6-1-25 - God Makes Us Just Who We Are

God Makes Us Just Who We Are 
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Bob Henry
June 1, 2025

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  The scripture I have chosen for this morning is Psalms 139:1-18 from the New Revised Standard Version.  

 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

For several months now, we have been talking in Ministry & Counsel about how important it is for the people of First Friends to have a safe place to embrace, celebrate, and affirm their gender and sexual identity, especially in our current world. Today, June 1st marks the beginning of Pride Month.

As well, on June 14, Pride Weekend will kick off here in Indy with the Pride Parade, Celebration on the Circle, and many other festivities which we at First Friends are planning to meet up and attend together.

We are so blessed to have many in our midst who identify as part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and plus (which include Pansexual and Two-Spirit) Community and find First Friends welcoming and their spiritual home. 

Thanks to two different sessions with our Friend Abby White just over a year ago now, we explored in detail what all those descriptors mean (If you missed one of those sessions, you can download and watch it on our YouTube Channel – the video is appropriately titled “LGBT(FA)Q”). We will probably be offering one of these extremely important and educational sessions again very soon. As well, I am on a committee exploring Mental Health within Western Yearly Meeting that will also be addressing some of this in the coming year.

I know many of us are parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and relatives trying hard to create welcoming opportunities for those we know and love deeply in the LGBTQIA+ community. Many of you have shared with me at new attender dinners, First Friends’ programs, over a cup of coffee, or even after worship in the fellowship hall, how grateful you are that we are trying hard to be a safe, welcoming and affirming place for ALL people.   

This morning, I want to return to some thoughts on this topic from a few years ago, because we need a foundation for why as Quakers, we believe it crucially important to acknowledge ALL people, and to also find it rooted deep in our faith. 

I ask that as I share this message you keep your heart and mind open and understand that this is an evolving subject that we must cover with a lot of humility and grace.

To focus our attention today, I am going to take a slightly different approach, not a political, social, or even activist approach – but rather as a pastor, I am going to take what comes naturally – a biblical approach (or maybe I should say a “God or theological approach”). Either way, I think the approach will include some fresh, new insights for us to ponder.

I so appreciate the teachings of Rev. Whitney Bruno of the United Church of Canada who has been extremely helpful for me in putting this often-challenging subject into a more workable context.

As I have studied his words, they often seem almost poetic and prophetic in nature. Rev. Bruno takes his readers back to the Genesis story of creation to ground and emphasize something we often have a hard time grasping – that being the non-binary nature of the Divine.

Not only did his teachings open my eyes to things I had never noticed, but they also gave me a new appreciation for the great diversity that God embraces and uses to create in our world.

So, with a little help from Rev. Bruno, this morning let’s go back to the creation narrative, where we read of God creating the heavens and the earth – as in ALL that is above, and ALL that is below. ALL things.

The scriptures say that in the very beginning the Spirit of God, the wind of God, danced over the waters and God spoke – God sang – God created with a word – word and deed being one – and there was light.

God judged this new creation.

God declared it good.

Not perfect.

Not unchangeable.

Not immutable. But GOOD.

And God created more.

Now from light and darkness.

Now naming these things.

Now time itself.

You and I have heard this beautiful, wonderful, story. We know how plants and animals, waters and mountains, birds and fish are called into being by God.

But it makes one wonder, when did God make dawn and dusk?

Have you ever thought about that?

It’s not specifically named, but we assume dawn and dusk are there, on that first day of creation, since light and dark, day and night, are made.

What I find interesting is that by naming opposites, a storyteller can say they include everything.

Rev. Bruno points out that, we know when Amazon offers everything A to Z, it means they also offer items beginning with BCD and WXY and all the other items that begin with the other letters in between.

When God declares “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” We know that means God is also in the in-between times. The now times. The present.

When scripture says God made day and night, we know that means God also made the hours between day and night.

Do you see where Rev. Bruno is leading us with this thought process?

When God made humans male and female… doesn’t that mean God also made all humans who are the shades between male and female?

We in our American culture currently are being forced into two neat categories of seemingly “Macho Men” and “Dainty Ladies.”  But like with many other things, we can’t put everyone in just two categories. (I and probably many of us in this room used to believe this.)  

I remember going to a church youth gathering when I was in grade school and they had a rap group at this event whose most popular song was “It was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” I don’t even need bust out the lyrics, because today they make me sick at how damaging they were to young people struggling with their identity. And that is not to say anything about the cultural inappropriateness of the two white guys trying to act black.  

Yet, there are all kinds of people or as Rev. Bruno states – all different shades between male and female.  

I wish I would have been able to wrap my mind around this thinking in high school when often classmates that were “different shades” were bullied so much that they left my school, considered suicide, or lived each day in fear (and folks, that all happened in a “Christian” school.) 

Or before coming to First Friends, I served in the Pacific Northwest and our Yearly Meeting, struggled to wrap their mind around this thinking, ultimately dividing and hurting hundreds of people, families, and especially our youth – including our own children who not only resembled but embraced these different shades.

I am going to make a logical, but also important claim.

I believe opposites are named to affirm a God that includes and makes ALL.

Let me repeat that.

I believe opposites are named to affirm a God that includes and makes ALL.

And to us, human creatures, is gifted the “image of God” or as we say among Friends, “that of God in all people.” This is not just an image, but a form. The form of God.

What is this form of the Divine in all people? Rev. Bruno says it is CREATIVITY.

You and I are being called to take part in creating the wealth of plants and animals and life.

We are gardeners. From Eden to all the earth.

We are stewards. Being wise, just, gentle, and faithful stewards of the many lives we are entrusted to by God. As Quakers we understand this as part of our testimony of stewardship. 

What is the image or that of God within us? It is power…SHARED.

Creativity to make good and very good things.

It is relationships and that means it is also LOVE.

When God sees all of this… the opposites and all the in-between, the diversity on land, in the air, and in the ocean, and in the ground, and even in space… God over and over declares it VERY good in the scriptures.

This means that if we look really close in Genesis, we hear of a God who won’t settle for just TWO – who won’t settle for binaries. (Actually, I sense binaries are two small for the Divine.)

Instead, we hear of a God who wants every hue of color between dark and light; every creature between germ and killer whale; every human diversity between and including male and female.

Rev. Bruno then turns to the quintessential aspect of this passage from chapter 2 – that being Adam and Eve.

The story is told over and over, and this time, God makes “adamah” – the Jewish word for dust, soil, dirt.

This living dirt is lonely, and needs a co-worker. Much like God wanted a co-creator.

But the living dirt turns down every other living thing God makes and brings before it.

Finally, God separates the living dirt into two living dirts – and now, with something in its own image, the living dirt is happy.

Hawwa in Hebrew, Eve in English means breath and Adam means dirt, and combined breath and dirt make life.

This is a way of explaining how we live. We are dirt and breath combined. Breath or Spirit and the dust of the cosmos that is who we are.

·      Nowhere is this a story saying who can, or cannot, get married.

·      Nowhere is this a ranking of love from pure to impure.

·      Nowhere is this a statement that ONLY men who romantically love women, and women who ONLY romantically love men are correct.

No, this is actually a story about where we come from – God, the Divine.

Who we look like — all of us — God, the Divine.  

Just take a moment and look around you this morning.  The people in this room or even in your family - ALL OF THEM (not just the ones you like or get along with) are God, or the Divine in your midst.  There is that of God in them – the actual form and image of God is sitting before you.  Rev. Bruno says,

“This is a story that we are made with intrinsic value. That we each matter. That we are worth love. Worth a good life. Worth belonging to community. Worth loving relationships. Worth shelter, food, water, health care, education, and security. We are worthy of being part of this very good creation.”

This is a story about the common lot of being human. The common thread, common condition, of finding ourselves in the surprising state of being alive as us. As humans.

Why are we here? What are we supposed to do?

To create.

To live together.

To be good stewards.

To make safe and welcoming communities.

Or we can simplify this and say as Friends we are to live out our testimonies or S.P.I.C.E.S. 

Live simply.

Live peacefully.

Live with integrity.

Live within community.

Live equally with ALL.

Live responsibly as good stewards together.  

So again, this is a story about how we are made…” which the Psalmist in our text for this morning sums up even better, he says, we are

“…fearfully and wonderfully made. Knitted in our mother’s wombs, woven out of that living dirt from the depths of the earth”

Those same molecules and atoms and star dust God has been breathing life into for trillions of years — and seen by God before even fully formed.

We are made with the Divine hemming us in – being around us on all sides. Above and below. Behind and before. And all those other areas between the opposites.

Genesis is a story of how our God, who transcends gender and sexuality and IS all genders and sexualities, makes us just who we are.

Straight.

Bisexual.

Homosexual.

Asexual.

And more.

Intersexed.

Female.

Male.

Transgender.

And more.

Gay.

Lesbian.

Feminine.

Masculine.

And more.

Hemmed around on all sides, we are surrounded by the Divine who calls us, as we are wonderfully made, part of this very good earth.

Such knowledge is too wonderful not to proclaim. Our minds cannot fathom the depths of all the colors of the rainbow; nor the breadth of all the life forms on earth; nor the depth of the stars and distant galaxies.

We simply must say… how wonderful.

So today and throughout this month, as we ponder all that God has created, the many varieties of people, plants and animals surrounding us, let us not look with binary eyes, but rather with the beautifully diverse, multifaceted, and creative eyes of the God within each of us. 

And just maybe we will see, acknowledge, and affirm ALL the Friends of God around us.

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

·      In what way am I too binary in my view of others?

·      How might I more deeply see with the diverse, multifaceted, and creative eyes of God?

·      How will I affirm and welcome someone different than me this Pride month?

