4-26-26 - It Takes Coming Together

It Takes Coming Together

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

April 26, 2026

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  The scripture I have chosen to support my message is from I John 3:18-24 from the New Revised Standard Version.

Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God, and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Today is my last message before I begin my 3-month sabbatical this coming Friday. The last catalyst I wanted to talk about was “Speaking Truth to Power” as a way to bring back our joy, but after thinking about it more, I realized that I wanted to share some thoughts that are currently running through my mind – and in many ways this is speaking my truth this morning.

First, I am very aware that sabbaticals are incredible privileges and please know that I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.  As well, I am very aware that I really need a sabbatical. I am grateful that the entire Sabbatical Team: Beth, Norma, Mary, Barbara, Vickie, and Patrick who have been gathering and preparing will hold things graciously and ably while I am away. As well, I am aware that this Meeting existed long before I came to serve among you–and will exist long after I am gone. 

I am also aware that I need this period of rest so that I can return to you and do all I can to follow the Spirit’s guidance and nudging in helping make this community a stronger and more faithful embodiment of the Divine’s love to this world. 

You may have noticed that our scripture text for today from First John is totally focused on love. So, we continue to listen for how the Spirit is instructing and nudging us on what it means to live together as a faith community in love.  Have you ever considered the privilege it is to have the chance to echo the love of God in one another’s lives?

While the past several months in our nation has been a challenge in many ways, it has also given us an incredible opportunity to reflect on the deeper meaning of what we do, who we are, and what we believe as a Quaker meeting. Just last Sunday, I believe this was reflected beautifully in our meeting for business as we came together to make important minutes on the War in Iran and the Abuses of ICE.  This made me proud that we could come together in such a united way.   

Sure, these past months have intensified our lives, challenged us to reexamine long-held patterns, assumptions, and beliefs, but ultimately, we found one voice to Speak our Truth and that should bring us some joy as a community.  It has been an exhilarating time to be a Quaker minister even as it has been at times difficult for my family, our community, and sadly even our world.   

I have spent time these past few weeks leading up to my sabbatical, actually gathering thoughts and putting them into this message. I wanted it to reflect somewhat of a list of wonderings that my soul has been and is holding, about the challenges of ministry given our particular context here in Indianapolis.   

When I take my walks at the gym or in my neighborhood, I often ponder what the church will be like in twenty years from now. I read what lands in my inbox about the decline in participation and membership among Quakers. I know the statistics and I feel the same anxiety that every other pastor feels at the end of each year when we look at our waning financial reports.  I wonder what the next year will be like, and a certain fear robs me of my ability to be present–and faithful–in those moments. 

In my best moments, I want to “be a good pastor,” just as every pastor desires to be in his or her time of ministry.  In my worst moments, this desire slides into the shadow of success and accomplishment.  It is very easy to begin to equate statistics on the page with hearts that are transformed, and we should be very cautious about this.  But also, we must rejoice in all that we have accomplished and the many families and lives that have joined us on this journey of faith here at First Friends. 

I try not to give into reading tea leaves when it comes to the future of the Church, but a few key areas have my attention these days.  For one, I am paying particular attention to our many younger families and their children. There is a particular stress and anxiety, if you will, with young parents with children that needs our attention.  And we have more children coming to First Friends in the near future, which is a beautiful and sustaining sign for our Meeting.

I wonder how we can more faithfully support the spiritual health of our children and young people in the world we all share at First Friends. I am so blessed that we hired Chrissy Sommer to share her gifts and talents to address the pressures that our children and families face and offer moments of hope and learning for them. 

As I have tried to focus on and teach over my almost 9 years at First Friends, the work of spiritual growth and maturity is not easy, and it asks us to put under a microscope our own hearts, ask ourselves what we truly desire most, and then seek to participate with the Spirit’s nudging in nurturing this longing. 

Being a Quaker in our world today means making choices–saying no to some things so we can say yes to others. What are you and I being called to say no to, so that we can yes to a more grounded life?  

I know many of you love retirement and some of us look forward to it, and I celebrate the potential for this in my own life at some point, but given what we are facing now in this world, I say this to you from my heart:

It’s all hands on deck, right now! 

We need our Ministry & Counsel, our other various committees, and each and every one of you. 

We need your presence and your gifts as wisdom bearers and fellow Friends, to help us as a gathered community.  There are six other days in a week to play golf or pickleball or take a boat ride on the lake, and I say this with all love and seriousness. 

This community needs each of you to help us navigate the rapids we are facing in our world, because we are in treacherous waters.

We need to embrace the catalysts that bring back our joy that we have been exploring in this series: Holding each other in the Light, Gathering Together, Becoming a Community, Serving, Respecting, Encouraging, Forgiving and Speaking our Truth to Power, TOGETHER.

Already this year has shown us the importance of making choices in our lives and as a community. 

·      What do we deem a priority? 

·      What truly gives life? 

·      What do we need to say no to?

·      How do we support each other’s growth? 

Howard Thurman, that great mystic and teacher, once said that religion or spiritual life is better caught than taught.  But to actually catch it, we have to show up and be present in close proximity to someone who is carrying it.  We cannot simply stand on the outside and wait or demand it to change to what we want it to be. We must be actively involved together on a regular basis.   

Thus, proximity matters. And we also need to be aware of the importance of spiritual proximity.  We need to ask ourselves, what does it mean to dedicate ourselves to the growth and activism of First Friends? How am I involved and participating fully?

It is imperative that we all focus our attention on our practice of faith.  And by our practice of faith, I am not talking about just coming to meeting on Sunday mornings and then living during the week as though what we say we believe on Sunday morning has no bearing on changing our life patterns. 

If we are not moved by what we see happening in the world around us after hearing what the Divine Spirit is calling us to do, we simply aren’t paying attention. How much are we conscious, and how much are we going through the motions?  

When it comes to what we do, we remember that the Gospel of Christ that we all share is inherently political, because it actually deals with people’s lives. I don’t have any interest in dressing up any party platform in religious clothing, but we cannot deny that Jesus focused his attention on challenging the political and economic systems that were exploiting and reeking havoc in the souls and lives of his day. 

He spoke about the dangers of coveting and greed, about falling prey to worshipping wealth, about seeing our fellow human beings as a means to gaining a profit for ourselves.  So, Jesus called his disciples and US to make choices that were grounded in faith, hope, and love.  

To be a follower of Christ does not mean that we turn our backs on the world; rather, it means that we turn our face towards the world and seek to embody Christ’s love in how we live on a daily basis. 

Look again at the text from I John from this morning: “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”  Let us embody our faith so that our children and our neighbors in the community notice a spectacular strangeness about us. We Friends have long been considered “peculiar people” (as we say) and I want to give you permission to embrace that peculiar-ness!  It is like when we lived in Portland – they had bumper stickers that read, “Keep Portland Weird” - I think we should have our own that says, “Keep Quakers Peculiar!”   

Folks, what you and I share together should change us.  At this point in my own ministry, I am tired of any religious practices that just focus on the appealing, the cherished, or the comfortable. 

If I share the peace with someone on Sunday during greeting time and then continually act like a jerk on Monday morning, what exactly am I doing? 

If I come to enjoy the beautiful music during the service and don’t allow that beauty I experience to open my heart, I am missing the point.  It is not a concert for entertainment; it is a catalyst for change within me.  

I am far less concerned with our sacred cows and traditions at First Friends (and admit we have several), than I am that you see how coming together as a community inspires you to care for your neighbor and help lessen the level of outright meanness and pettiness in our world today. 

At this point in my ministry, and in my life, I agree with the Dalai Lama (and so many other wisdom teachers, of course) when they remind us to see how our practice of faith should actually change the way we live in the world. 

If it doesn’t actually inform how we live, then what exactly are we doing?  And why?

These are the hard questions we face today, but we must ask them. 

This deeper dimension of faith is calling to us, at this time.  We never arrive at a point where we have it all figured out, and if we think we have arrived at this point, God, please send someone to shake us out of our arrogance.  

So, this morning, I am challenged to ask: what does faithfulness look like for me?  For you?  Now, I cannot answer what it looks like for you, although my ministry and call to First Friends is to help you discern that and live into it for yourself within this community. 

That is what it looks like to be fellow Friends: we support one another to grow into the full participating members one unto another. Just as we committed to do in Theo’s dedication this morning.

We are facing many challenges today, aren’t we? I have to remind myself–or be reminded–that I alone cannot solve world hunger, or poverty.  I cannot solve the problem of racial injustice, or social inequality or greed or environmental destruction. I cannot fix the economic struggles of those around me.  Like Paul in scripture and others remind us, we have no power within ourselves to fix ourselves; rather, we rely on the Spirit as we discern together how we can faithfully embody Christ’s ministry in this world. 

You and I cannot fix the problems of our world; however, YOU AND I CAN BE FAITHFUL. 

And, to be clear, there is not one passive thing about being faithful. Being faithful is, to return back to where we started, about the active, engaged, practice of faith in our lives.  It is about cultivating relationships, dedicating time, and making it a priority to pay attention to the Spirit’s presence in our daily lives. 

You and I can be faithful. And for me that means that I can honestly speak the truth as I know it, recognizing my own limitations. I can speak my truth as I know it, and I can listen for those around me who may know the truth better than I do. 

That is a hallmark of Quaker community, because when we are faithful together, then the energy of that intentionality can inspire and uplift. It can be caught, as Howard Thurman would say.

If this morning you are wondering what our meeting can do, I would say this: 

First Friends will be able to do what we all are actually willing to do, because we are a Beloved Community and our faithfulness is directly linked to our willingness to dedicate our lives to answer the Spirit’s nudge and call. 

