything beyond what our Lord did? He clearly said, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight..." John 18:36. How will we face Him someday and justify taking part in actions that He himself not only refused to take part in but also clearly admonished his followers not to do?

Whenever we feel drawn into supporting any war effort in any way, which kingdom are we really fighting for? In Romans we read: "Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Remember, if the word idol can be defined as “A false or misleading idea,” (Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary) then war can be as much of an idol as anything else and we must not allow ourselves to be provoked into idolizing or touching the unclean thing . . . what could be more unclean than war or anything that in anyway promotes or participates in it? Satan is very crafty in making the ideals of war seem righteous and justifiable. But listen to what Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

We are as alien residents in this world when we look to the kingdom of God as the only answer to the problems facing mankind. Would Hitler really have won the war without followers of Christ taking up arms? Is such a pretense really worth the compromise of Christian conscience? We may not know if Hitler would have won World War II without American and Russian violence. But we do know that any time a culture is based on violence and turns its back on God that culture will be grounded in violence until they rise above all willingness to take up arms.

All things are as God allows and we prove by our actions which kingdom we support - how glorious is it really to take pride in the supposed victory of war when we have violated the principles of peace as Christ taught in order to claim that glory. Again, whose Kingdom do we really support? Whose Kingdom do we wish be part of establishing?

If Christ's followers are doing as He directed and putting their trust in God ever seeking His kingdom, we fulfill our Christian duty by not being lured into a sense of false righteousness in trying to justify participation in war. Again, Satan is very crafty in making the ideals of war seem righteous and justifiable but we must cling with all of our hearts to the ideals which we know are true and befitting true Christian conduct and reject anything that tries to persuade us otherwise.

So what can we say to our students and children who ask us about the horrors of the Holocaust and of Stalin's twenty million dead? What do we say when they wonder if perhaps, just that one time, violence was justified? We can teach them of the Scriptures, Quaker history, the great men and women of peace throughout time who would not take up a weapon but worked for God’s Kingdom and worked for it as they heard Him bid them act. We can tell them that then and only then will we be following in God’s peace and in the end only here will the world find Peace.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:35

. . . neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39

Kimberly Anne Makela and Francis Clare Fischer

It has been the belief of the Society of Friends from its rise that all war is contrary to the teachings of our blessed Redeemer, Jesus Christ. In His Sermon on the Mount, He admonished us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, and to do good to those who hate us. Likewise, when Peter smote the servant of the high priest with his sword, our Lord said to him, "Put up thy sword again into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" (Matthew 26:52).

In a statement presented to the King of England in 1660, Friends declared: "The Spirit of Christ by which we are guided is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil, and again to move unto it; and we certainly do know and testify to the world that the Spirit of Christ, which leads us into all truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the Kingdom of Christ nor for the kingdoms of this world."

As we believe that all war is wrong, so we believe that all preparation or training for war is wrong. Military conscription is inconsistent with the teaching and practices of Christianity.

We not only feel abhorrence for the evils of war and the suffering and misery connected with it, but we desire to work actively for peace, endeavoring to remove the economic and political causes of war. We wish to emphasize the brotherhood of all men, and that unity and peace can only be achieved by the Spirit of Christ working in the hearts of men.

It is our profound belief that the peoples of the world desire peace, but we do not believe that it can be achieved through a policy of military strength. Peace can only be built when men seek to solve their common problems in a spirit of reconciliation and national humility. We must act with love, forbearance and forgiveness; trusting in God and in His Spirit working in all men.

Today when talk about defending ourselves against an enemy is very prevalent, we would encourage our members to keep in mind that the only true shelter is peace.

As members of a Society which has always been opposed to war, we must work unfailingly for peace as a Yearly Meeting as well as in our local communities, ever keeping in mind that peace must begin with ourselves in each individual heart. Jesus Christ called His disciples, and still calls us to a deep personal commitment to the way of love. It is only by the working of this Spirit through us that the problems of war, hate and strife can be solved and peace brought to a troubled world.

From the Book of Discipline of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative), 2001 Printing

In the ninth Beatitude, Jesus declares, "Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God." In other words, these obedient servants are participating in God's blessing as obedient servants of the most high.

They understand that Jesus has—and still is—extending God's gratitude for their understanding that our heavenly Father has inculcated these Friends with the command to settle disputes in God's peace, not in their personal ideology. That is why Christ teaches His followers to love their opponents. We know that Jesus is communicating with them inwardly much like His communication to us. We feel His presence within to such an extent that we realize in the power of the Lord that God has the love and power to minister to the so-called unlikable individuals.

Small wonder Jesus teaches us, if we are listening, "to turn the other cheek." Then we begin to "love our enemies" as potential friends of Jesus. We thus make peace in God's blessing. We may not always be successful but, more important, we are obedient to the Lord, His Friend. This love, as Jesus admonishes, enables us to forgive our opponents, not with our own limited minds, but in Christ's spirit. Of course we need to pray for the love and power manifested in that beloved Spirit. As a result, we receive the spiritual armament of God and become His peacemakers.