5-25-25 - The Challenge and Responsibility of Peace

The Challenge and Responsibility of Peace
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Bob Henry
May 25, 2025

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. This morning the scripture I have chosen is from Ephesians 4:3 from the Voice Translation.  

Make every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit has already created, with peace binding you together.

This is Memorial Day weekend. For many that means the official start of summer. As a Quaker, I am kind of glad I live in Indiana on Memorial Day weekend, where instead of focusing solely on memorializing war efforts, the entire month of May culminates in a car race of epic proportions with traditions for families and friends at its core.  And I know some of us are hoping I keep this short so we can catch the race after worship since it is being aired on TV this year.

But this does not mean that here in Indiana we don’t celebrate the real meaning of Memorial Day by honoring the sacrifices made by many in American wars.  Let’s not be too quick to forget that our great city of Indianapolis holds the distinction of having the most war memorials in the United States, excluding Washington, D.C.  Honestly, I think there is something weird about that. But that is just my opinion.

As we discussed recently in Ministry and Counsel, Memorial Day can be complicated for many Quakers because of our peace testimony (actually, the Peace Testimony itself can be a bit complicated for some).  Even though most Friends don’t usually have too many issues honoring the sacrifices made by individuals (because that may be seen as rude or disrespectful), they often cannot in good conscience support the goal for which those lives were given. That is why many Friends boldly profess, “War is not the answer.”  I find that often my fellow Quaker pastors (even myself at times), simply avoid the Memorial Day holiday, and refuse to bring up the tensions involved.

If you do a quick Google search, you will find that Memorial Day was first observed on April 25, 1866, when two women in Columbus, Mississippi, placed flowers on both Confederate and Union graves. This story about women recognizing lives sacrificed on each side of the Civil War by visiting gravesites with flowers became the impetus for Decoration Day and then our modern Memorial Day.  

The ambivalence felt by many Friends comes from our Peace Testimony and belonging to the “historic peace churches.” Along with Mennonites and Brethren, we all teach non-violence, not just in reference to war but as a comprehensive lifestyle.

As most of you know, peace is one of our testimonies or S.P.I.C.E.S.  And that testimony goes all the way back to our origins with George Fox who, along with other Friends, wrote to Charles II of England in 1660,  

We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and 
fighting with outward weapons for any end or under any pretence whatsoever;
this is our testimony to the whole world.

As well, Friends are famous for having been conscientious objectors in many of the wars and advocates and educators for peaceful solutions to human conflicts. 

I am pleased to report that we are currently seeing a resurgence among young people to consider and even study conscientious objection and question the United States’ involvement in any wars.  Which honestly could now get them jailed or deported depending on what they stand for or against.

We at First Friends and Western Yearly Meeting are gathering materials for our young people asking for more information about conscientious objection. We already have a couple books on the subject in our First Friends library to help with discernment. 

A moment in Memorial Day history that many among the historic peace churches find solidarity with is Harry S. Truman’s Memorial Day Declaration after World War II. In his Memorial Day letter he tried to change the focus of the day to a day focused on Permanent Peace. He said,

…the Congress has fittingly provided, in a joint resolution which I approved on May 11, 1950, that Memorial Day, which has long been set aside for paying tribute to those who lost their lives in war, shall henceforth be dedicated also as a day for Nation-wide prayer for permanent peace.

Let’s be honest, praying for permanent peace is only a starting place.

If our prayer is for permanent peace, that may seem a little ambitious because there are so many factors that override our desire for permanent peace. We might feel a little better for having tried to “do something” by praying, but otherwise not much may happen if we do not act.

That is why Friends believe prayer to be both listening to the Spirit, seeking the Spirit’s guidance, and then acting on what the Spirit puts on our hearts.

As Friends, we teach that peace begins within us, what we call internal peace (a seed ready to grow), the Spirit then guides us in a way to grow and develop that peace further in family and community. It’s not necessarily granted immediately, but hopefully we will get the opportunity to see its fruition, if we are willing to act upon it.

Also, for many, saying we are praying for peace is simply a way of getting around not acting. It is almost like we are asking God to have someone else speak or stand up for peace. Folks, I want to emphasize this again - prayer is more about listening and acting on what we hear than it is about asking the Divine for something.  That is why we as Friends embrace “Holy Listening” and then we seek to respond “as the way opens.” 

One of the things that the historic peace churches have emphasized around this important subject is not solely focusing on or memorializing those who sacrificed their lives through war and violent means but also acknowledging and honoring the non-violent people who sought peaceful resolutions and outcomes without engaging in war or utilizing violence or weapons. 

There have been many people (including many Friends) who have worked and fought a different kind of battle in this country to enable us - Americans, immigrants, Quakers – to live lives free of slavery, free of political imprisonment, more free of assault and discrimination for being female, or gay, or black, or immigrant, or anything else – more able to claim an equal voice and a place at the table – to live our lives as the Divine intended.  

These are people who listened to the Spirit and acted on what they heard the Spirit guiding them to do. Perhaps on Memorial Day we could also celebrate their lives and their difficult battles where peace and positive outcomes can be made without violence, weapons, and war.  Just maybe that is how we as Friends could contribute to the celebration of Memorial Day in a more Quaker way.

So, this morning, to contribute to our Memorial Day celebration, I would like to take a moment to remember the life of Friend Emily Green Balch, who I believe exemplifies just this kind of remembrance.  

Emily Greene Balch made her mark on many areas, one of the greatest was the struggle for permanent peace.

Emily was the only American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. She became involved in the peace movement in 1914 just as World War I was brewing. In addition, she was a central leader in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

Emily was born in 1861 to a prominent family in Boston. Her father was a secretary for the famous Senator Charles Sumner. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1889 and later was a graduate student in Paris where she did academic work on the poor in Paris.  Emily did settlement work in her hometown of Boston before deciding on an academic career. She studied at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and the University of Berlin. She started teaching at Wellesley College where she focused on economics, consumption, and the economic role of women.

In 1913, she was appointed to serve as an economics professor at Wellesley. Later that year, she was promoted associate professor in the political economy and political and social science department. She served on several state commissions and was a leader in the Women’s Trade Union League.

Emily was a longtime pacifist and was a participant in Henry Ford’s International Committee on Mediation – a notable peace initiative undertaken in 1915 during World War I. When the United States entered World War I, she became a political activist opposing conscription and supporting the civil liberties of conscientious objectors.

She collaborated with Jane Adams in the Women’s Peace party and numerous other groups. Wellesley College terminated her contract in 1919. She then served as an editor of the magazine The Nation, a well-known magazine of political commentary.

Emily converted from Unitarianism and became a Quaker in 1921. She stated,

“Religion seems to me one of the most interesting things in life, one of the most puzzling, richest and thrilling fields of human thought and speculation… religious experience and thought need also a light a day and sunshine and a companionable sharing with others of which it seems to me there is generally too little… The Quaker worship at its best seems to me to give opportunities for this sort of sharing without profanation.”

Her major achievements were just beginning, as she became an American leader of the international peace movement. In 1919, Emily played a central role in the International Congress of Women. It changed its name to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and was based in Geneva.

She was hired by the League as its first international Secretary-Treasurer, administering the organization’s activities. She helped set up summer schools on peace education and created new branches in over 50 countries. She cooperated with the newly established League of Nations regarding drug control, aviation, refugees, and disarmament. In World War II, she favored Allied victory and did not criticize the war effort, but she did support the rights of conscientious objectors.   Emily was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom.

I highly recommend you go and read about Emily’s work and dedication to peace without having to go to war or pick up a weapon.  Her work has had a huge impact, it changed lives, and it brought us more life instead of death.

To conclude this overview of this exceptional Friend, I will leave you with this final quote by Emily, 

The question whether the long effort to put an end to war can succeed without another major convulsion challenges not only our minds but our sense of responsibility.

Today or tomorrow as you reflect on our country and world, and you remember and memorialize the lives that have been lost to war in the United States, also, remember the realities.

The United States Military has recorded approximately 1.19 million fatalities since 1775 – which 651,031 were in direct combat. 650,000+ people is like wiping out the entire city of Detroit, Boston, Denver, Seattle, or Memphis. 

Since 1980, 80% of military deaths have been due to accidents, illness, and the largest growing number, suicide.

And then consider how much the United States spends on Military Defense.  On the Department of Defense webpage, it boldly states that they have $2.23 Trillion in budgetary resources available to them – that is 15.2% of the overall US Federal Budget (or the number one priority).  In 2024 alone it is reported that we spent $997 billion on defense, accounting for nearly 40% of global military spending. 

I believe these facts herald a call for more warriors for peace. We need more Emily Greene Balch’s in our world. You and I may not be able to do all that she did, but as Friends we have a responsibility to work for and speak up for peace starting in our own families and then into our communities. The possibilities are infinite, and they must start somewhere.  It seems only appropriate for it to start among Friends! 

I wonder what the world would be like if we had more people who instead of picking up a weapons or turning to violence to solve an issue, first took a look  inside themselves and embraced the peace that the Divine has placed there?

 And what if they then networked with their community to promote peace in their families, workplaces, schools, and not just locally, but globally as well?

I sense if our priority was peace and our true desire, then we might begin to see the change we want to see in this world.  

As Emily Greene Balch stated, may we not only challenge our minds this Memorial Day Weekend, but also with the Divine’s help and guidance, embrace our responsibility to make a difference for the sake of all humankind.

Now, as we enter a time of waiting worship, please take a moment to center down, calm your hearts, and focus your attention on listening to the Spirit. Sit with your thoughts about war and peace and ask the Spirit to speak to your condition.

For those needing some queries to help guide your thoughts, here are several for you to consider:

1.      What do I believe about violence and war as it relates to peace?

2.      How might I water the “seed” of peace within me? Who might help me with this?

3.      What is my responsibility for making a difference in my world?

5-18-25 - The World Needs More People Like You – Servant Leaders

The World Needs More People Like You – Servant Leaders 
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Beth Henricks
May 18 2025

Philippians 2: 1-7

2 If then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was[a] in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human.