We, together, make up the Meeting, this Beloved Community, and the Spirit is calling us, at this moment in time, to look around us at the enormous opportunity we have to claim again the call to action and to speak our truth to power in our world, just as we did last week in business meeting. 

So, the only query I want to leave you with to ponder as I begin my sabbatical later this week is,

What are we willing to do, TOGETHER?  Really consider that while I am gone.

Again, thank you for the privilege of allowing me to take a needed sabbatical.   I know you are in good hands, and I will pray that while I am gone, you will embrace that query and find refreshment and hope in this community, TOGETHER!  Amen.

4-19-26 - When It Is Dark Enough You Can See the Stars

When It Is Dark Enough You Can See the Stars

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

April 19, 2026

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  This morning the scripture I have chosen to support my message is from Matthew 18:21-35 from the New Revised Standard Version.

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times.

“For this reason, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.  When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So, the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.  But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So, my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

This week the catalyst that brings back our joy in difficult times is forgiveness. An extremely important but often difficult concept to grasp in our world, today.  Some consider forgiveness the business of the church, and if that is true, I would ask, how well are we doing?  

David Zenon Starlyte in an article on Beliefnet titled, “Why Radical Forgiveness” says this,

“It seems that in today’s world, selfishness, lust for power, hatred, violence and other unwanted dramas are still very much at play. The despair and separation seems to be reaching saturation point. It is an invitation to consider what historian Charles Beard said when asked what he had learnt from history, “when it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”

It is similar to several conversations I have had over the last couple of years, where I find myself sharing an illustration from a Brian McLaren conference I attended a decade or so ago at Goshen College. It was when gas prices had sky-rocketted to $4 a gallon and people were grumbling about the high cost of driving (something we are again grumbling about in our country).

A heckler had come to question Brian and before he even stepped on the stage to speak the heckler asked out loud and in a sarcastic tone for everyone to hear, “Hey Brian, what did you drive here today!”  Now, Brian was talking about making a major shift in thinking about ecological issues and their relationship to theology and the church. He knew this heckler was trying to back him into a corner and make a point.

Calmly, Brian said, “I drove a Prius. But there is two ways I can answer your further questions, we can talk about my carbon footprint, or we can talk about what needs to happen right now in our world.”

Brian didn’t miss a beat - he looked at the man and said, “Do you know what high gas prices should do?...(without giving the man a chance to respond, Brian continued…) “They should cause people who think differently and creatively to make better cars.”  

Looking back, it is interesting, that in the past decade, we have seen the largest production of high efficient, eco-friendly, battery-powered cars. This shows us that it matters how we individually respond to our times, because the change is going to first come from within you and me. 

“When it’s dark enough, you can see the stars.”

When the gas prices are high enough, you can make better cars. 

And when we are so divided as people groups, religions, cultures, and nations, you can be better people - and I believe that starts with forgiveness. 

Currently, we are again in one of those times in our nation and world. And the question is what are we going to do? Whether it is time for reformation, whether it is time to return to our roots as Quakers, whether it is time to make changes in our seemingly dying faith, one thing that is clear is that our world is crying out for help and we are called to respond.  

Sadly, we have learned well to draw lines. Actually, our country was founded on drawing lines and living out an “us vs them” reality. Too much of the world lives in polarities and has lost any sense of coming together for the greater good.     

If we are people of peace and we are seeking peace, we must heed the words of Jesus in our text for today.  Peace is not resolved through hatred and division, but by first humbling ourselves and changing our own hearts and finding ways to reconcile and forgive, and just maybe by doing this, it may just bring back our joy.   

Starlyte says

“If the past taught us anything, it is that conflict stimulates more conflict. So, too, forgiveness stimulates more forgiveness.”

Let me say that again - “Forgiveness stimulates more forgiveness.”  

Where on the news are we hearing stories of radical forgiveness? It is very limited even rare these days. 

I believe the reason is that forgiveness is very personal. It takes commitment and a personal wrestling in our own hearts and souls.  Some would say we have to count the cost of forgiveness and know if we truly want to reconcile and forgive those that have hurt, abused, or treated us wrongly.   

Most likely you have heard our text at some time in your life. It probably has been conveyed in many different ways depending on your upbringing and church affiliation, but the more I consider what Jesus was doing, I see it as a window into what I will label “the mind of Christ.” 

What we have in our text this morning is a picture of a severely merciless king who takes pity on a simple servant who owes him a huge debt. And we have a picture of a common person who has been shown tremendous mercy unwilling to extend it to someone else.

We can get caught up with trying to make this about certain people and making God the merciless king, but I think we would be totally missing the point spending time trying to make that connection. 

Jesus has just made a major point to Peter - when you forgive, (and let me put it in the Pixar translation) forgive to infinity and beyond.  Not 7 times but seventy seven (or as some translations say seventy times seven) all another way in Jesus’ day of saying “beyond count.” - or to infinity and beyond - either way Jesus was meaning never stop forgiving.   

Then Jesus does what he does on numerous occasions he has those gathered sit down for a story or lesson to illustrate his point. What Jesus gives us is an example of what this looks like lived out in the Kingdom of God. When Jesus does this he is literally saying, 

Let’s get into the larger mind. 

This is what it looks like. 

This is how you do it. 

Let me help you see. 

In Greek its call metanoia.  Meta means beyond and noia means mind - so Jesus is trying to take us beyond our own minds. It is interesting because metanoia is actually the word we often translate “repent” - to make a change or turning from sin.”  But what Jesus is really calling us to do is see beyond our own minds into God’s mind.   

We are such literalists that we look so hard at the characters to represent certain people and even try to apply it to others to make us feel better - but the point is for us as individuals to learn the struggles of our own hearts and minds and to transcend our own thoughts and align ourselves with the “Mind of Christ.” 

In the story Jesus tells, we are presented a double standard of sorts regarding radical forgiveness and mercy.  If forgiveness is to stimulate more forgiveness...in this example it does not happen. Actually, the one who is forgiven, does just the opposite to the next person he comes across. 

Often Jesus gives us “negative example parables” to learn from and to prompt our minds to get us out of our ruts and thinking.  When we begin to realize that we so desire forgiveness and reconciliation with our neighbors, but often don’t take the opportunities afforded us to give forgiveness and mercy to others, we then seem to have an inner crisis.

It is when we are presented this that God wants us to have a moment of metanoia - a moment of going beyond our mind into how God thinks about forgiveness and its possible impact. 

David Zenon Starlyte sheds some light on this process as it relates to our personal struggles with forgiveness. He says,  

“When you liberate yourself, you automatically liberate others. Choosing goodness crosses the barrier of ego limitation, and invites others to walk with us, as our light is shared amongst others. Radical forgiveness is a broader gift – an act of grace and service to humanity. It’s a process of final resolution, release and healing. Radical forgiveness is not sensible, rational, logical or “right” – it’s an invitation to open the heart to acting completely and unconditionally loving without a selfish motivation. Not that one doesn’t get something out of forgiving. Forgiveness is an act of self-love – it gives a double gift, rewarding both the giver and the receiver. That’s why forgiving and letting go is the most powerful choice one can make for oneself and for humanity.”

In the mind of Christ, forgiveness is a radical, liberating, life changing, releasing, healing, and the most powerful act we can engage.  

The whirlwind of crazy we find our world in is crying out for people to embrace a position of radical forgiveness.  To break down barriers of hate, fear, privilege, and selfish motivations,

God calls us to transcend our own thoughts of revenge, retaliation, and division and find ways to extend radical forgiveness.

It may take time, some personal metanoia, and lots and lots of humility. Yet when we attempt to live out the mind of Christ in our world, we will see change.  

Forgiveness stimulates Forgiveness.  

So, as we go into waiting worship, let’s take a moment to ponder the following queries,

·      Who do I have a hard time forgiving? Why?

·      What metanoia needs to take place in my heart to be able to forgive? 

·      How might forgiveness lead to peace in my world? 

4-12-26 - The Benefits of Encouragement

The Benefits of Encouragement

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

April 12, 2026

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  This week the scripture I have chosen to support my message is from 1 Thessalonians 5:11 from The Message.

So, speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.

Now that we are through the Easter holiday, I want to return to the list of catalysts that bring back our joy in difficult times that we were exploring before Palm Sunday.  We ended by looking at honor and respect, but today we will explore an important but often overlooked aspect of our faith, encouragement.  I have not found many people,

·      Who do not like to receive an encouraging word?

·      Who do not appreciate a kind, timely word spoken into their life when they needed it most?

·      Who do not love to have the knowledge that someone will stand by their side and help them, even in their darkest hour?

Folks, encouragement is so valuable. Even the Biblical Proverbs speak to the value of these words to our souls. Take for example:

·      Proverbs 12:25 - Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

·      Proverbs 16:24 - Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

·      Proverbs 25:11- A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

And this is only a few in Proverbs, but the entire Bible continues to emphasize the importance of encouragement and its benefits to both our lives with one another and our own souls.

I am sure most of us know what it’s like to be around a positive person, when you are respected, maybe even liked, and made to feel like you can tackle just about any project.

There’s power in the knowledge that someone believes in you and is willing to encourage you in your endeavors.  

However, there is also power in the toxicity of people as well. Either you want to stay away from them, or you are sucked in and pulled down. It’s only realized, how heavy their words have been, when you are no longer being knocked around by their negative and discouraging comments. 

A fairly new study, conducted by Y. Joel Young and colleagues at Indiana University, Bloomington in 2019, was conducted to evaluate encouragement as a character quality. These researchers hoped to find a way of measuring encouragement to enhance psychologists’ ability to counsel their clients. 

According to the study, a genuine nature of encouragement is a character strength that you benefit from just as much as those being encouraged. Thus, by encouraging others, people will like you more and others will like themselves, and it circulates to create an environment that represents what they consider the “good life.”  