Arthur Berk, 04-02-2007

Reflections on Various Topics

It seems that every year in the lead up to the Christmas season that questions arise about Quakers celebrating Christmas. Often there is a response along the lines of “Quakers hold all days to be equally holy, the 25th of Twelfth Month is not more holy than the other days of the year, therefore Quakers do not celebrate Christmas.”

This response might be missing the focus of the notion that “all days are equally holy,” concerns about religious holy days that early Quakers had, and the development of secular holidays for contemporary Quakers.


The Concern about Holy Days in the Christian Tradition

In the unfolding of the Christian tradition there has developed on certain days an added emphasis on specific aspects of the Good News of the Christian message or how someone lived out this Good News. This added emphasis can be correlated to heighten/special worship practices as well as rituals, pageantry, and gatherings in carrying out what comes to be regarded as holy days.

In the context of the development of Quaker practice, there were, and are, Christian branches engaged in the liturgical calendar, which has a practice of having on each First Day passages from the Bible (Gospel, Epistle/Acts/Revelation, Old Testament, and Psalms) that over the course of a year progresses through the narrative of the anticipation, birth, life (teachings, miracles), death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and the spread of the Gospel message and growth of the Church. Currently there is a three year cycle for these readings which is shared across many denominational branches so that on each First Day, many people are reflecting on the same readings.

In relation to engaging in this liturgical calendar, every First Day is a time for holy reflection on some aspect of the Good News, and other days of the week are also occasions for holy reflection. In the abstract, the holy day of Christmas is no more holy than the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, which is usually the 1st or 2nd First Day in Eighth Month. The Gospel reading for reflection on this holy day this past year was the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus saying “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” And on Eighth Month 6 falls the holy day for refection on the Transfiguration.

There can be meaningful practices which serve a function to help people focus on God and get rid of that which is cluttering our minds and spirits and therefore inhibiting us from experiencing the presence of and hearing the voice of Christ. However, such practices can move toward becoming an empty ritual when the act of engaging in the ritual becomes the extent of what someone might consider to be experiencing the presence of Christ.

Quaker perspectives provided an important correction to this in terms of identifying the empty partaking in ritual where rather than a ritual providing a practice that can help one focus on and open up to Christ, the actions of the ritual are the only thing encountered. This perspective on empty ritual gets expanded into the wider scope of the spiritual emptiness of the ritual, pageantry, and gatherings of holy days, especially in terms how certain holy days received a more significant focus than others.

With any correction, there can be aspects of going too far or holding too tightly onto the doing of the correction rather than responding to the spiritual concerns expressed in the correction. There are Quakers and Quaker meetings who seem to engage in what could be viewed as a ritual of avoiding things related to Christmas during the Christmas season so as to assure the appearance that they are not holding Christmas as a “special” holy day.

So in such an instance, this is often not the practice of holding all days as equally holy as Christmas, but a practice of holding all days as holy as ‘thursday’ seven weeks ago.

But what makes a day holy? And what are the ways to engage, recognize, participate in that holiness?
The concept of the holiness of every day has in it that every day an opportunity to encounter the guiding presence of Christ in worship, prayer, and reading of the Bible and other spiritual texts. Without the practice of a daily time with Christ, not every day is holy.

Holding all days as holy as ‘thursday’ seven weeks ago could be fine if one has a practice of daily retreat—turning to God in worship, prayer, reading, and reflection. This might be a concern if it is more probable that ‘thursday’ seven weeks ago was a day in which the business and diversions of the day kept one’s mind and spirit away from Christ.


The Concern about the Development of (Secular) Holidays

It was not until the late 1800s when there developed a noticeable shift from church-based holy days to home-based and community-based secular holidays. The difference would be that church-based holy days had their celebration grounded in a church service that may have had some church-sponsored pageantry outside of the church (public processions of religious imagery are still done in various places). On these days, at home the immediate family might have had some special food at the main meal. The English word “feast” has its origins in the Latin word for joy. Many holy days were feast days—joyful celebrations, and celebrations usually have a component of shared eating.

Various things seemed to come together in the late 1800s and escalated into the mid-1900s, especially in the US. Some holy days as well as days of national celebration/commemoration (like Independence Day) become officially recognized by governments as holidays in terms of the closing of businesses and being paid days off work. This gets coupled with a growing promotion of practices for and commercialization of these holidays (and others like Valentines Day and Halloween, and more recently Super Bowl Sunday). Items get promoted as things to buy for use and consumption as critical components for “celebrating” these holidays.

So what happened to holy days is that their celebration that once was grounded in a church service gets shifted to activities that are done outside of the church. And while the religious grounding of a former-holy-day-now-holiday can be found somewhere in the mix of the holiday celebration (a nativity scene among the decorations of Santa and snowman figurines), the religious grounding can serve more as part of an entertainment aspect of the celebration rather than a core for spiritual reflection. Christmas Eve services (also called pageants) can be more a time for sing-a-longs of Christmas carols and watching a performance related to the nativity story rather than a time for the worship of and communion with God. There is generally nothing wrong with sing-a-longs and watching performances, however the concern would be to what extent these are being done instead of, in the place of, or as a stand in for a time to gather in worship and reflection.