We are celebrating our graduates, honoring our 2nd and 3rd graders with their own Bible and recognizing our many volunteers that work with our kids today.  Bob is teaching the last lesson of our Youth Affirmation program celebrating Quaker artists, musicians and writers which is why I am sharing a message with you. today.  So much to celebrate!

I got the best Mother’s Day card this year.  The front of the card said The World Needs More Moms Like You and inside the card it read You care about things that matter, you step up to make a difference, doing what you can, with what you’ve got, right where you are. 

 I wish I could live up to this, but it had me reflecting on the roles we play, the attitudes we have and the actions we take.  Our communities need every one of us to step into our  gifts and talents and offer them humbly and with a servant’s heart.  We need people that live into their passions, are committed and excited about their work, their cause, their life.  And we also need humility, grace and compassion to others that might not share our same passion. 

Jesus has much to teach us about offering ourselves to each other, and the world with a servant heart.  What the world might hold up as success is the opposite of what Jesus teaches us.  His life was a  wonderful example of reversing the social order of power and success, living into his calling and passions  and offering himself with humility and empathy encouraging a philosophy and a way of living that recognizes that  the last shall be first and the first shall be last in God’s kingdom.

In John 13:15, Jesus sets an example for us to follow. After washing His disciples’ feet — an act of love, humility, and service — He encourages us to follow His lead and serve one another.

He says, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”  This story of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet is a hard one for me.  I know that many faith communities have a foot washing ceremony during holy week.  I told someone recently that I could never do this as I don’t want to touch another foot.  She shared that the point of doing this is making one feel uncomfortable  with this physical act of humility and the honor that is bestowed on the receiver.  It is powerful to watch Pope Francis and Pope Leo wash the feet of strangers pouring themselves out physically for others.

This story of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet is representative of Jesus’ entire ministry. Jesus never placed himself in a position above others. He led by serving, and He loved by serving. He washed feet. He fed thousands. He walked to heal the sick. He spent time with those no one else cared to spend time with.

As we read in Philippians 2 today, Jesus speaks to us requiring our humility,  releasing our empty conceit or self-ambition.  We must not look to our own interests but the interests of others.  And we must empty ourselves and become a slave or servant to others.  The language of slave is problematic as we know the scourge of slavery that has played out in our country and many other countries.  How could Jesus call us to be a slave?  I believe there is a key difference in the word slave and servant.   A slave is a servant but provides services involuntarily.  A servant is not a slave as their services are voluntary. 

A dictionary definition for servant includes the following:

1.One who is hired to perform regular household or other duties and receives compensation. As op

2.One who serves another, providing help in some manner.

3. A person who dedicates themselves to God.

I believe Jesus is calling us to be servants unto God and each other.  It involves humility and sacrifice.  Serving others is more than keeping up with your to-do list. To be a servant means we genuinely need to care about people. It’s keeping our eyes, hearts, and schedules open for divine appointments. Jesus was not hurried, stressed by time, worried about what others thought of Him, or overwhelmed by a list of tasks to accomplish each day. Instead, He was led by the Spirit of God and followed His promptings to serve, love, and help others. No task was ever beneath Jesus, and no person was ever unworthy.  When we serve others, we grow in our service and our impacted and changed for the better.  Service  draws us closer to God.

When I think of a modern-day servant that spent his career and life in humility, kindness, grace and care for others it’s Fred Rogers.  Mr. Rogers was a beloved figure for decades and his influence has been significant even years after his death.  Mr. Rogers was a gentle, caring, knowledgeable voice, to and for children, in a world of turmoil and confusion. He gave the gift of his heart, unabashedly and unashamedly to kids and we responded.  Our appreciation for him only continues to increase.  And yet he never did this for any reason other than to provide a safe space for children to express fears and concerns as well as expressions of joy and fun. 

I also recognize this sense of humility, kindness and care for our children through the many volunteers we recognize today that provide children’s message,s and worship for our kids and youth.  The work of these folks is full of passion and enthusiasm for building relationships with our children and youth and offering insights, stories and programming to share the love of God.  Thank you to all for being ministers to our kids.

In thinking about meaningful work and giving to others and to the betterment of  our communities, I think about an interview with Dutch historian and best-selling author Rutger Bregman, that was talking about his latest book, Moral Ambition which is a call to action of people especially those with education and status of the need to devote their talent and resources to careers and causes that make the world a better place.  He and his associates have actually started a School for Moral Ambition encouraging and paying people to leave corporate jobs and transition into careers of positive impact.

As we honor our graduates, today, we honor their accomplishments and encourage them to live into those future opportunities that give them life, excite them and look for pathways to meaningful work and causes that motivate them.  Be the best teacher you can be – be the best medical professional you can be – be the best care provider you can be, the best lawyer, the best electrician, the best retail worker….  The list is endless.

Many years ago, when I started seminary, I read and studied everything I could find about Robert Greenleaf.  Greenleaf coined the phrase servant leadership in an essay he published in 1970.    He said that servant leadership is a non-traditional leadership philosophy embedded in a set of behaviors and practices that place primary emphasis on the well-being of those being served. 

Greenleaf was born in 1905 in Terre Haute and attended Rose Hulman for a few years and graduated as a math major.  He got a job with AT&T, back then one of the largest institutions in the world.  Greenleaf was inspired by one of his professors that said large institutions were not doing a good job of serving individuals or the society at large. Greenleaf quickly rose in the AT&T organization, participating in its first management training program and traveled extensively to troubleshoot the more than 200 “Ma  Bells” and observed that thriving organizations existed for the person as much as the person exists for the organization which was not a popular idea at the time.  Greenleaf spent 38 years at AT&T as Director of Management Development.  He lived out his philosophy within the organization and promoted females and African Americans to non-menial positions, bringing in famous theologians and psychologists to speak about the wider implications on corporate decisions. 

The event that crystallized Greenleaf’s thinking came in the 1960’s when he read Herman Hesse’s short novel Journey to the East – an account of a mythical journey by a group of people on a spiritual quest.  Greenleaf concluded that the central meaning of it was that a great leader is first experienced as a servant to others and this simple fact is central to his or her greatness.  True leadership emerges from those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to help others. 

While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid, servant leadership is different.  The servant leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

Greenleaf continues in his writing  - “the difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.  The best test, and difficult to administer is:  Do those served grow as persons?  Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?  And what is the effect on the least privileged in society?  Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived? 

“This is my thesis:  caring for persons, the more able and the less able while serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built.  Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions – often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt .  If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open source is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.”

Servant -leadership is not a quick fix approach.  Nor is it something that can be quickly installed within an institution.  At its core, servant leadership is a long-term transformation approach to life and work – in essence, a way of being – that has the potential for creating positive change throughout our society.

Greenleaf and his wife became Quakers in their thirties and the Quaker way greatly influenced his philosophy where  he became a best-selling author after retirement.   He was a member at Monadmock New Hampshire Monthly Meeting and Kendal PA Meeting.  Greenleaf knew that he was not a perfect servant leader, but it was his ideal and the arc of his life bent in that direction.

As Greenleaf experienced, Quaker leadership was founded on servant leadership.  A minister ordained is no more a minister than any other member/attender.  Ministry is being a servant, and we believe in the servanthood of all.  This is why I believe Quakerism speaks strongly today to many that embrace this idea and why I’m thankful to have found the Quakers. 

I close this message with Matthew 20:26-27

26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.

27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

·      I offer the following queries during our waiting worship time.

·      Am I living into my gifts and skills with passion?

·      Am I serving others before myself?

·      Am I focused on the growth and well-being of others?

5-11-25 - I Need My Mommy!

I Need My Mommy! 
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Bob Henry
May 11 2025

Good morning, Friends, and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers or mother figures joining us this morning. The scripture I have chosen for this today is from Isaiah 66:12-13 from the New Revised Standard Version.

For thus says the Lord:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river
    and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream,
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm
    and bounced on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
    so I will comfort you;
    you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

As younger parents, Sue and I and our three boys lived just off the campus of Huntington University. In the warmer months, the boys and I would almost daily throw the baseball around after school in our side yard. We usually threw the ball around until dinner and often my college students would join us.

On occasion our time would be cut short by one of the boys getting hurt – tripping in a hole in the yard, a brother running into another brother, missing a ball and getting hit by it, running into a tree, but often it was simply being exhausted from the day, a bit hangry, and needing to take a shower and head to bed.   

I will never forget this one time; we were out throwing the ball around when our youngest got frustrated because his brother kept catching the ball and not letting him catch it.  Soon, he threw his glove on the ground and ran straight at me with his arms out. He was grumbling something under his breath, but as he got closer, I heard it loud and clear.

“I want my mommy!”

He had enough of his brothers, he had enough of me not throwing balls his way, and he just wanted someone to focus on him. And he ran right past me and into the house. Often, I would come in for dinner and find him in his mother’s arms sound asleep. Some days, I wish we could have some of those moments back.   

Lately, I have thought a great deal about the role of mothers in our current age. I believe there is an extra stress on those who seek to nurture and care for children, elderly parents, spouses, and loved ones. And I am not talking just about biological mothers, but also people who are mother-like in their nature.   

Jesus often showed these motherly qualities as he taught and interacted with people. One of his most well know “mother-like moments” was when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and wishes that he could gather the people like a hen gathers her chicks. 

I don’t know about you, but I need that image of God more than ever right now.  I think there are a lot of us running with our arms wide open saying “I want my mommy!” I believe we need a nurturing Mother God to wrap her comforting arms around us, draw us in, give us some attention, and remind us that all is going to be well.