I sense that is what we are trying to achieve in this world together – the “good life.”

Like I said earlier, the Bible emphasizes encouragement throughout its pages. Back in the early days of the church in Jerusalem, there was a man who was such an encouragement that they did not even call him by the name that his parents gave him. They simply called him, “son of encouragement.” We know that name as Barnabas. The name “Barnabas” literally means son of encouragement.

In Acts 4 we read that Barnabas sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money to the apostles so that they could take care of those in need in Jerusalem.

In Acts 9 we read of the church refusing Paul because he was a persecutor of Christians and because they did not believe he was a true disciple. But who was the person who came to the side of this persecutor of Christians? Barnabas did. Barnabas brought Paul to the apostles and told them about how Paul had been boldly preaching the message of Christ.

Then in Acts 15, after Mark had left Paul and Barnabas during their first preaching journey, who wants to have Mark come with them on the second journey? Barnabas does.

We need this kind of encouragement. This is exactly what the Divine Spirit has called for us to have toward one another.  You and I should be constantly being nudged to encourage one another. Just as we read in our scripture for today – “…speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind…”

More than ever, we need this kind of encouragement in our communities and world.

Now, take a moment to think about the shadow side of this conversation, how many people do you know that have the gift of discouragement?

It often can be much easier to be the discourager! When a discourager talks, they seem to always have something negative to say. Hope and joy is dashed often just by them opening their mouths. Everything is a complaint. Everything is a discouragement and frustration. Sadly, this kind of “Eeyore” or “Debbie Downer or Bob Bummer” attitude can easily be developed in the church. But this is not what we are supposed to be toward one another.

God says that we need to encourage one another and build one another up.

Not only should we consider the example of Barnabas but let us also take a moment to reflect on the example of Jesus.

Really think about this. I spent a couple hours trying to come up with one instance when we see Jesus being a discouragement or offering a discouraging word. And I will be honest, I could not find one.

The Samaritan woman that Jesus encounters at the well has a hot mess of a life. Does Jesus speak encouraging words or discouraging words? It says in the story itself that he encouraged her spirituality and even strengthened her faith.

Consider the woman who was caught in adultery that the leaders are ready to stone. Does Jesus encourage her or discourage her? What wonderful words he says, “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.”

Or consider the woman who enters the Pharisees’ house and is weeping over the feet of Jesus. The Pharisee wants, as he labels her, a notoriously “sinful” woman, out of his house. What did Jesus say? “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

In none of these situations does Jesus say, “What is the matter with you?” He does not say, “What is your problem?” Instead, he simply received people to him and sought healing for them. And that had to be a huge encouragement for women in his time.  Remember, women in Jesus’ day were seen and treated as property and were being controlled by patriarchal and misogynistic men. For Jesus, a man, to be encouraging to women in this way is almost something unimaginable for his time. That is going above and beyond in encouraging.    

What I want us to think about this morning is how we need a lot more encouragement in our daily lives and less of a stick.  I sense we all carry a verbal stick close by to quickly pull out and attack people with these days.

Too often we like to start with a verbal stick with each other rather than some verbal encouragement! This does not mean that there is not a place or a need for rebuke. There still may be a need for rebuke, but it is not the only thing we need. It is not the only tool given to us by God. Actually, we need to start with encouragement so that any rebuke can be heard, understood, and respected. 

All this reminds me of a story I once heard that moved me deeply.  I would like to share it to close my thoughts this morning.

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young couples walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man couldn't hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything while he himself never got to see anything? It didn't seem fair.

At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence--deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate to describe such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

May we follow that man’s example in our lives. Amen.

Now, as we enter waiting worship this morning, I want us to take a moment and consider someone in our life that we believe needs our encouragement, today.  In the silence, consider what you will do or say to encourage that person and then begin to make a plan to do that after worship. Allow the Spirit to inspire your encouragement in this time.

Or maybe you want to encourage someone out of the silence right here this morning. If so, stand where you are and a microphone will be brought to you.  Let’s take this time.     

4-5-26 - Easter Sunday - A Resurrection We ALL Can Believe In

A Resurrection We ALL Can Believe In

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

April 5, 2026

Happy Easter, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. The scripture I have chosen for the celebratory morning is the Resurrections Story from Luke 24:1-12 from the New Revised Standard Version.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body.  While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.  Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,  that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.  Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.  But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

It is hard to believe that it is Easter Morning. 

Where has this year gone?  We have had such a full and often deeply disturbing start to 2026.  I mentioned to Sue several times over the last couple months, “I wish we could go back and start 2026 over,” but then here we are in April, already.  It has been a crazy year in so many ways, but today we turn again to our faith for some respite and some hope. 

I know Quakers aren’t as quick to turn to the scriptures as many others who consider themselves Christian do at this time of the year, and that may be due to the stories of our faith around Easter often raising more questions than they answer. Some consider these grounding stories to be just fairy tales, but I believe they are much more than that.  

As I have been preparing again for Easter and my message about the Resurrection of Jesus, I decided to turn back to these grounding stories to hopefully glean some new insights and optimism for our ailing condition. 

Maybe if you are willing this Easter morning, we can explore them briefly together. I have found Tom Kennar, a priest from England and a progressive Christian scholar helpful in opening my eyes anew to these ancient stories of our faith.  

Please note, I know people have many interpretations and deep convictions about the story of Jesus’ resurrection and its implication to our Quaker and Christian Faith. My hope is that this Easter we can find a resurrection that we ALL can believe.  

First, let’s consider Luke’s account – the scripture text I chose for this Easter morning.

Mary Magdalene and some other women head off to the tomb. Early. Very early. They find the stone rolled away.

Empty. Gone.

Then, poof!

Two men in dazzling clothes appear. They deliver the news: Jesus isn't there. He has risen. Remember what he said? Back in Galilee? About being handed over? About being crucified? About rising on the third day?

The women remember. They rush off. They tell the eleven.

But the eleven think it's nonsense. Empty talk.

Peter, though, he goes to the tomb. He looks. Just the linen wrappings. He then wonders.

Now, let’s take a look at Matthew’s account.

It’s a bit different.  

It starts with a violent earthquake.

An angel descends. This angel rolls back the stone and then sits on it! Terrifying the guards into a faint.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrive. The angel tells them not to be afraid. Jesus has risen. He's going ahead to Galilee. They should tell the disciples.

They leave. Quickly. Afraid, yet filled with joy.

Then, bam!

Jesus himself meets them. They clasp his feet. They worship him. Jesus repeats the Galilee instruction.  

Hmmm…that’s basically an entirely different story, about the same event.

Well, let’s look at Mark’s account.  

It’s the simplest of the four gospel accounts.

The women arrive. They see a young man. Dressed in white. He tells them Jesus is risen. He's going to Galilee. Tell the disciples.

The women flee. They say nothing to anyone.

Nothing to the eleven, nothing to Peter.  

They are afraid. End of story.

Well, the original ending, anyway. Later bits were tacked on.

And finally, there is John’s account.  

Mary Magdalene goes alone. The stone is gone. She runs to Peter and the beloved disciple. They both run back.

Peter goes in. Sees the linen wrappings. The beloved disciple sees and believes.

Mary stays outside. Weeping. She sees two angels.

Then Jesus appears. She thinks he's the gardener. He says her name. Mary! She recognizes him. She tries to hold him. He says, "Don't cling to me." He hasn't ascended yet. He tells her to go tell the others.

Even Paul, writing much earlier, offers a different take.

He lists eyewitnesses.

·      Peter

·      The twelve

·      Over five hundred brothers and sisters at once

·      James

·      All the apostles

·      And last of all, Paul himself – which he tells through a vision he has on the road to Damascus. No empty tomb mentioned. No women finding angels. Just appearances.

So, what are we to make of all this?

Identical accounts? Not exactly.

Harmonious? Not really.

Actually, ALL different details.

ALL different emphases.

ALL different characters even.

Does this undermine the core message?

Some people think so. They clutch at these discrepancies. They declare the whole thing a fabrication. A house of cards built on shaky foundations, they say.

But Friends, what if the point isn't the literal, blow-by-blow account?  

What if the point IS the earth-shattering impact of this Jesus?  

This radical rabbi who preached love for his enemies.

Who challenged the powerful and the governments of his day.

Who offered hope to the marginalized.

This man who was executed by the state government for being a threat.

And he was executed in the most brutal way – crucifixion – the death penalty or electric chair of his day.   

Jesus’ followers were devastated.

Their dreams lay shattered.

Yet Friends, SOMETHING HAPPENED.

SOMETHING PROFOUND.

SOMETHING THAT REIGNITED THEIR HOPE.

Something that propelled them out into the world with a message that ultimately turned the Roman Empire upside down.  (Isn’t that what we need more than ever in our world, still today?)

Was it a literal resuscitation of a corpse? Maybe. Maybe not.

Bear with me for a moment, could these stories of the empty tomb, the angels, the appearances, be the ways these early devout followers tried to articulate the inexpressible.

The dawning realization that even death could not extinguish the flame that Jesus had lit.

That his spirit, his message, his way of being in the world, was still alive. In them. Among them.

Could it be that our modern insistence on a physical resurrection, a scientifically verifiable event, is actually hindering belief for many?

I know it is because I have conversations with people all the time about this very subject.

Friends, we live in a world obsessed with proof. With empirical evidence.

And frankly, these ancient stories, with their inconsistencies and supernatural elements, don't always fit neatly into that framework.  

It’s vital that we understand that the Gospels were not written as historical documents, but, as John says at the end of his Gospel, ‘to inspire belief’.  

Friends, what if we shifted our focus?

What if we emphasized the spiritual resurrection?

The enduring power of Jesus' love.