There are concerns about how contemporary holiday celebrations play out as times for gluttony, drunkenness, strife, covetousness, consumerism, and conspicuous consumption. There can be pressure, stress, tension, and anxiety around hosting and participating in these holiday celebrations. These things seem to counter to the aspect of holidays as being a relaxing day away from such things in one’s usual routine and day-to-day life.

There are some Quakers who recognize that contemporary practices of holidays, which have remnants of their religious groundings, are very distant from the concept of and concerns about holy days in years past. With this recognition and also in being aware of concerns about contemporary practices of holidays, they engage in modest and moderate celebratory practices of these holidays days with family and friends. They may even reclaim a religious reflection element during the on-goings of the day.

The focus of the concern in this instance may not be on whether or not Quakers spend time on Twelfth Month 25 having a meal and being together with family and friends, but rather whether this day is as holy as Fifth Day seven weeks ago, and do others joining in this time together know this and know why.


Quakers and Christmas

To whether a Quaker seeks to avoid all things Christmas or engages in a celebration of Christmas in a modest and moderate way, the focus of the question of Quakers and Christmas might not be on the whether-and-how of Christmas being a holiday/holy day but on the whether-and-how of the other 364 days of the year being engaged as holy days.

And why are Quakers not concerned about whether or not to celebrate Transfiguration Day? Is it that there are no Transfiguration Day carols, food, cards, candy, toys, or social gatherings? Or is it that a day identified for reflecting on the revelation of Christ’s divine presence in the physical world through the imagery of light is not viewed to be as much an item for holy concern as a day identified for reflecting on the physical birth of Jesus into the world?


Wil Brant, Crossroads Monthly Meeting, 11/26/2024

"Once upon a time, there was a prince who was single and very eager to marry a lovely maiden for his future queen. Near his palace was a large city, and often he rode his carriage down to the city to take care of various chores for his father. One day, to reach a particular merchant, he had to go through a rather poor section. He happened to glance out of the window and right into the eyes of a beautiful maiden.

"He had occasion on the next few days to return to the section of the city--drawn as he was by the eyes of the maiden. And more than that, he had the good fortune once or twice actually to meet this young girl. Soon he began to feel that he was in love with her. But now he had a problem. How should he proceed to procure her hand?  

"Of course, he could order her to the palace and there propose marriage. But even a prince would like to feel that the girl he marries wants to marry him. Or perhaps, somewhat more graciously, he could arrive at her door in his most resplendent uniform and, with a bow, ask her hand. But even a prince wants to marry for love. 

"Again, he could masquerade as a peasant and try to gain her interest. After he proposed, he could pull off his 'mask.' Still, the masquerade would be 'phony.' He really could not manage it.   

"Finally a real solution presented itself to his mind. He would give up his kingly role and move into her neighborhood. There he would take up work as, say, a carpenter. During his work in the day and during his time off in the evening, he would get acquainted with the people, begin to share their interests and concerns, begin to talk their language. And in due time, should fortune be with him, he would make her acquaintance in a natural way. And should she come to love him, as he had already come to love her, then he would ask for her hand."

This was God's problem with us. He loved us and He wanted our love. But it had to be free and voluntary love. He could have ordered us to love Him but that would not be voluntary. He could have appeared to us in his kingly glory, but who would not in awe obey such a King? He wanted to win our love without dazzling and overwhelming us by the magnificence of His divinity. This is why St. Paul writes "...though he was by nature God, [He] did not consider being equal with God a thing to be clung to, but emptied himself, taking the nature of a slave, and being made like unto men. And appearing in the form of man he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even to death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). He met us on our own level that we might respond freely to His love.

Advent is the time for us to respond to His love. 

From Daily Meditations and Prayers for the Christmas Advent Fast and Epiphany by Presbytera Emily Harakas & Fr. Anthony Coniaris (Light & Life Publishing Company, 2000). Submitted by Robert L. Hopper

"Remember that our spiritual life will not be complete unless we have experienced an inward baptism  and transformation. Growth in inward purity and outward Christian effectiveness should follow this experience; but such growth can come only if we persist in seeking to know and follow the commands of Christ."

It is imperative for individuals as well as communities to seek and find the power of the everlasting Jesus inwardly and among their communities worshiping the Lord. As individuals, we are more often than not pervaded with our aspirations. In that condition, it is difficult, almost impossible, to hear and obey the Lord.

Small wonder we need to prayerfully ask Jesus to expurgate our human desires from our outward minds in the power of silence provided by our Heavenly Father, we must wait for Christ to reveal His presence within us. Then we can begin to understand what He expects from us. As a result of God's visitation in our individual lives, we are able to feel Jesus's purity to such an extent that we are able to follow His commands whenever they are given.

Yet it is imperative to participate in Meeting for Worship with other followers of our precious Lord. In meeting for worship, we must not be anxious to provide solutions that may impede God's work, no matter how sincere we are. Rather we must wait in the silence of our Lord to eradicate our aspirations. At that moment, Jesus will reveal His goals to His body. We will be prepared to follow our Lord because we heard Christ's love within our souls.

God is still communicating with His witnesses in Truth. Let us be grateful that His love prevails.

Arthur Berk, 09-25-2009