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

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

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

The patriarchal world of the Bible often limits us only to male descriptors of God. Yet we cannot miss the personification of God as Wisdom in a few places in the Old Testament which utilizes female descriptors and imagery.

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

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

I think we need and starting to see this image of God in our world, today. 

More significantly the Apocrypha (the books of the Bible that were not considered cannon, but were accepted as historical) often utilize the female descriptors for the wisdom of God (most likely a reason they were left out by the conclave of men deciding which books would be included or dismissed.)  

Sadly, for most of our history (and still for many faith communities today), a female version of God seems threatening, demeaning or even heretical.

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

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

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

As Quakers who call themselves, Friends, that one line should stand out and be quoted often –

“She passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God.”

That, to me, is beautiful.

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

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

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

I think in our current shift to move back to a more male dominated society; we need more than ever to identify with this feminine side of God. Those qualities and descriptors are desperately lacking in our world and especially our leadership in this present moment.

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

Isaiah 66:13, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you,” 

Or as I said earlier, Jesus lamenting over Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37 –

“How often have I desired to gather your children together as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing”

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

“I hold myself in quiet and silence,

            like a little child in its mother’s arms,

            like a little child, so I keep myself.”

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

It reminds me of back in my doctoral work when I studied the people known as the Dessert Mothers and Fathers.  As their world became chaotic and difficult, they chose to head out into the wildernesses of the Middle East to pray.

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

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

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

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

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

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

She also says,

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

And lastly, she says,

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

Like our youngest son, maybe the cry of our heart is “I need my mommy!”

During these difficult times we need to take time to embrace and gravitate to the qualities and attributes of our Mother God, to sense her nurturing love and seek her wisdom.  Allow ourselves to be wrapped in her safe embrace and comforted by her care.  

I was taught by a Quaker once that when we center down for waiting worship, we are metaphorically placing ourselves on the lap of God, wrapped in her loving arms, waiting to hear the whisper of her Spirit in our ear.  There is a calming sense to that.  It brings us peace and safety and even hope.  

And as the Dessert Mothers and Fathers, maybe we too should take this opportunity to find time for retreat, or at least a pause in our busy schedules, to acknowledge and work on our inner lives. To begin to seek how during challenging times Mother God can help release us from our excesses, materialism, prejudices, hatred, self-absorption, violence, and cruelty.

Since Easter I have had two of these opportunities – one at our pastor’s conference and one at the last week’s Linda Lee Spiritual Retreat. Both were needed times for me to acknowledge that “I need my mommy!”  That when the world seems out of control, the thing that I CAN DO is work on myself. 

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

So, as we take a moment to enter waiting worship this morning, close your eyes and image yourself on the lap of your mother God, take a moment to nuzzle in and be fully embraced by her arms, and then wait to hear what her Spirit says to you this morning. If you need something to help focus this time, I have provided a couple queries for you to ponder. 

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

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

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

5-4-25 - Metanoia and Pistis vs. Repent and Believe

Metanoia and Pistis vs. Repent and Believe 
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Bob Henry
May 4, 2025

Good morning Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  This week our supportive scripture text is from Romans 12:2 from the New Revised Standard Version,  

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

I spent some time this week trying to map where I have been in my spiritual journey and how I have come to the current place and understanding I have today. I think reading Elaine Pagels new book had me contemplating this deeply after Easter and on our down-time at the pastor’s retreat last week.

Most of my formative years I was inundated by a faith community that wanted me to do two things – REPENT and BELIEVE. Those two words were like bookends to my early spiritual life. Whether it was the churches, Christian schools, youth gatherings, Christian concerts, all of them helped raise me in a bubble of beliefs that told me that my personal sin and how and what I believed was of utmost importance – even a matter of life and death.     

Those two words, repent and believe, shaped my life trajectory in significant ways. They surrounded me with a specific group of friends, mentors, and teachers, all in what I thought was a safe faith community. Today, I am able to see the mandatory uniform beliefs, the gatekeeping, and how they tried to keep me from straying or entering what they called “a slippery slope.” 

I find it interesting and kind of sad that 30+ years later, most of those friendships and teachers are no longer in my life – because of my spiritual journey. I am no longer in those faith communities and greatly disagree with much of their indoctrination, Christian Nationalism, and cultish behaviors that I am now able to see.

Sure, I still wrestle with how much time I spent drinking their Kool-Aid, trusting those people, and even defending their beliefs without taking time to really think or be transformed. When I finally decided to turn and go in a different direction, my own best man warned me that I would most likely lose his friendship (which I did) over me choosing to live on a slippery slope.     

In my Easter message this year, I began by talking about the importance that Paul put on life-transformation over people simply knowing what he was preaching.  That was me. I was all about knowing the answers of my pastors and denomination but not allowing it to transform me for the betterment of myself and my world.  Some of it, I don’t think could actually do that.

It was Paul who said,

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”

Much of organized religion today is about conforming to this world or at least to their way of understanding this world.  Questions are bad.  Questioning is worse.  Disagreeing is all out wrong.  And believing differently both remove you from the fold and possibly damn you for all eternity. 

And we wonder how people get caught up in cults.

Paul’s idea of transformation was tweaked from Jesus’ teachings, who also called on people to change. Not just a little, but dramatically – it too was a transformational change. Mark’s gospel reports that Jesus began his ministry with these words:

 Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.”

Oh no! There are those two words again – repent and believe!  But there is also another set of words that Jesus uses – The Kingdom of God. 

Author, conscientious objector, and founder of Mustard Seed School of Theology, Kurt Struckmeyer, helped me understand what Jesus calls the Kingdom of God. He says,

The ‘kingdom of God’ is the term Jesus used to express his vision of a profound transformation of human beings and human institutions—social, political, economic and religious—to fully express the character and nature of God—a God of love. To accomplish this vision, Jesus worked toward the creation of a new kind of community dedicated to values of compassion, generosity, peace, and justice. He was creating a movement for change, a people engaged in a vast conspiracy of love. 

Since Jesus’ day, many have tried to articulate or further develop this idea of the “Kingdom of God.” It has been expressed by many cultures and movements. Some have called it the Beloved Community, some tikkun olam (The Hebrew concept of preparing the world), familia justicia (family justice) in Latin-X communities, and even us Quakers summarize it in our Testimonies or S.P.I.C.E.S. and in our theology of “That of God in all people.”

But before we get to those well thought out concepts and expanded understandings of the Kingdom of God.  We have to return to Jesus and look at what he called us to do – repent, and believe. 

This is where these two words, depending on how they are translated can bring hope or cause a lot of confusion, misunderstanding, frustration, even pain. 

So, let’s start with Repent.

Kurt Struckmeyer says,

To our ears, repentance usually conveys a sense of guilt and regret [as it often did for me]. It is commonly understood as a feeling of remorse, and that is precisely how the church has conventionally used the term. 

But ‘repent’ doesn’t capture the true meaning of the Greek word…used in the gospels. The noun metanoia (met-an’-oy-ah) is the more familiar term for many people, meaning a fundamental shift or

movement (meta) of the mind (noia).

It is a movement that takes us beyond the mindset of our cultural conformity—our conventional wisdom—into a new way of perceiving and thinking about the world around us.

The repentance that Jesus speaks of is a transformative movement, a fundamental change of life that is deeper, more basic, and more far-reaching than our common understanding of the word ‘repentance.’

It is not about being sorry for the past. It is about thinking differently and changing the direction of our lives for the future.

Metanoia essentially means to turn around, to change the form, to take on a whole new identity. It involves a change of orientation, direction, or character that is so pronounced and dramatic that the very form and purpose of a life is decisively altered and reshaped. It means to begin the journey of walking away from the old to the new. 

I wonder if this is why so many Christians are threatened by trans and non-binary people. They want them to repent, but, in reality, I think they may be able to teach us a lot about metanoia.

Instead of embracing the metanoia in my earlier years, I simply walked away from the old, but not to something new. Most of the time I returned to a cycle of repentance and guilt that was designed to keep me in-line and to conform – ultimately to be accepted or approved by my peers and the leaders in the church. 

It didn’t take too much time before I would long for NEW LIFE – a personal metanoia. I wanted to think differently and change the direction of my life for the future and the betterment of myself and my neighbors.  This was bigger than me.

So how did we get from metanoia to repent? 

The translation of metanoia as ‘repent’ began when the New Testament was translated from Greek into Latin sometime around 384 CE by St. Jerome.  The Vulgate translation used the phrase which meant to “Go, and do penance” (a voluntary self-punishment).

This error was compounded by the reformer Martin Luther when he translated the New Testament into vernacular German in 1522. Luther worked from a 1519 Greek text compiled by Erasmus.

Luther translated metanoia as büssen (boo′sen) in German, which means to atone, to redress, to do penance.  So, from the end of the sixteenth century on, Roman Catholics and many Protestants believed that Jesus was talking about regret, sorrow, remorse, or performing acts of contrition, instead of a radical change in thinking and living.

WOW! Talk about getting off course and having serious consequences.  I can say this has literally affected my life, the lives of many people I care for, and I believe it now even has a huge detrimental impact on our politics in the United States.   

Scholars call this an “utter mistranslation,” or as one said, “the worst translation in the New Testament.”

 To Jesus, metanoia was a change so dramatic that it implied starting over again through a metaphorical second birth. Jesus declared,

“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.”

Oh no! Two more words that have had dire consequences for the church and our world, today.  I know tension arises in many of you in this room around being “born again.” 

But folks, please understand Jesus’ declaration is not to be confused with what is commonly known as “born-again Christianity.”  That is a completely different monster that has evolved greatly over time.

Kurt says,

The rebirth of metanoia is not about inviting the resurrected presence of the Christ to enter our hearts while remaining firmly rooted in cultural conformity. Jesus was certainly not discussing speaking in tongues or other charismatic gifts often associated with born-again Christians.