The transformative potential of his teachings.

The way his message continues to inspire acts of compassion, justice, and peace, two thousand years later.

Think about it. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to deny the impact of Jesus' life and teachings?

It’s IMPOSSIBLE to dismiss the countless individuals who have been moved to change their lives, to work for a better world, because of him?

Isn't that a kind of resurrection?

A resurrection of hope.

A resurrection of love.

A resurrection of the human spirit.

Maybe the details of how it happened matter less than the undeniable fact that something happened.

Something shifted. That the world was never the same.

That a small group of frightened disciples were transformed into bold proclaimers of a new reality.

A reality where love conquers hate.

Where justice rolls down like a mighty river.  

Where even death has lost its sting.

So, this Easter Morning, let's celebrate the enduring legacy of Jesus.

Let’s not try to persuade our friends and neighbors that they must believe the impossible in order to follow Jesus.  

Or that they must ignore the enormous inconsistencies in the text.  

Instead, let's embrace the power of his message.

Let’s make Christianity credible again, to a modern generation.  

Let's allow Jesus’ spirit to be resurrected in our own hearts and actions.

For that, my Friends, is a resurrection we can all believe in.

A resurrection that continues to change the world, one act of love, one step towards justice, at a time.

Now that's something worth celebrating this, Easter Morning.  Amen? Amen!

As we enter waiting worship this morning, I ask you to join me in pondering a couple of queries:

1.      How might I allow Jesus’ Spirit to be resurrected in my own heart and actions this Easter?

2.      What is the “earth-shattering impact” of Resurrection in my life?  Where do I see it taking place around me?

3.      What one act of love, one step toward justice, do I need to take to help change the world?  

3-29-26 - Palm Sunday - The Journey from Palm Sunday to Good Friday - Beth Henricks

The Journey from Palm Sunday to Good Friday

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Beth Henricks

March 29, 2026

Scripture – John 2:23-25  “When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing.  But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.”

Luke 19:35-40  “Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.  As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.  As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”  He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Palm Sunday, in the church calendar is a day of celebration, praise, thanksgiving, and  hosannas as we always read about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (his first time into this important city during his ministry).  He rides into the city on a donkey, and the people are rejoicing and recognizing Jesus as a man from God who has performed many miracles including recently raising Lazarus from the dead.   

3 of the 4 gospels report that Jesus told the disciples to go ahead and bring him a donkey as his means of transportation as he enters the city.  Much has been written about the symbolism of this ride on a donkey and this symbolism would be familiar to  many of the Jewish people in the crowd as Zechariah wrote in the Old Testament chapter 9 verses 9-10 “ Rejoice greatly,  O daughter Zion!  Shout aloud , O daughter Jerusalem!  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”   

We get a sense from the crowd that they are beginning to recognize that this might be the promised Messiah from God.  They remember when Solomon became their King and he was presented to them on the donkey of his father, David.  They are shouting hosanna (often translated as please save us), blessed be the king who comes in the Lord’s name, peace, and glory in the highest heaven.  This seems like the proper welcome and ceremony for a man such as Jesus.    Maybe this is Israel’s king that will save them from their oppressors, and they are filled with hope and promise.        

In the Gospel of John, we read that, Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead.  He looked up to God saying “Father, I thank you for having heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here so that they may believe that you sent me.” (John 11:41-43).  I am sure this helped to build the crowd that gathered outside Jerusalem.  The people came to see Jesus and Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. 

With Jesus joyful entrance into Jerusalem, we must ask the question of why the crowd would turn against him in the near future.  Were they just worshipping this man who performed miracles and were whipped into an idolatrous frenzy to see Jesus and Lazarus?  Were they really embracing the messages of Jesus that requires sacrifice and rejection of power or were they just taken with his star quality and wanted to see him in the flesh?  Jesus knew how weak we can be and how easily manipulated a crowd can become for both good and bad.    We have seen many examples of this in our history where people might not consider doing something on their own but will take part in unthinkable acts when brought together like a mob.

The Pharisees had been concerned about Jesus for some time and seeing this crowd had to raise their desire to do something about him.  John 12:19 reports the Pharisees said to each other,  “You see, you can do nothing.  Look; the world has gone after him.”   The temperature is rising, and more Pharisees are saying that they must do something about this situation. They see that they must turn this crowd around.

While there were Pharisees out to eliminate the threat of Jesus, the Gospel of John tells us many religious authorities did believe in him but these Pharisees did not confess it  for fear they would be put out of the synagogue.  They valued their power and status among this religious ruling class more than the glory that comes from God.   That is also part of the mob mentality.  We are too afraid to stand up against the majority, the folks in charge, the ones that tell us what to do because we don’t want to be set apart from our tribe. 

Oh goodness, is this not our human tendency.  It’s a difficult path to follow the path of Jesus.  And that is why I had us read John 2:23-25.   Jesus  would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people, he knew what was in everyone.  Jesus knows us and while he may have appreciated the praise and honor showered upon him on Palm Sunday, Jesus knows our hearts,  he wasn’t going to believe in the adulation being given him on his ride into Jerusalem because he knows how difficult it will be for us to take up a cross and sacrifice ourselves.  We love the highs of miracles and the celebrity status of a charismatic leader but are we ready to sacrifice and take up our cross like Jesus will be doing?

Who is this Jesus?  Is he going to be the King of the Jewish state and break the bonds of the Roman Empire?  Or is Jesus showing a different way of sacrifice, love and acceptance of all versus power and violence?  Jesus denounces the Scribes and Pharisees  and he laments over what Jerusalem has become and foretells about the destruction of the Temple.   This potential Messiah is talking about the destruction of the Temple?  The Messiah is supposed to be the one to uphold the Temple and to be Israel’s leader.

So what is the crowd to do about this Jesus?  Walter Wangerin Jr states in his book about Jesus Reliving the Passion, “Always the threat of this man is manifested in those whom his presence excites.  Look how volatile the people are now!  Worse than that, he is questioning religious laws developed over the centuries, the very forms by which we order ourselves and know ourselves and name ourselves.  If order is lost, so am I….What then?  Why, then I must destroy before I am destroyed.  Self-preservation is a law of nature.  I will arrest this Jesus by stealth and kill him.  Because if I do nothing, I will be nothing.”

It is clear that the crowd started having second thoughts about this commitment to Jesus’s way.

The crowd heard  Jesus say “Now is the judgement of this world, now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”    The crowd said “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever.  How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?  Who is this Son of man?

The group thinking of the mob is changing.  They want a Messiah that would become their King and bring justice and defeat to the Romans. They wanted judgement now and want their rulers (the Romans)  to be driven out.  But Jesus is talking about a later time when he would be lifted from the earth – how does that fit into their desire for a King in the here and now?

Jesus was  talking about a power that is not what the world idolizes as power.  As John Caputo, theologian and philosopher writes in his book Cross and Cosmos,   “Theology must get over its love of power in favor of the powerless power of love, weakening the strong metaphysics of omnipotence into the soft power of the coming Kingdom’s call.”   “God’s power is constituted by powerlessness and nonsovereignty, God’s eminence by being what is least and lowest among us.”  God is revealed in the defeat.  God chose  the weak to shame the strong, the foolish to shame the wise, the nothings and nobodies to confound the powers that be”.

Wow, if I am part of the crowd, the mob, this is not the vision I have of a Messiah.  I want a real leader that will change my life now, will deliver on promises made, will be strong, decisive and take action on my enemies.  How do I support someone that suggests that the way of God is to abandon the desire for power and to choose the weak, the nothings and nobodies and pursue a way that tells me to love my neighbors, my enemies, that values justice over my self interest and understands power in a very different way.    This is the hard way, the road less traveled, the way of the cross where we are willing to give up much for others.   

Jesus knows us and understands our nature of light and shadow.  Jesus has never been about the short term but always has the long term in mind.  He knew what was coming even during the adulation he was receiving on Palm Sunday.  And he was in for the long term. 

My prayer for us today is that we not become completely discouraged by the short term all around us but continue to listen to God’s voice and God’s call for each of us for the long term. The way of Jesus is hard but it leads to a life of meaning and fulfillment.

As we enter our time of waiting worship, which is our communion, I encourage you to quiet your heart and mind and listen to God’s voice. I am not sharing any queries today as you quietly enter this time of waiting worship and ask you to reflect on the still small voice within you.

3-22-26 - Reclaiming Honor and Respect

Reclaiming Honor and Respect 

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

March 22, 2026

Good morning and welcome to Light Reflections.  The scripture I have chosen to support my message for today is from Romans 12:10 from the New Revised Standard Version.

…love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

Today’s catalyst for bringing back our joy is respect, but a quick look in our scriptures may have us finding a different word, honor.  So, this morning I am going to talk about both honor and respect. I believe they go hand in hand.

Before we get into honoring and respecting, let me take a moment to recap a bit on where we have been so far. The catalysts that I gleaned from the “Book of Joy,” which I found to bring back my joy in difficult times started with prayer or as we Quakers say, “Holding Others or Situations in the Light.”  We then looked at what it means to gather and how coming together brings joy. We also explored the foundations of community to do good to others, help others, and be extravagantly generous. And last week we talked about Servant Hospitality and learning to appreciate otherness.

That brings us to this week.

I want to begin by having you think about a time you were honored. When someone spoke of your value to the family, how significant you were to your business, or how important you were to the team. Maybe they thanked you for something you did for them. Do you have that in your mind?

·      How did it make you feel?

·      Did it inspire you to do more of the same?

·      Did it make the sacrifice worthwhile?

·      Did it give you confidence?

·      Was it uplifting to you on the inside?

That’s what honoring others does. Honoring others motivates, inspires, builds up, and energizes. Honoring others makes those who feel insignificant, feel significant. Those who feel forgotten, remembered. For those who want to quit, to rise up with new determination.

Honoring is the response the stranger from last week is longing for. 

That’s because honoring one another is no small thing. It’s bigger than we can ever imagine and the Divine Spirit can use it in our lives and in the lives of those around us to bring about a wonderful transformation on the inside. This is why the Divine Spirit tells us to honor and respect one another.

This is what I want you to see, today. I want you to leave, today, looking for someone to honor and lift up this week. I want to see Divine Spirit nudge you to change someone’s life through honoring and respecting them.

To help us understand this, let’s start with our scripture for this morning, Romans 12:10, which says, 

“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”  

Scripture is very specific on how we honor others. 

First, honoring one another is to value one another.

Learning how to place value on people. This is where you see others as important. Significant in some way.

Jesus was teaching His disciples one day when He asked,

“What is the price of two sparrows – one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31).

You can’t put a price tag on how important ALL people are to God.

If we are going to receive others like Christ (as I said last week), we must place a high value on the people in our lives. We must see them as important because there is that of God in them. Even those who seem useless, a burden to society, and a pain in our sides.  

The first step in honoring people is to see them with value.

Listen carefully, honoring one another is to place value on someone with your words and actions. Jesus did this. He showed honor to Matthew a tax collector (who most people despised), he expressed honor to Nicodemus (even though at first he didn’t understand Jesus), and he even showed honor toward Judas (even though Jesus knew that Judas was about to betray him), and He showed honor toward Pilate as He spoke with him prior to His crucifixion. Jesus expressed honor toward both His friends and His enemies. We should do the same in how we treat them and speak to them.

Second, honoring one another involves humility.

One translation puts it this way, “Honor one another above yourself.”  This is where you act like a servant toward them (like we talked about last week). This is where you give them the place of honor, rather than you taking it. This is where you help them succeed and better themselves.

I remember one day when I was just about finished with my master’s degree, a beloved professor pulled me aside after class and asked if I would be willing to be a presenter at the Association of Christian Colleges and Universities Conference in Chicago.  He was wanting me to present in his place. I was so honored that he would ask me and that he trusted me to represent him at this conference.

My anxiety grew as the conference grew closer.  When I arrived at the conference, I found several of my other professors waiting in the hall to greet me and encourage me.  I was welcomed as an equal in that moment. One of them escorted me to the room where I was to give my talk and said many had signed up for my talk and it was going to be full. 

Again, my anxiety grew.  So, I set up and then waited for the participants to arrive.  The very first professor who arrived, if you can believe it, was actually one of my theology professors from undergrad. He did not recognize me, but I recognized him, immediately. I went up and re-introduced myself. He said, “Well, can you believe that a student of mine has now come back to teach me something new.”  The room filled to capacity and I gave my talk.  Many people thanked me as they left, and my professor came up and said, “Well done.”   

What my master’s degree professor did by asking me to fill in for him was honoring and it even led to more honoring, even some unexpected honoring. 

This aspect of honoring each other I believe is well said in Eugene Peterson’s Message version of Scripture where it reads, “Practice playing second fiddle.” Sometimes you have to pass the ball and let someone else take the shot.  Think about it for us at First Friends, when is it time for those of us who are older to pass the baton to the next generations of Quaker leaders?

Three, honoring one another involves respect.

This is where we get to the respect aspect I started with. In the Today’s English Version our scripture text reads, 

“Be eager to show respect for one another.” 

Honor and respect go together as I have already said. You cannot separate them. It’s the two sides of the same coin. To show respect for someone is to give them your special attention.

Respecting someone is to listen to them even if you disagree with them. Respecting someone is to not be rude toward them. We did a lot of this last week at Monthly Meeting for Business. 

1 Peter 2:17 simply says, “Respect everyone.” 

We should be the people who are the most honoring and respectful people to be around. Cutting others down, belittling people, and rude sarcasm should never be a part of who we are. 

Think about this when you look at the leaders of our country.  It is hard to respect people who lead by belittling people and use rude sarcasm, and by putting people down.  These are not the characteristics we should be seeing in our leaders (on either side). 

This does not mean we need to stoop that low ourselves.  As Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.”  That should be the mantra among Friends as well.

Four, honoring one another involves enthusiasm.

In our scripture for today, it says, “Take delight in honoring each other.”

This is where the joy comes in. Taking delight in honoring one another means to be eager about this with the attitude of trying to outdo one another in honoring each other.

It sort of carries the idea of a healthy competition between each other when it comes to honoring one another.

Think about this for a moment.

What would our lives be like if we were driven, motivated, inspired, enjoyed, and enthusiastic about honoring the people in our lives?

• What would happen to a marriage if the partners genuinely were trying to outdo each other in honoring one another?

• What would it look like if siblings or relatives enjoyed honoring one another?

• What would it look like if employees were motivated to honor one another?

• What would it look like if politicians were motivated to honor each other?

• What would our Meeting look like if we were driven to give honor to one another?

The power of honoring one another has the potential of revolutionizing every relationship in our lives. Honor is a game changer. So, take delight in it, be eager to show honor to others.

Number five, honoring one another involves grace.

It also says in our scripture, Romans 12, “Take delight in honoring each other.”

The “each other” means each other. No exceptions. I’m honoring you. You are honoring me. We are honoring them and they are honoring us.

Remember, when we are talking about honoring others we are talking about treating people like they have value and that their life matters.

I said honoring one another involves grace. It involves grace in several ways.

• Honor involves grace because of people. People struggle with all kinds of things, and they also have weaknesses. But that does not disqualify them from being honored. Their life is still important. They are still valuable. And it takes grace to honor one another, especially people who make it hard to honor them by their choices and negative attitudes. Showing honor to others is an act of grace.

• Honor involves grace when it comes to the amount. You cannot show honor to someone enough. We are told to outdo each other in honor. There is no limit to you placing honor on others. The Divine Spirit  is saying go all out when it comes to honor. Don’t hold back. So go ahead and honor your spouse. Go ahead and honor your teacher. God ahead and honor your parents. Go ahead and honor your siblings. The Divine Spirit wants you to do this.

So, as we wrap this up and enter waiting worship this morning, let’s think about two things:

• Who do you need to honor? Is there someone in your life that the Spirit is nudging you to honor in some way? A spouse, a parent, a boss, or someone else? How does God want you to show honor to them? Speaking with more respect, a gift, a word of appreciation, or an act of kindness?

• Is there anyone you have dishonored by the way you spoke to them in front of others or even privately? Is there someone you have been cold toward, rude, and distant when in reality you should have shown honor to them? By speaking with respect toward them.

Let’s take this time to ponder those queries.

3-15-26 - Servant Hospitality

Servant Hospitality

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

March 15, 2026

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. The scripture I have chosen to support my message is form Luke 14:12-24 from the New Revised Standard Version.

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

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

It seems appropriate that the catalyst to bring back our joy that we are looking at this morning is serving and hospitality – or what I would like to label “Servant Hospitality.”  I believe this is what we see in the life and ministry of Jesus and is our calling as both individuals and as Quakers.  Servant Hospitality embraces each of our Quaker SPICES or Testimonies in its own unique way. 

Most people think servant hospitality has a lot to do with being welcoming, serving or assisting others, helping people feel welcomed, having a sense of belonging, or you could even say, allowing others to become full participants of whatever is happening.

It has also become about being at ease with people and sensing an amount of safety - yet that was not always the case in our Abrahamic religious history. Servant Hospitality looked a bit different in the ancient Near East than in America, today.

And this was mainly due to servant hospitality being offered to complete strangers.

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

“People who appeared from the unknown might bear gifts or might be enemies.  Because travel was a dangerous venture, codes of hospitality were strict. If a sworn enemy showed up at your doorsteps asking for food and shelter, you were bound to supply his request, along with protection and safe passage as long as he was on your land.  All sorts of people had to travel at times through “enemy territory” which meant the hospitality to strangers was a matter of mutual survival.  It was a kind of social covenant, an implied commitment to transcend human differences in order to meet common human needs.”

Wow, can you even imagine that in our world, today! I think it is time for us to reinstate this “social covenant” in our day and age. It makes me wonder how the early Abrahamic faiths would have viewed those heading to the US Borders, today, and our responses to them. Many outside our country sadly now see us as “the enemy or the United States as enemy territory.” Maybe people in ancient times were more like us than we know.

Thompson continues, she says:  

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

As Quakers who embrace the theology of “That of God in everyone we meet,” this means then each encounter with our neighbor (enemy or friend) is an opportunity to meet and receive holy presence.

Just look around you in this room – you are in a room filled with opportunities to experience holy presence, right now, if you choose to.  

Or think about this coming week, you will be having meals around tables with family and friends who also are opportunities to experience holy presence.

Or think about your communities or workplaces, or schools and the opportunities you will have to experience and receive holy presence there.    

That is if we are able to see with “servant and hospitable eyes.”

I remember when I was studying to be a pastor, Sue and I attended a Renovaré Conference, where we were given a copy of The Rule of St. Benedict. Ironically, it was a Quaker, Richard Foster who was gleaning wisdom from this foundational work about living in community.  In the book Foster pointed out this passage:

“Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ,
for He is going to say,
“I came as a guest, and you received Me” (Matt. 25:23).
And to all let due honor be shown,
especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims.”

Receive ALL like (or as if they were) Christ. 

Or maybe we could simply say, receive ALL as a “holy presence.” 

Receive all as if we believed that there was that of God in them no matter a guest, a person of faith, or a pilgrim or seeker. 

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

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

When we start to receive people differently and see with servant and hospitable eyes that of God in them, then we are evoked to create new places of belonging and sharing.  