He was articulating an invitation to a new quality of life in the midst of the old… (Let me repeat that)

He was articulating an invitation to a new quality of life in the midst of the old…

…It is a fundamental transformation that enables us to begin the journey of a new life. It is like being reborn with a radically new perspective on the meaning of life and matters of ultimate concern.

I think this is why it is so easy for Quakers not to tie being born again to water baptism as many churches do.  Even though I was baptized as child, it has been the times when I chose to be transformed by a new journey of life that had the deepest meaning for me.  And it has not been a one-time event, but multiple times that have continued to shape, form and transform me.  This is what I consider my ongoing spiritual formation and journey. 

It is as Kurt says,

The deep-seated change of metanoia that Jesus describes happens through a process of learning and growing. It involves learning a completely new way of thinking about life, being instructed in a new way of seeing reality. It means discarding conventional wisdom and traditional common sense for an unconventional wisdom and a transformed sense of purpose. Start by turning around and going the other way, Jesus says to us. You are a captive of your culture and, although you may not be able to see it, you are headed in the wrong direction. You are living in darkness, mired in confusion.

 He then offers us this parable.

For instance, in America our cultural view of reality is one of climbing an economic ladder. As we climb, we tend to keep our eyes on the rung above, towards those who have more than we do. Because a few are incredibly wealthy, we tend to think of ourselves as poorer than we really are. When we turn around, as Jesus calls us to do, we look back down the ladder. Then we are able to see the vast majority of people who have far less than we do, and we begin to understand how incredibly wealthy we really are. It is a change of perspective, a shift of the mind, a whole new way of thinking. If embraced, one’s life becomes transformed; it becomes fundamentally altered.

Personally, I have had to move from looking at this entire process as part of my religion or faith and more as a movement or better, a way of life.  No wonder I found Quakers on my transformational journey.  That is also what we believe – we are a religious society of Friends, a movement not a religion, denomination, or even church for that matter.     

This transformation is a movement from greed to giving, from selfishness to servanthood, from social conformity to insurrection against the status quo. We do it through silence and listening to the Sprit.

Also, I believe Jesus was talking about shifting allegiances and values away from a mainstream culture of power, domination, and violence to the kingdom values of selfless love, compassion, humility, equality, generosity, forgiveness, justice, peace, service, and inclusive community.  

That sounds a lot like our Quaker testimonies and S.P.I.C.E.S.  Doesn’t it?  And let’s be honest, we are in need of metanoia in the United States much like the people of Jesus’ day.   

So, let’s briefly look at believe (in the good news) as Jesus says. Not just believe, but believe in the good news.

Kurt says,

The verb ‘believe’ is a translation of the Greek [word] which can mean ‘to believe,’ but more accurately means ‘to trust’ or ‘to have faith in.’ It is based on the noun pistis, which means faith, belief, trust, confidence, and faithfulness.

Normally, belief has the connotation of an intellectual acceptance of a proposition—a certainty that something is true, even in the absence of empirical evidence. Faith, likewise, implies great confidence in an idea.

But faith is often a visible and outward expression of what is believed to be true in one’s head. Further, faith is a trust in something to the extent that one would be willing to bet one’s life on it.

To be faithful within the context of any culture is to be seized by and devoted to whatever is believed to matter most in one’s life.

Belief is a psychological state, while faith is a way of living. We often speak of this visible expression as a faith walk or faith journey.

This is where I have come to see this important teaching of metanoia and pistis to be vital to me, to us, to our world today.  We must trust, bet our life on, and ultimately live into the good news that is transforming our lives and the lives of those around us.

The good news that Jesus proclaimed was a radical message of hope for people at the bottom of his society—the peasants and fishermen of Galilee. Jesus called on his followers to trust that the way of life he was teaching and modeling had the capability of transforming their lives and ultimately could change the world. He invited them to transform their old ways of thinking, and to shed their culture’s conventional wisdom in order to follow him.

It is clear that metanoia and pistis involve a committed change in us — a revolution in our way of thinking and perceiving, and a life dedicated to that new reality, trusting that this is the right thing to do, that this is the most important thing to do, and that this new way is worth risking everything one has, including one’s life. 

Instead of wallowing in our sins and feeling guilty for the sake of conformity, Jesus and Paul had a different plan – TO USE US TO TRANSFORM THIS WORLD.

When put this way, it makes it seem a lot more life giving, more hopeful, more about really doing something to change our world. 

We must remember that the mission of Jesus was twofold: the transformation of people into agents of love and the transformation of human societies into communities of compassion, equality, and justice. Our personal transformation was intended to be a catalyst for societal transformation.  

I wonder how different the world would be today, if the church in America actually spent its time seeking transformation and being a catalyst for societal transformation, instead of pointing fingers, demanding repentance, and trying to get people to believe a certain way?   That is what Jesus modeled for us. 

As you ponder all of this, let’s quiet our hearts and center down into waiting worship. Here are a few queries to ponder.

In what area(s) of my life, do I need to make a change of direction and become an agent of love?

What is the right thing for me to do, today?

How might my personal transformation be a catalyst for societal change?

4-27-25 - In the Proximity of Hope

In the Proximity of Hope
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Bob Henry
April 27, 2025

Good morning Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  This week the text I have chosen is from I Corinthians 15:1-7 and I am reading it from The Voice version.  

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated—unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. All this happened to fulfill the Scriptures; it was the perfect climax to God’s covenant story. Afterward He appeared alive to Cephas (you may know him as Simon Peter), then to the rest of the twelve.  If that were not amazing enough, on one occasion, He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. Many of those brothers and sisters are still around to tell the story, though some have fallen asleep in Jesus.  Soon He appeared to James, His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, and then to all the rest of the emissaries He Himself commissioned.

There are several stories recorded in the Bible of Jesus after the resurrection event that are both interesting and have had me reflecting this week on the hope that they convey. 

Scholars often discuss the 10 different accounts that are recorded in the Bible of Jesus’ appearances.  I believe the ones that were written down were teaching lessons much bigger than just more of the story. In many ways, they are almost parable-like in nature. Each teaching their own lesson for those with ears to hear.

Now, just to remind you of these appearances and to give you a sense of the order in which scripture recorded them happening, I want to read the list.  

It is recorded that Jesus appeared to:

1.      Mary Magdalene (where she mistakes Jesus as the gardener)

2.      The other Mary, Salome, Joanna, and at least one other unnamed woman.

(On a side note, I find it fascinating and a huge statement to Jesus’ day and culture that the first 5 people to encounter Jesus recorded in scripture were woman.)  

3.      Simon Peter (one of Jesus’ inner circle)

4.      Cleopas and a companion on the road to Emmaus. (Most likely the companion was not named because it was very likely a woman as well.)

5.      The Eleven Disciples without Thomas (to discuss doubting...)

6.      The Eleven with Thomas (to discuss believing…)

7.      Seven Disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (This is the famous Breakfast on the Beach scene)

8.      Disciples and a large gathering at a mountain in Galilee. (This is the one Jesus most often reminds the disciples about – meeting on the mountain to receive the charge or next steps – this ends up being almost a month after the resurrection.  

9.      James (private meeting with Jesus’ brother about the church)

10.                                   Disciples (probably in Jerusalem before he led them out of the Mt. of Olives to give the Great Commission and his departure.)  

Ten different situations, all with very different interactions.  As well, the stories have Jesus appearing sometimes miraculously and at other times in normal situations.  We have Jesus coming through walls, disappearing, not being able to be touched, asking to be touched, and often the gatherings are accompanied by eating. But to understand the importance of all of these appearances to us today, I think we need to look a little deeper at what Jesus was addressing in the individual appearances and with whom he was addressing them. 

After a death (or any loss for that matter), most people not only go through the stages of grief, they also face the deeper need of seeking and finding hope amidst the loss and pain.  Each of the people that Jesus appears to is both in shock and grieving. As a pastor, I am familiar with the reactions of people in that first week after the loss of a close friend or loved one.  Its often a very difficult time and hard to have clarity or peace.

Over half of the recorded appearances of Jesus happen in the first 8 days after his execution. Remember, this literally happened in front of these people – talk about a difficult thing to work through. I cannot even imagine having to watch a good friend executed in front of me – especially by crucifixion.  And the bigger gatherings happened over the next few weeks up to 40 days later.  For those who have experienced loss and grief…these 40 days can be a rollercoaster of emotion. 

C.S. Lewis put it this way in his classic, “A Grief Observed.” 

In grief, nothing “stays put.” One keeps emerging from a phase, but it always recurs. Round and round.  Everything repeats.  Am I going in circles, or dare I hope I’m on a spiral? But if a spiral, am I going up or down it?

This was the situation for the disciples and followers of Jesus – they were in the “spin cycle” of grief and loss.  But each of them was dealing with other things as well, and I have a hunch that Jesus’ appearances may be speaking about more than we know.  I think it has to do with what I am going to call “the proximity of hope.”  

Let’s start with Mary Magdalene. She was so caught up in the loss – that she missed the proximity of hope before her eyes – just assuming he was the gardener.

Losses can do this to us – and not just loss through death.  Losing our keys or glasses can have a tremendous impact on how we see (even literally see) the world around us in that moment.  Or take the loss of a computer file or a record. 

A week ago, our son was trying get to work and could not find his keys.  He woke me up to help him look. It was a frantic look as the time grew later and later. Finally, we found out that Sue found them in the back of her car at work. Sadly the damage was done and the impact had taken its toll. A while after he grabbed the spare key and took off, he called because he had an accident. The loss had him so much that his focus was off.  