I believe one of the biggest problems with churches and Quaker meetings today, is that they too often have stopped creating new opportunities for belonging and sharing.  It is easier to run through the motions, or come and sit in comfort for an hour or so and head out for brunch, but that is not how we build community. 

I love all the ways we create opportunities here at First Friends to help people find a place to belong and share. 

·      Connection Dinners for new attenders.

·      Threshing Together and Soul Sister gatherings.

·      Meeting for Reading Events.

·      Seasoned Friends gatherings and road trips.

·      Grief Gatherings for those grieving.

·      Children’s Ministry for our young and youth.

·      Bowling and Baseball Events for our community.

·      Small Groups in homes and at the Meetinghouse.

·      LGBTQIA and Nero-diversity programs to help us be more welcoming to all people. 

·      Working with Exodus to welcome and support refugee families.

·      Having trainings like last week to learn how to stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors. 

And that is only a few of the great ways we are creating opportunities for welcoming, belonging and sharing.

Slowing down and spending time with people for the purpose of developing community, friendships, and deeper relationships is essential to servant hospitality.

Marjorie Thompson went a little further, she says this about the essence of servant hospitality. 

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

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

In our scripture text for this morning, before Jesus shared his parable, he decided to say a couple things to his host. He says in v. 12,

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

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

Why not?  Because when you behave in this way, it means that you are looking for a selfish gain in some way.  Instead, Jesus tells the man in verses 13-14,

“invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.”

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

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

Nobody gives in this way, in a spirit of unselfish love. 

But this is how we are to respond, this is the true essence and nature of servant hospitality – it is a concrete expression of our unselfish love for our neighbor.

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

Interestingly the biblical meaning of justice is simply conveyed as “right relationships with one another.” 

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

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

Who are the people who cannot repay us?

Who are the people who are neglected by the mainstream of culture?

Where do they live and spend their time?  Why are they neglected? 

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

·      someone who feels alone,

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

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

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

·      someone suffering from depression or melancholia.

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

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

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

·      Someone who lives in fear because of the color of their skin, the language they speak, or the status they are seeking.

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

·      We all want to be welcomed.

·      We all want to belong. 

·      We all want to be full participants. 

·      We all want to be needed. 

·      We all want to be delighted. 

·      We all want to be loved.

·      We all want to be in right relationships

·      We all want to be seen and known.

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

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

So whether at Meeting for Worship, around our kitchen table, at your work meeting, with your yoga class, or wherever you are called to be a servant and hospitable this week, remember to have servant and hospitable eyes, receive all like Christ, help people to feel that they belong and are appreciated, and remember that we are all strangers seeking to be known. 

Let me close this message with a Prayer of Hospitality by Liz Dyer 

Give us eyes to see the deepest needs of people.

Give us hearts full of love for our neighbors as well as for the strangers we meet.

Help us understand what it means to love others as we love ourselves.

Teach us to care in a way that strengthens those who are sick.

Fill us with generosity so we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and give drink to the thirsty.

Let us be a healing balm to those who are weak and lonely and weary by offering our kindness to them.

May we remember to listen, to smile, to offer a helping hand each time the opportunity presents itself.

Give us hearts of courage that we will be brave enough to risk loving our enemy.

Inspire us to go out of our way to include those in the margins.

Help us to be welcoming and inclusive to all who come to our door.

Let us be God’s hospitality in the world.

Amen

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

·      How might I embrace Servant Hospitality in my daily life?

·      Who do I need to work on receiving as Christ or Holy Presence in my life?

·      What would help me “appreciate the value of otherness”? 

3-8-26 - A Treasury of Life in Community

A Treasury of Life in Community

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

March 8, 2026

Good morning, friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  This morning the scripture I have chosen to support my message is from 1 Timothy 6:6-12, 17-19 from The Message version.

A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.

But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses.

Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.

With all that is happening in our world and in the news, I continue to ask myself some difficult queries.  Some are simply “why?” - others I am unable to even vocalize or develop as the atrocities of our world continue to unfold. 

As I try and ponder all of this, I am led to ask myself,

What can I do?

What can we do?

What can our Meeting do?

This may be the same for you, as well. 

This morning, the catalyst we are going to explore that brought back my joy was “community.”  Now, you might think that we already discussed this last week, with gather, but there is so much more I want to unpack to help us see the foundations of true community.

You may have missed it, but we heard them being described at the end of our scripture for this morning.  As well, some of this has its roots in what I spoke about last week.

Before we get to those, let us look at something Leadership and Organizational expert, Margaret Wheatley in the beginning of her book, “Turning to One Another” says,

“As I listen to many people, in many countries, I’m convinced we are disturbed by similar things, I’ve listened carefully to many comments and included some of them here.  Taken as a whole, they paint a picture of people everywhere troubled by these times, questioning, what the future holds. Here are some of the comments and feelings I’ve heard expressed:”

See if what she has heard resonates with your own feelings deep down, currently,

·       Problems keep getting bigger; they’re never solved. We solve one and it only creates more.

·       I never learn why something happened.  Maybe nobody knows, maybe it’s a conspiracy to keep us from knowing.

·       There’s more violence now, and it’s affecting people I love.

·       Who can I believe? Who will tell me what’s really going on?

·       Things are out of control and only getting worse.

·       I have no time for my family anymore. I’m living a life I don’t like.

·       I worry about my children. What will the world be like for them?

She continues,

“Confronted with so much uncertainty and irrationality, how can we feel hopeful about the future? And this degree of uncertainty is affecting us personally.  It’s changing how we act and feel. I notice in myself and others. We’re more cynical, impatient, fearful, angry, defensive, anxious; more likely to hurt those we love.”

OK, if this is true and resonates with you, and much of the world, currently, our scripture text may get down to the fundamentals of how to begin making a shift.  Something I want us to consider in light of thinking about our need for community.

In our scripture text, we find Paul writing to Timothy to advise, and counsel him on ministry. Most of Paul's epistles were written to churches or faith communities or gatherings (thus the names Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, etc..), but 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon were written to individuals.

In this first letter to Timothy, Paul focuses his attention on several main subjects. 

• Law

• Prayer

• Bishops and Deacons

• Advice to young pastors

• And finally…Faithful Living.

Paul was often more radical than we allow him to be.  And often his writing has been more studied and even followed than the actual life and ministry of Jesus.  I think for this morning, we need to look in more depth at what Paul is presenting us from at least two different vantage points. 

1.      What is Paul telling Timothy about how he should live within community?

2.      What are we to glean from this last part of Paul’s letter for our questioning condition?

Before we even explore the scripture or look at Paul’s words, let’s take a moment and look at what Paul and Timothy’s relationship can teach us. 

Paul was Timothy’s mentor. It was Paul who told young Timothy,

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and purity.” 

Paul and Timothy were not of the same generation.  Some have described it as a Boomer and a Millennial relationship for their time. 

Let’s be honest, too often, we have a hard time with this in community.  We deem people as “out of our circle” simply because of their age. Sadly, we consider people outdated or too immature all the time, before we ever even listen to them.  

Folks, the young and old have wisdom that can be shared and learned from.  This is so important for us to grasp within community.

And what about mentorship?  Being a mentor is more than hobby or a friendship, it is often a calling of the Spirit. 

To mentor someone younger is to be willing to be vulnerable about your own life and struggles, while also living empowered by the Spirit’s nudging to be a worthy model. And to become a mentoree, it takes being open to listen, a humility to learn, and ultimately a willingness to act. 

Just take a moment and recall the people that have been mentors in your life.  Who were they? Were they your same age? What wisdom did they share with you? 

Also, have you experienced this mentorship within our Meeting? How or when have you committed to mentor someone younger or allowed someone older to mentor you?

When I started my training as a minister, we often focused on Paul and Timothy as a model. I remember being taught that if you didn’t have someone pouring their life into you while you also had someone you were pouring your life into, that you would never be a good leader

I might say, today, that if we don’t allow people to pour their lives into us, as we pour our lives into others, that we are not fully embracing all that our community has to offer us.    

That is why I love our community at First Friends.  We have mentors, we have Pauls mentoring Timothys, Elizabeths mentoring Marys, Different Generations learning from each other.  We have parents who have grown children sharing their struggles and joys with young parents just starting out.  We have young people following career paths that are being mentored by those already successful in their careers.  I could go on and on, but I think you are getting what I am saying. 

Paul and Timothy’s lives are first and foremost a model of what it means to be part of community. 

With that in mind, we can now transition to what Paul was actually saying to Timothy.  He said,

Remember to be yourself (who God created you to be!)  

This is something we all have a problem with in our world.  Too often we want to be anyone but ourselves.  And when we are not living our life out of the Light within us – we live a life that creates anything but what Paul describes as a “Righteous life.”  

And notice, Paul didn’t just want Timothy to be a “cookie-cutter” of himself.  I think too often, today, people take on mentoring for the wrong purposes. Not to help the mentoree embrace their true selves and full potential.  

Paul also warned Timothy of the dangers of money, and many, still today, need to head his warning,

“Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.”

Money as well as its partners…power and control are far from the life and community that Jesus modeled…and Paul wants Timothy to know that going down that path leads to destruction.

Instead, Paul encourages Timothy to “Run for your life from all of this.”

Paul’s warning seems rather simple. 

• Don’t be full of yourself but remember to be yourself.

• Don’t be obsessed with money or any material possession for that matter.

Rather pursue a life of

• Wonder

• Faith

• Love

• Steadiness, and

• Courtesy

And as Paul finishes his first letter to Timothy, he says…

“Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.”

Now, we are getting to the fundamentals of a life in community with those around us. 

·      Do good to others

·      Help others

·      Be extravagantly generous with others

Let me go back to Margaret Wheatley for a moment, she realized that life comes from us making a change in how we act and feel and how we respond to those around us. 

Much like what Paul was helping Timothy understand.  After Margaret Wheatley asked “What can we do now to restore hope to the future?” she said this,

“I’ve found that I can only change how I act if I stay aware of my beliefs and assumptions. Thoughts always reveal themselves in behavior.  As humans, we often contradict ourselves – we say one thing and do another.  We state who we are, but then act contrary to that.  We say we’re open minded, but then judge someone for their appearance. We say we’re a team, but then gossip about a colleague. If we want to change our behavior, we need to notice our actions, and see if we can uncover the belief that led to that response.”

And I think this is exactly what Paul and Timothy are getting at about truly living within community.  You and I need to get honest and ask ourselves some tough queries:

• Are we contradicting ourselves? Do we act contrary to that in which we are called by God?

• Are we truly being ourselves?

• Are we trying to do good?

• Are we being rich in helping others?

• Are we extravagantly generous?

These are what I would call “Community Queries” that I want us to ponder and reflect upon in the upcoming months.

Just maybe if we were doing those things well, we would not have so much worry in our lives. 

Maybe those problems wouldn’t seem so difficult. 

Maybe there would be less violence and more love, and people would be valued above the color of their skin, their political power, or marketable influence in our world.

Maybe there would be less conspiracy and more trust among us.  And just maybe we would find more time for what really matters – like our family, friends, and yes, our community. 

Or better yet, as Paul (through the eyes of Eugene Peterson) put it,

Just maybe we will gain a “life that is truly life.”  

Amen.

Now, as we enter waiting worship this morning, take a moment to return to those queries and ask yourself,

• Am I contradicting myself? Do I act contrary to that in which I am called by God?

• Am I truly being myself?

• Am I trying to do good?

• Am I being rich in helping others?

• Am I extravagantly generous?

• Who is my mentor and who am I mentoring?

3-1-26 - When We Joyfully Gather

When We Joyfully Gather

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

March 1, 2026

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  The scripture passage I chose for this morning’s message is a short one, from Mattew 18:20  from the New Revised Standard Version,

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” 

This week’s catalyst that I sketched and reflected on for bringing back my joy was to gather.   

Our scripture for this morning is a promise that calls us to gather with the Divine in our midst.  Sometimes among Friends you will hear someone mention after a meaningful or focused Meeting for Worship that what they experienced was a “gathered meeting.”  

But this gathering is much more than just being in the same meeting room or sitting with each other. Rather it could be described as a gathering that lets go of our mental and emotional preoccupations and opens together to the Divine/God/Christ/Spirit/the Light/the loving Mystery at the center of everything. This allows those gathered to shift levels of consciousness collectively, sometimes in a mild way, sometimes with more intensity.

We call it a gathered meeting when those present experience their oneness with one another in the Divine. In the time of being gathered, the group receives guidance, healing, teaching, and ministry from the Spirit, blessings that strengthen them, unite them in love, joy, peace, and refresh them to participate in work the Spirit is nudging them to accomplish together in the world.

To gather in this way can also be experienced in small groups, book groups, times of meditation or study, protests and activism, singing together, and even programmed classes and presentations. And gathering with others is essential for Friends to do the work of the Meeting on committees, boards, and within our Yearly Meeting.  That is why we believe our business (and for that matter any gathering of Friends) to be an extension of our worship. 

It is what I grew up saying in other churches that I did not fully understand until among Quakers, that when we come together in this way, we are communing with one another. 

We are finding “Common Union” with our fellow neighbors and friends.  Whether that is around a table over a meal in our homes, on a walk with friends in a park, in a circle at unprogrammed worship, or even on a road trip with a couple of friends in the car, when we gather together with others we should be seeking “common union” with one another.  This is why when we enter waiting worship, some Quakers would say that we are entering our time of communion. 

Interestingly, the context surrounding our scripture passage for this morning is not about the importance of worship, or Spiritual formation, or even doing the ministry of the Meeting. Ironically, it follows a discussion of navigating conflict, or what to do when someone wrongs or hurts you. 

Which makes total sense to why I was led to include “gather” in my catalysts for bringing back my joy. 

When we are going through hard times or struggling with conflict, we easily lose our joy.  But it often takes gathering with our Friends and loved ones to be reminded of the joy that we have within us.   

So, this morning, I want to dive a bit deeper into the wisdom of gathering, a knowledge we see evidenced in the life and example of Jesus and that I believe, science is finding increasingly important to our lives.

Before we set up Threshing Together for the Men and what has become Soul Sisters for the Women of our Meeting, I shared in a message some findings about isolation that I heard on NPR that made me realize the need for such fellowship opportunities.  I went back and did a little more research and with the help of Drew Rick-Miller the editor of Science for the Church, I have a bit more for us to chew on and wrestle with.

The former surgeon general Vivek Murthy named our current situation as an epidemic of loneliness. In his study he described the danger we are facing this way:

“The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”

And the rates of isolation in the United States currently are dangerously high. Murthy adds,

“Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight—one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives. Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity, and substance use disorders.”

Of course, gathering together for worship or one of the many other ways I mentioned earlier are just some of the ways we together can reduce isolation and address the health crisis of loneliness.

I think Jesus knew the danger inherent in loneliness—one we measure today with scientific studies – and his antidote we heard in our scripture for today. 

This spring, the Global Flourishing Study, a grand effort to measure human flourishing across the globe by collecting data from over 200,000 people in over 20 countries, representing nearly two-thirds of the world’s population—released the first wave of results. Next spring, a second wave comes out, which surveys the same people. These studies begin to tell us more about the causes of flourishing.

This massive study examines six major domains that contribute to flourishing that have been identified in the existing scholarly literature. Just listen to these 6 contributors to our flourishing (and possibly our joy),

1) financial and material stability,

2) happiness and life satisfaction (Joy!),

3) mental and physical health,

4) meaning and purpose,

5) character and virtue, and

6) close social relationships.

One of the key findings, should grab our attention both as Friends and as a Meeting. Participation in group activities was a pathway to flourishing, and in nearly every country, the positive connection between flourishing and religious service attendance was stronger than between flourishing and participation in civic activities.

Weekly participation in group activities—both religious and secular—made a measurable difference in flourishing compared to those that never participated in either religious or civic groups. That is to say, the benefits are not exclusive to gathering as communities of faith.

Additionally, participation in religious groups and regular worship attendance was also strongly connected to another key dimension, meaning and purpose.

This shows that participation in faith communities contribute, in nearly every country, to higher levels of purpose. And remember, these were people of all different faiths.

The global flourishing study adds to the growing literature that identifies the benefits of gathering regularly and gathering intentionally in our faith communities.  Just what Jesus encouraged and Friends have embraced throughout history.

Folks, I can sum this up pretty easily, gathering with others is good for your health, and gathering with a religious or faith community is even better. 

A large part of my spiritual formation growing up, was being told I needed to have some type of daily quiet time or devotional time – where I was to be alone with God in scripture and prayer.  I even for a long time bought into the “JAM Principle” – where I was to focus each day on simply “Jesus And Me – JAM”    

I will be very honest, I was never very good at it. I found it easier to gather with my youth group or school friends in groups large and small for worship and study. Throughout high school I had gatherings in my parent’s basement for this very purpose.  We didn’t know what all that we were doing back then, but I remember discussing how “Jesus and Me” had to be more than that. 

I would continue to search for a more meaningful gathering until I happened upon my first unprogrammed worship experience in my doctoral program on Cannon Beach, Oregon almost 20 years later. I would still today, describe that  experience as a “gathered meeting” which helped me let go of my mental and emotional preoccupations, and opened up each of us gathered together to the Divine/God/Christ/Spirit/the Light/the loving Mystery at the center of everything.”

Yet, there seems to be an ongoing trend at least in the United States of expressing “Christian faith alone.”  Something, bad theology, poor exegesis, even Christian nationalism, and the need for power have created.

Numerous studies on the decline of church participation indicate that the “nones” (those who are not affiliated with any organized religion) still believe in the Divine, pray, and hold fast to other aspects of their faith. For many, it’s less a breaking away from faith and more fading away towards expressions of faith outside the communal life of the church.

While I totally believe that folks can encounter God in isolation, it is clear, especially after spending two years in a pandemic, that when we isolate we miss out on the benefits both of social connection, but also of gathering for worship, formation, and ministry with fellow Friends.

Let me close with one final story.  This week my mom, posted a Throwback Thursday photo of a news article about the community dinner that our Meeting in Oregon helped serve every Wednesday night at 5pm. You can see the photo on the cover of our bulletin this morning (right). The entire 10,000-person community of Silverton, Oregon was invited.  

Our Meeting in conjunction with the host church and other faith communities in our town helped staff, cook, and serve the people.  It started with only serving 39 people the first time we offered it but grew to serving almost 600 people every Wednesday night.  While our family lived there and served we were part of the 100,000th meal celebration. 

Yet food was just the catalyst for getting a widely diverse section of the community together.  We had homeless people eating with doctors, young families with the elderly, we had Mormons talking with Christians, Lutherans with Quakers, Republicans with Democrats, LGBTQ youth outcasts sitting with Evangelicals, it was amazing and it was a weekly event – and nothing like I have ever seen sense.   

But what happened around those tables in that giant fellowship hall was more than filling stomachs.  It became a place to discuss life, to listen to each other, to meet each other’s needs, to network, to even at times sense where the Divine was speaking to our community as a whole.  We laughed together, we cried when people passed away in our community, we even at times sang songs together, as most nights we had someone from the community playing the piano.  Holy days were celebrated as a community. 

I would say THAT weekly dinner did more for that small community than most Sunday morning worship gatherings.  Because it was bigger than our religious divisions. There we found guidance, healing, teaching, and ministry from the Spirit, blessings that strengthen us all, united us in love, joy, peace, and refreshed us to participate in the work the Spirit was nudging us to accomplish together in our little part of the world.  Just sharing this brings back so much joy. 