Loss often takes us away from the moment and has us missing what is actually going on. Those who go through divorce often can no longer see their former spouse in the same light – or even themselves.  Jesus appearing to Mary and her thinking he is the Gardner shows us how easy our loss and grief control how we see.

The appearance of Jesus to the other Mary, Salome, Joanna and the other unnamed woman, continues these thoughts.  Here the thing that happens when we are dealing with loss and grief is that we forget what has already been said or done.  In each of the scriptures telling of this appearance, it has the figure of light saying, “Remember how he told you…”.

Loss often has us forgetting or at least neglecting to remember all the details of our lives.  The loss of a friendship has us forgetting the good times and focusing often on only what tore us apart.  The loss of our own memory has us searching and searching for answers. Sometimes I need to take a day and look back through photos, thank you notes, and even highlights in books to remember what I have done and learned.  I think this is why at most memorials we have slide shows and photo boards.  We need to remember the bigger story of life…

It says that Jesus presented himself directly to Peter (before the others).  Sometimes loss needs direct intervention. We need someone in our life to directly interact with us.  I don’t know about you, but I have always related to Peter. 

On many occasions, Jesus had to interact with Peter – one-on-one – and often Jesus had to convey a difficult message.  When I am struggling with loss or grieving, sometimes I need someone to come to me and be direct.  Often, we need a sponsor or a mentor, to keep us on track, to invest in us, to believe in us.  I think Jesus did that with each person he encountered.  Again, this was being put in the proximity of hope.

On the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and the other disciple encounter Jesus.  Jesus actually walked with them it says. He had them remember, he engaged them directly….and then he did one more thing…he ate with them. 

When we are dealing with loss and grief, food is a huge part of the process.  Some people eat, some do not.  Some find it comforting.  But there is more to this.  Conversations and interactions happen around the table.  The table is a harbinger of the proximity of hope.  The church is good about making meals when people are experiencing loss and grief.  We are good about having meals after memorials, inviting hurting people out to eat with us to allow them to talk…I know for me having a cup of good coffee with someone opens up conversations and has us dealing with and processing our losses and grieving. Sometimes we find answers, insights, and at other times, just like Cleopas and the other disciple – our eyes are simply opened to hope!

When Jesus meets the eleven disciples without Thomas, he begins to lay a foundation for peace in their lives.  In The Message, Eugene Peterson translated the scene this way, “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over.” 

Sometimes we are so upset and doubting ourselves, others, and even our experiences that losses and grief can be intensified.  I am sure the disciples were upset, but often we become irrational when we are upset. We can easily let our anger get the best of us. Our misunderstandings about the losses in our lives can have us going down bunny trails that lead us into unhealthy thinking about ourselves and others.

At times, it would be good to find a place for silence and solitude, to calm our hearts and minds.  Loss often creates doubts that can consume our minds and we begin to say things like:   

·      “I don’t think I can do this without...”

·      “I don’t know what I am going to do.”

·      “I don’t think I can go on.”

And I am sure you can think of others that run through your minds. These are the kind of doubting questions Jesus is talking about not letting take over.

When Thomas (who gets a bad rap for all of church history) arrives in the upper room eight days later, Jesus again takes a similar approach by bringing a word of peace, but then gets more to the point about dealing with this doubt getting out of control.  He says specifically to Thomas, “…you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.” 

Boy, I can’t tell you how important that has been to me.  I have been gripped in wondering how things were going to turn out, sometimes after experiencing loss, and I have worked myself up so much that only my way of “seeing” will do. 

But my impatience and my lack of will to see from a different perspective has caused me to think I needed to see the entire picture to believe it would come out ok.  Often, I just need to believe without seeing for it to work out just fine.

When Jesus meets the disciples on the beach – a scene I absolutely love – he realizes that the disciples had gone back to their old ways (that sounds so familiar – I can relate). 

We go to our defaults when we are dealing with loss and grief because they often bring comfort or normalcy.  There they were all fishing again.  And again, they were struggling with the catch.  But what is interesting is Jesus doesn’t walk on the water or do anything really out of the ordinary, no this time he takes care of the ordinary.  He takes care of starting a fire and making breakfast. 

Sometimes we need others around us when we are dealing with loss and grief to simply keep up the normalcy and ordinary in our life.  They don’t need to do anything spectacular, because often it is simply us who needs to try throwing our nets out on the other side of the boats of our lives. 

And sometimes when we are in a funk and have gone back into our default mode, sometimes we need someone to give us a new charge on life.  Scripture points out that some of Jesus’ followers held back, not sure about risking themselves totally. Loss and grief can have us not sure, not wanting to step out, not wanting to do anything, but that is when we often need a nudge or a charge.  Jesus’ charge was to go! And it was followed up by those beautiful words, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you.”

Actually, Jesus took several disciples aside including his brother James and did more than just charge them – he commissioned them to represent him.  He gave them a purpose and job.  James would go on to be a founder and developer of the Early Church.  James would later write in his own epistle,

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So, don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.”   

I got a feeling James would have rather continued in his loss and grief, embracing his default, but Jesus’ charge had him listening and feeling the call to go and truly live. 

And in the very last appearance Jesus makes before his departure, he commissions all of his followers.  He gives them all a purpose to move on and to live.  He says that it will come from within as the Spirit equips them.   And then he does what many need as they work through their loss and grief – Jesus blesses them.  He raised his hands and blessed them before leaving. 

I was moved on Monday as the news of Pope Francis’ passing hit the news. His last act as Pope was to bless the masses on Easter morning.  It was as though he was blessing them as they prepared for his departure – very similar to Jesus.

Many people gather with loved ones just before they die and receive final words and blessing from them. I often am with people at those beautiful moments and they are moving.    

Folks, I sense what Jesus did in those final appearances was give us some guidance on how to handle our losses and grief by interacting with those he loved.  Jesus became the proximity of hope to those suffering the loss and grieving his death.  And now Jesus is charging us to go and be the proximity of hope to a hurting world. 

Let’s remember the insights we have learned this morning from Jesus’ appearances:

1.      Check your sight – Ask: What do I really see?

2.      Always remember the bigger story – Ask: What have I forgotten? 

3.      Be open to needing direct intervention – Ask: Can I do it alone?

4.      Take time to eat together for the benefit of the soul – Ask: Who do I need to have coffee or lunch with this week? 

5.      Don’t let your doubts get the best of you – Ask: Can I believe without having to see? 

6.      Stop reverting to your “defaults” – Ask: What are my possibilities?

7.      Doing the ordinary is just as important as the extraordinary – Ask: What am I about in the daily?

8.      And always remember you are not alone – God will never leave you nor forsake you – but will always help you remember your proximity to hope!

Let those thoughts and queries be on our hearts and minds as we center down and enter a time of waiting worship.

4-20-25 - Transformational Resurrection

Transformational Resurrection
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Bob Henry
April 20, 2025

Happy Easter, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections.  The text I have chosen for this Easter is Matthew 28:1-10 from the New Revised Standard Version.  

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

This week as I was preparing my message, I stopped by Barnes and Noble to peruse the shelves for new books. I was happily surprised to find a new book by author and scholar Elaine Pagels.

Many of you have enjoyed the work of Elaine Pagels, especially her work on the Gnostic Gospels. Well, her new book happens to be about Jesus and again had my attention. So, I grabbed a comfy chair in one of their nooks and turned quickly to the chapter on the resurrection which she, quoting Dale Allison, says is the “primary puzzle of New Testament research.” 

She then goes on to give a history of understanding from multiple views including the Gospels writers. Yet probably the most interesting aspect is her focus on the Apostle Paul and what he actually said verses how we have interpreted it over time from our own beliefs and theologies. 

As I sat at Barnes and Noble reading veraciously, I stopped on one line that really spoke to my condition and my heart as a pastor.  Pagels says,

“Paul wants far more from his listeners than that they believe what he preaches. Instead, he passionately longs for them, too, to “be transformed.”

That’s exactly it. This is my heart’s prayer as I prepare each week. Folks, I don’t get up here every Sunday, for you to have tidbits of information, meme worthy quotes, or answers for trivia games with friends.  My hope each week is that God will use me and the words the Spirit has inspired in me to share – to transform lives.

Paul saw this in the life of Jesus and said that transformation is what Jesus’ Resurrection was all about. Whether it was a metaphor or an actual physical resurrection. Paul describes it as a seed that goes into the ground and has to die, only to be raised as something new – a plant, a tree, a flower. 

Pagels points out that when Paul was talking about the Resurrection he was actually talking about two different kinds of resurrection. The first included the physical body, what he called the First Adam, and then there was the “psychic’ body, a being that consists of psyche or the Greek term for the soul. This was what he equated Jesus or the New Adam to. 

What this helped me understand was the holistic nature of the Resurrection. That it transforms us on the inside and out. It affects us physically and spiritually at the depths of our being. We all have things we must die to, things that we wrestle with, struggle with, even things that we feel are out of our control. And Paul believes our response will take transformation – moving from death to new life.   

I remember one of these transformation resurrection moments in my life. I have probably shared this story before, but I think it is worth hearing again. 

On the final night of a conference, I attended in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the writer, philosopher, storyteller and public speaker, Peter Rollins was speaking, I will never forget how he concluded the evening by talking about practicing the resurrection. He concluded by sharing a parable his friend wrote as he left church one day...it went like this…

“I dreamt that I died and I went to heaven and St. Peter was there. He opened the gates to welcome me in.  “How great to see you!”

He said, “I was just about to step into heaven, then I noticed some of my friends were here. Some of them Atheists, some of them Buddhists, and some of them “God-knows-what.” He said, “St. Peter, what about my friends?”

St. Peter says, “Well, you know the rules. You know the rules”

And then his friend said, “I thought of my reference point. Jesus the outsider…Jesus the drunkard…Jesus the bastard…the friend of sinners…Jesus the one who would always stay with those who were oppressed.” 

And he said, “You know what…I’ll just stay out here with them.

And the parable ends with St. Peter breaking a smile and saying “AT LAST, AT LAST, YOU UNDERSTAND!”    

THAT RIGHT THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL RESURRECTION!!!!

Even though this was a powerful parable, Rollins concluded this story with a more personal story. At a speaking engagement, he was asked a question about if he denied the resurrection of Jesus. This is how Peter Rollins responded,

Without equivocation or hesitation, I fully and completely admit that I deny the resurrection of Christ. This is something that anyone who knows me could tell you, and I am not afraid to say it publicly, no matter what some people may think.  [And then he paused.]

He held the pause long enough for some people in the room to literally gasp and concerned whispers to be heard. Honestly, I felt my physical body react to his words. That Quaker seed growing in me began to quake. Then without missing a beat Peter Rollins continued by saying...

I deny the resurrection of Christ every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed, each day that I turn my back on the poor; I deny the resurrection of Christ when I close my ears to the cries of the downtrodden and lend my support to an unjust and corrupt system.

Folks, that is death, that is the seed being buried in the ground. He goes on to say,

However, there are moments when I affirm that resurrection, few and far between as they are. I affirm it when I stand up for those who are forced to live on their knees, when I speak for those who have had their tongues torn out, when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed.

In those moments, he was transformed, and new life arose!

As he spoke, I was transformed, moved to tears, quaking, ready to go! I still feel the power of those words running through me right now.

This is what Paul was talking about – it is not just the preaching about the resurrection alone – but the power to be transformed by it and to act! To allow the dead places in our lives to regain life and bring hope to a dying world.  

The Spirit working through Peter Rollins transformed that auditorium that night,  and not a single one of us left the same as we had entered. 

I believe I can say that I experienced the power of transformational resurrection with the people in that room in a special way. About five or six years later, I ran into one of the guys that I sat with that night, and we reminisced about hearing those words of Peter Rollins and how they had such a huge impact on our lives, our trajectory, even our callings. He agreed it was life giving and life altering.   

But I also believe, each week here at First Friends, I experience transformational resurrection with each of you.  And I believe you experience it throughout the week with each other.

Currently, there is a lot that is bringing death into our lives and we need our fellow Friends prompted by the Spirit to help water that seed, nurture it through friendships, and help it blossom into something beautiful.

Clarence Jordan, farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, and founder of Koinonia Farm in Georgia where Habitat for Humanity was birthed, puts words to this…

The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not the empty tomb, but the full hearts of his transformed disciples. The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave, but a spirit-filled fellowship. Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church [or Meeting]. 

Let me read that again:

The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not the empty tomb, but the full hearts of his transformed disciples. The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave, but a spirit-filled fellowship. Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church [or Meeting].   

That is exactly how I felt that night in Grand Rapids – I was a transformed disciple, part of a spirit-filled fellowship and a carried-away church.

And that is how I hope we feel each week at First Friends. Gifted and ready to bring transformational resurrection to our world. To bring new life into people and places that are dying.  Seeds who had gone into the ground and are ready to rise up and bloom! 

So, what are we to learn from all of this? Like Peter Rollins and Clarence Jordan, we need to see the Resurrection of Jesus in ways that pertain to us bringing NEW LIFE and HOPE into our world, TODAY.  I don’t think Jesus intended it for just this day nor for simply when we die. He wanted it to become a new way for us to live this life – daily!

As we are transformed – then others too will be transformed.     

Again, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan’s book, “The Last Week” makes a good point about going one step further with what you believe about Jesus’ resurrection. They ask the following queries,

If you believe the tomb to be empty, fine, now what does this story mean? If you believe that Jesus’ appearances could have been videotaped, fine, now, what do these stories mean? And if you are not quite sure about that, or even if you are quite sure it didn’t happen this way, fine, now what do these stories mean?

“What does this resurrection of Jesus mean to you and me?”  “What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to the world around us?  What does the resurrection mean to people who need a new take on life?  

If the Resurrection of Jesus doesn’t have some type of continued impact on us today and we are not seeking out its meaning in our daily lives, I think we miss the full impact of transformational resurrection in our lives.

I believe the Resurrection of Jesus is more than an event 2000+ years ago, it is more than a simple transaction creating a ticket to heaven when we die, or the possibility of living again someday after we die. And I definitely do not believe it is an event that is dividing us into people who are being sorted into places called heaven and hell.

Rather it is about the transformational resurrection all around us and what I consider the daily resurrection life.

Transformational resurrection changes everything – because it changes us.   

The early Christians talked all the time about this transformational resurrection life and its importance.  Like in Romans 8:1,

"God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike 'What's next, Papa?'"

Or as Paul emphatically explaining the importance of this to the people in Corinth,

Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn't be the end of me? Not on your life! It's resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live." 1 Corinthians 15: 32.

Ponder for a moment…

How am I experiencing transformational resurrection, today?

What in me must die so that the seed in me can arise and bloom?

My answer to those queries co-mingle the thoughts of Rollins, Jordan, the Apostle Paul, and Jesus. Folks, it is about being transformed to live out the resurrection in our daily lives – in the present moment, as much as it is a future hope.

And maybe that is because resurrection is about transformation from death to life – not just after we physically die, but after each death we face on this planet. We are surrounded by death all the time – failures, struggles, losses, you name it…they create death all around us.   

Marcus Borg says it this way,

[For Jesus] God was the central reality of his life and the kingdom of God was the center of his message. The kingdom of God was not about heaven, not about life after death, but about the transformation of life on earth, as the Lord’s Prayer affirms. It is not about “Take us to heaven when we die,” but about “Your kingdom come on earth” – as already in heaven. The kingdom of God on earth was about God’s passion – and Jesus’s passion – for the transformation of “this world”: the humanly created world of injustice and violence into a world of justice and nonviolence.

That sounds like a charge for us Quakers.  As we respond to this transformational resurrection life, as we expand and deepen our understanding, as we are beckoned by God to go, as we sense the adventure in bringing freedom, hope, peace, and life to a world filled with violence and injustice. 

Be transformed!

On this Easter morning, let’s take a moment to ponder all this as we center down and enter waiting worship.

4-13-25 - What Parade Will You Join?

What Parade Will You Join?
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Bob Henry
April 13, 2025

Good morning Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. The scripture for this Palm Sunday is from Luke 19:29-40 taken from the New Revised Standard Version.

When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 

So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” 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 is one of my favorite Sundays. That may be because I love remembering the story of how I was presented as a baby to God on this day, 51 years ago. In the church tradition in which I was raised we baptized infants, but the universal church has always had a focus during this special week (what some call Holy Week) on a time of preparation for one’s journey of faith.

Throughout my childhood and into adulthood, Palm Sunday has always captured my attention not just because of the great story or church traditions, but this special Sunday almost always begins with a parade (and who doesn’t love a parade).

Parades have always fascinated and drawn me. I am sure it is the child in me, the traditions, and the community coming together to celebrate who we are, that makes it all so alluring. I love the sound of marching bands, the antics of clowns and characters, big floats and so much more.  

Actually, some of my favorite memories are the parades in the places I have lived and visited.  Growing up in the small town of New Haven, Indiana I did not miss a parade, on several occasions I was even part of our local parade as a child. I remember once decorating my bike and riding the parade route with other kids from my community.  

I will never forget when my parents took me to Walk Disney World for the first time and I saw the Main Street Electrical Parade with all the floats covered in lights and I was completely mesmerized – it is a core memory of mine.

In high school I played the trumpet and joined my marching band in the Fort Wayne Three Rivers Parade on a 90+ degree day in July. That is a different kind of core memory.

During college, I watched Michael Jordan, and the Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Parade make its way to Grant Park three years in a row, and when Michael returned from retirement…I watched three more.     

When we lived in Wheaton, IL and had our first child, Sue and I would always attend the big 4th of July Parade with the entire town. I remember Alex not liking the sirens of the police cavalcade, just like me when I was that age.     

When we lived in Silverton, Oregon we had two parades each year – one was the Homer Davenport Festival Parade and one was our annual Pet Parade which many from our meeting participated in by bringing their pets – from cats and dogs to horses and llamas.   

My entire family has rituals and traditions around watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Disney Parks Christmas Parade on Christmas Day, and the Rose Bowl Parade on New Years Day. When we visited Alex at Christmas this year, he had even recorded the Disney Christmas Day Parade so we could have it on as we celebrated with him. Parades are a big thing in our family.  

And since moving back to Indianapolis we have added watching The Indianapolis 500 Parade, and on a couple of occasion we have participated in the Indy Pride Parade.

So…parades have had and continue to have a big part in my and my family’s life. And let’s be really honest, parades are part of all of our lives.

History shows us that parades have been part of human culture for centuries, dating back to ancient civilizations. The origin of parades can be traced back to the extravagant processions of the Egyptians, where they celebrated religious ceremonies and important events with grand marches.

Throughout history, parades have taken various forms and served different purposes. They have been used to showcase religious ceremony, military might, to honor heroes and victories, commemorate historic events, and simply bring communities together in a joyful display of unity and pride.

And this all leads us perfectly into this morning, where we are going to look at two different parades happening as Jesus enters Jerusalem.

Several years ago, now, I preached a message titled, “What Really Happened on Palm Sunday?” where we explored some of what was going on in Jesus’ day. Today, I want to return to that exploration but focus specifically on the two parades.

To help us, again, I will turn to the book, “The Last Week,” by New Testament scholars John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg and as well, the words of pastor and scholar Dawn Hutchings.

Let me refresh our understanding with some of what these scholars revealed in their writings.

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but the parade which heralded Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem wasn’t the largest or most spectacular parade in town during that particular Passover season.