That right there is why we need to engage with our neighbors, Friends, and loved ones, because when we gather, it can bring back our joy in a multitude of ways.  I challenge you this week to find a group to engage in a deeper more meaningful way.  See how it changes you and those around you.  And allow the Spirit to reignite the joy in your heart!  Amen.

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

·      Have I ever experienced a “Gathered Meeting” – what made it so?

·      How have I let loneliness and isolation impact me?  

·      What community or group do I need to engage to reignite my joy?

2-22-26 - Joyfully Holding in the Light

Joyfully Holding in the Light

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

February 22, 2026

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  This morning our scripture text is from 1 Peter 4:7-10 from The Message version,  

Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. 

Last week, I shared a personal testimony and talked about a set of catalysts I gleaned from “The Book of Joy” by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama which helped bring back my joy during some difficult times.

Some of you may be a bit surprised that the first catalyst for bringing back my joy was to pray. Back then, I used terminology like “to pray or enter in” because that is what Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama had used in their book, and because I had not fully embraced the Quaker concept of “holding someone or something in the Light.”   

When we were in Michigan last weekend visiting Sue’s family member who was recently diagnosed with cancer, prayer and how we pray came up on several occasions.  At one point a question arose about “what are the right things to say to God to get the best results.” Questions, as a pastor, I get quite often.  I am sure we all have been in that place during a difficult time and wanted to find and use the magic words.

I found it ironic that this week, my friend and fellow Quaker minister, Phil Gulley wrote in Plain Speech with Phillip Gulley about how he stopped praying for people and started holding them in the Light. In it he said this:

Praying is asking God to do something, but when we promise to hold someone in the Light, we become the doers. We no longer ask God to heal; we commit ourselves to lives of healing. We no longer ask God to tend the poor; we commit ourselves to lives of generosity and selflessness. We no longer ask God to magically intervene; we commit ourselves to lives of connection and support.  

Today, if I was sketching and writing out those catalysts from our bulletin last week, I would not have said prayer but rather used the Quaker phrase “hold in the Light.” It seems to command more substance than just sending “thoughts and prayers” which often seems to lack sincerity or at least sound hollow in our current day and age.

Let’s be honest, as Sue and I discussed this past weekend, there are no words that fully grasp what you are trying to say in these difficult moments.  But our lives can speak when there are no words.  Being present was more than having the right words. Giving hugs, listening, and sharing the joy and love that the Light with in us nudged us to share with Sue’s family was evidence that the Divine Light was present and in our midst.    

Now, for many, “holding someone or some situation in the Light” is synonymous with prayer, but when looking deeper at the meaning of this phrase, I find it resonates in my own soul and causes me a deeper spiritual exploration – and yes, I realized it brings joy to both my own life and to the lives of those around me.   

The New York Monthly Meeting writes this about the phrase, “Hold in the Light.”   

To “Hold in the Light” means to ask for God’s presence to illumine a person, situation, or problem, whether in concern or thanksgiving.

The history of this Quaker phrase is not easily understood or found. Google it and you will find out how varied the definitions and how little is really out there to explain it.  I have even asked a couple weighty Friends and professor Friends over the years about the phrase, and they are still on the search to find its origin. The closest I have come is in an article from Friends Journal which stated,

“The metaphorical image of ‘holding’ someone ‘in the light’ didn’t appear until a 1969 poem by Barbara Reynolds which included the couplet: ‘First take your thought, this baby thing/ And hold it to the Light.” (it wouldn’t become common in prose for another decade).”

Even my weighty and professor Friends, were not sure if that late of a date is correct, but I have learned in the research that many of our Quaker phrases are modern additions or maybe I should say, “new revelations” even though they often sound as though they could be foundational. Another great example of this is our S.P.I.C.E.S.  

I remember when I first had someone tell me they were “holding me in the light,” it honestly took me back to when our oldest child, Alex was born. 

When we brought them home from the hospital, they were a bit jaundice and the doctor recommended we, “hold them in the light” to allow the sunlight to heal them.

I didn’t get that beautiful metaphor for this spiritual principle as a young parent, but I do, now.  

My part in holding someone in the Light is more than hopeful or wishful words – but going further and physically picking up someone and helping them get into the Light.  

As well, I find for someone unfamiliar with this Quaker terminology, it causes them to wonder or even try and imagine this Divine Light.  If you look at early Quaker spirituality, you find that the image of light often represents the mysterious presence of God (much like it often does in Scripture.)

Like Quaker Edward Burrough (one of the Valient Sixty) who said,

“All that dwell in the light, their habitation is in God, and they know a hiding place in the day of storm; and those who dwell in the light, are built upon the rock, and cannot be moved, for who are moved or shaken, goes from the light, and so goes from their strength, and from the power of God, and loses the peace and the enjoyment of the presence of God.”

Or George Fox, himself, who said simply,

“The first step of peace is to stand still in the Light.”

In the Bible, John 1:15 actually says, “God is Light.” And there are verses that describe the Divine as the “Father of Lights” and “Light of the World,” or even God as a sun and shield.”

Quakers have multiple ways to describe this Light – everything from the Spirit, the Seed, the Inward Light, the Spiritual Christ in You, and even “That of God in Everyone.”

Yet, to hold someone or a situation in the light, I believe is to seek to bring that person into deeper contact with the Divine Presence or Present Teacher in whatever way God has called us to do that – and that often means in a tangible way.  

Obviously as followers of Christ, the scriptures use the illustration that Jesus is the Light of the World and that his Spirit “illumines” our lives and brings us into Truth.

So, for me personally, when I hold someone or a specific situation in the Light, I imagine God’s grace, love, joy, wisdom and peace engulfing and surrounding their life and situation.

But as Phil Gulley pointed out, it also makes us the doers. It means we must also act or embody the Divine to those we are holding in the Light. 

You and I are being called to be the bearers of God’s grace, love, joy, wisdom, and peace in the lives that we are holding. When we hold someone in the Light, God’s light lives out through us.  So, we are also holding them in the Light that we provide.  

Folks, really think about this – the Light in you and me may be the only Light that someone who is struggling experiences.     

Phil Gulley goes into this deeper. He says,

Today, when I promise to hold someone in the Light, I am not asking God to miraculously or magically intervene in their lives, something God doesn’t seem inclined to do, at least as often as, or in the manner, we would like God to. Rather, what I am promising is that, insofar as I am able, I will embody the love and light of God to those who are hurting. I will, insofar as I am able, walk alongside those victimized by hardship and hate. I will, insofar as I am able, do justice in the midst of injustice, practice mercy in the midst of cruelty, and tell the truth when all about us the world is drowning in a sea of lies.

When we say we will hold someone in the Light, do we mean that?

·      Are you and I promising to embody the love and light of God to those hurting?

·      Are you and I promising to walk alongside those victimized by hardship and hate?

·      Are you and I promising to do justice in the midst of injustice, practice mercy in the midst of cruelty, and tell the truth when surrounded by lies?

Another way of looking at this is how a Friend from Ann Arbor Friends Meeting described it,

“I like to think of ‘holding in the light’ as being ‘holding in Love.’  The Light to me represents God’s love and some of its qualities, and so when I think of holding someone in the Light, I picture them surrounded by visual, bright Light, but also surrounded by something with warmth and a soft texture. In the Psalms there is reference to being born up on the wings of an eagle, and I like the image of an eagle’s wings as part of God’s love. The wing can be powerful, strong, and uplifting, but on the ground the wings can encircle us in a warm and comforting way. Thus, I envision someone being held in brightness, warmth and softness.”    

This is why our comforting and joyful presence, our hugs, our listening ears, our willingness to make a meal or sit with a person in tough times is so very important. 

You and I are called to be the “eagles wings” that encircle, warm and comfort our neighbors and loved ones.

Folks, we are called to be the Divine incarnate in the lives of our neighbors.  

And when we do this, it can bring true joy, because discovering joy in holding our neighbors and loved ones in the Light not only enhances our lives but also creates a ripple-effect, fostering kindness and compassion within our communities. 

I think this is because caring for and serving our neighbors and loved ones is a fundamental aspect of human existence that resonates deeply with our shared values and experiences. 

Just think about it.  Maybe the reason we are so divided in our world currently is because we are not holding each other in the Light and seeking the well-being of those around us. 

Again, this is why Jesus summed up the entire gospel with “Love God and Love your neighbors as yourself.”  Jesus knew we would be the Light that others would be seeing – and we would be the ones called to hold each other in this Light.   

But once again, I have to point out that phrase “as yourself” Love your neighbors as yourself.  Hold your neighbors and loved ones in the Light as you hold yourself.  This is again where we must point the finger back at ourselves and ask,  

·      How good are we at holding ourselves in the Light? 

·      How good are we at letting others hold us in the Light?

·      Do we simply want magic words from a distance, too?

Let’s return to our scripture to close this morning.  Let me rephrase it a bit to speak more clearly to what I have already said.

Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in [holding each other in the Light.] Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully, [joyfully!]. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. 

Let us go this morning intending to joyfully hold each other fully in the Light of God’s Love! 

Amen.

As we enter waiting worship take a moment to ponder those queries from my message:

Start With Yourself:

·      How good am I at holding myself in the Light?

·      How good am I at letting others hold me in the Light?

·      Do I simply want magic words from a distance?

Then think about others:

·      Am I promising to embody the love and light of God to those hurting?

·      Am I promising to walk alongside those victimized by hardship and hate?

·      Am I promising to do justice in the midst of injustice, practice mercy in the midst of cruelty, and tell the truth when surrounded by lies?