We must understand that back then, Jerusalem was a destination hotspot—a tourist town. The city’s population swelled from 40,000 to 200,000 during the holidays and Passover was one of the busiest holidays.

Crossan and Borg point out that there were two processions into Jerusalem to kick off what we call Holy Week. One, we know well and commemorate today with the waving of palm branches. We remember a peasant prophet of sorts riding a donkey, accompanied by his peasant followers coming from the north into Jerusalem. 

But, also entering Jerusalem at Passover, from the west, was the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Like the Roman governors of Judea before him, Pilate lived in Caesarea by the sea. In other words, Pilate spent most of his time at his beach house (probably playing a round or two of golf, as well.)  

But with crowds of devout Jews flowing into Jerusalem to commemorate their liberation from Egypt, the Roman Governors would put on a display of force, to deter the Jews from getting too exuberant about the possibility of liberation from Rome. Pilate’s procession was the visible manifestation of Imperial Roman power. This almost seems right out of our headlines, today.

Once a year, during the Passover, the Roman procurator moved his headquarters to Jerusalem in a show of strength designed to prevent any outbreaks of insurgency or violent rebellion against Roman rule.

Such outbreaks were a constant danger, both because Roman rule imposed real hardship economically on their subject nations, and because, no one likes the foot of a foreign power on their necks. I suspect there were tariffs involved, as well.

In a show of military force, the second parade included what Crossan and Borg describe as, “cavalry on horses, foot soldiers, leather armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold.”

As Crossan and Borg say, The sound of “marching feet, the creaking of leather, the clinking of bridles, the beating of drums” would have had a sobering effect on all those who saw this parade. There would have been no shouts of Hosanna as the powerful Pilate rode astride of his horse, hoping to strike fear into the resentful onlookers. 

As Pilate lead a regiment of his own most trusted soldiers into town; as a show of force, he did so with confidence knowing that he was backed up by several battalions of Rome’s finest garrisoned on the west side of Jerusalem ready to flood into the city at Pilate’s command.

The Gospel according to Mark, written some 50 years after the event, tells us that Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem was not a spontaneous, slap-dash, spur-or-the-moment event.

In fact, Mark, the first Gospel to be written, spends more time telling us about the preparations for Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem than about the event itself.

It would seem Jesus wanted intentionally to set himself in stark contrast with the other procession coming into town. 

According to Mark, the event was a sort of counter-procession, designed to contrast the kingdom of Rome to the dominion of God.

According to the first account, Jesus assigned two disciples to the job of acquiring a colt. It’s an odd clandestine mission that Jesus gives to his two disciples.

At the entrance of a village, they are told they will see the animal tied up. They are instructed to untie the donkey and bring it back; and if anyone questions their actions, they are to offer the oblique explanation that their master has need of it. Oh, and by the way, the animal has never been ridden before. 

As we heard in our text for today, the disciples do as they are told, find the colt and they are indeed questioned as to why they, two strangers, are making off with (or literally stealing) someone else’s animal.

They bring the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on this unbroken colt and Jesus sat on it. Jesus simply sat on the back of a previously un-ridden colt.

Now by the time the writer of Luke gets around to telling the story, some 60 or 70 years after the event, the colt is now a donkey.

Matthew written 60 or 70 years after the event, can’t seem to decide so that gospel has the disciples bring a donkey and a colt and Jesus sits on them and rides them into Jerusalem.

They spread their cloaks on the road and some lay leafy branches on the road. According to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew these are just any old leafy branches. If you were listening carefully to our text from Luke, there is no mention of branches at all.

By the time you get to the Gospel of John written some 70 to 80 years after the event, the leafy branches are named as branches of palm trees.

Now, if you are thinking that I’m nit picking, there’s a point to “any old branches” verses “palm branches.”

Waving palm branches was the way that conquering military leaders were welcomed home from battle. The Gospel of John hints that Jesus is a conquering hero, when the earlier gospels seem to be setting up this particular parade as an ironic antithesis to a military parade.

So, what really happened, all those years ago?

Well, I have come to agree with John Shelby Spong, who seems to think that the followers of Jesus were interpreting their memories of the Jesus experience through the lenses of their own Jewish traditions. 

In his book, Jesus for the Non-Religious, Spong points out that at the time of the Passover there wouldn’t have been any leafy branches about. Jerusalem at that time of year would have had leafless trees. Except of course for the only tree that keeps its leaves; the evergreen of the desert: the palm tree.

Now, this may also come as a surprise, Scholars agree that it is entirely possible that the death of Jesus took place not at the time of the Passover, but rather at the Jewish festival of Sukkoth, one of the most popular festivals of the Jewish calendar.

Sukkoth is the harvest festival. It is also known as the Festival of Tabernacles or Booths. This holiday, which also attracted huge numbers of pilgrims to Jerusalem, would have also required Pilate to exhibit a show of force. It was probably the most popular holiday among the Jews in the first century. There are some very telling features of the festival that suggest that the crucifixion did not actually occur during the Passover.

In the observance of Sukkoth, worshippers processed through Jerusalem and in the temple, waving in their right hands something called a lulab, which was a bunch of leafy branches made of willow, myrtle and palm.

It gets better, as they waved these branches in that procession, the worshippers recited words from Psalm 118, the psalm normally reserved for Sukkoth. Among those words were: “Save us, we beseech you, O Lord.”  “Save us” in Hebrew is hosianna or hosanna. That phrasing was typically followed with the words: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Spong and a good many other theologians point to the book of the prophet Zechariah. The prophet quoted by the gospel writers when they tell the story of Palm Sunday.  

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Lo, your King comes to you; triumphant and victories is he humble and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.”

Spong insists that the Gospel writers were trying to make sense out of the crucifixion and did so through the lens of their own Jewish scriptures and traditions.

Jesus may well have participated in the festival of Sukkoth before the crucifixion. Those events were spoken of down through the decades until in the hands of the gospel writers, (and this may surprise you the most) they were reinterpreted to portray Jesus as the messiah, the one the people were waiting for. Thus, Jesus was no longer just some political rabble-rouser who was executed by the Romans for provoking an insurgency.

Rather, Jesus is reinterpreted as the longed for Messiah as foretold by the Prophet and the story is reset during the Passover to portray Jesus as the new Moses, sent to deliver his people from the hands of their oppressors.

Sadly, the historical details are impossible to sort some two centuries after the events.

Reading the accounts literally is also impossible; that is unless you are willing to leave your brain out of the equation; and picture Jesus riding a colt and a donkey, both of whom have never been ridden before.

So why would I bring this up? Well, what is important is that the gospel writers wanted to give their readers an impression of who Jesus was, using words and images that that they would understand because they came straight out of the Jewish scriptures and traditions.  

What we must not do is read these stories outside of their own context. To do so is to run the risk, that Christianity has fallen prey to over and over again down through the centuries that has labeled our Jewish friends as the killers of Christ and punished them mercilessly.

So, let’s get to the real query for us this morning, what is Palm Sunday speaking to us, today in 2025?

It seems to me that no matter how you look at the story of this procession into Jerusalem, you can’t help but see the image of a Jesus who offers us a choice between two parades.

The attraction of the power and the might of Pilate’s military parade with all its glory and wonder is still there to tempt us. The temptation to use fear, revenge, force, and violence, military might, nuclear deterrence, shock and awe, is still marching its way into the hearts and minds of so many people in our world, today.

The pathways to glory still beckon. Power and might, greed and violence attract more attention and more converts than the path less traveled: Jesus versus Pilate, the nonviolence of the dominion of God versus the violence of the empire.

Two arrivals, two entrances, two processions—and the reality is that we all too often can easily find ourselves in the wrong parade.

Pastor Dawn Hutchings says,

“The world is full of parades or as we might more frequently say, full of “bandwagons.” Sometimes it’s really difficult to know which parade to join, which bandwagon to hop on. It’s so easy and so tempting to join the wrong ones and so hard, sometimes, to get in the right procession. It’s so easy to simply get caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowds and join the processions which has the loudest brass bands or the most elaborate floats or the greatest number of celebrities or the most charismatic leaders.”

And that means, 

“…it’s easy to miss the counter-procession that is taking place on the other side of town—the one where Jesus is riding on a humble donkey, claiming a dominion, not by violence, but by courageous loving, serving and accepting his place among the victims of imperial power. In so doing, for those with the eyes of faith to see it, Jesus bears witness to the futility of the world’s kind of power in establishing God’s peace, God’s shalom, and points us to a different way. The dominion of God is nothing remotely like the kingdoms or empires with which we are all too familiar.”

Folks, power does not come from domination or oppression, but rather flows from love and service. Let me repeat that…Power does not come from domination or oppression, but rather flows from love and service.

Leadership requires servanthood and grace.

And as Quakers we know that peace is won without sword, and no person claims greater value than another.

While Pontius Pilate processed into town with a showcase of intimidating muscle and glinting armor astride a noble steed, Jesus processed unarmed, unflanked, on the back of a borrowed burro.

So, what parade will you join, today? 

Let that query speak to your condition as we enter waiting worship this morning. 

4-6-25 - Eyes That See: Personal Reflections on an Evolving Faith

Eyes That See: Personal Reflections on an Evolving Faith
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Eric Baker
April 6, 2025

Matthew 13:10-12, 16 (The Message)

The disciples came up and asked (Jesus), "Why do you tell stories?"
He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears.

“(But) you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear!

Good morning, everyone! First, I want to say thank you to Pastors Bob and Beth, for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today. I thought about just sitting at the piano and speaking from there, and even though I might have been comfortable, I thought it might be strange for the rest of you. So, here I am.

Many of you who know me, might have heard me, at one point, talk about growing up in a very conservative, religious home. Besides our house where we lived, the church was, without a doubt, the second most defining place of my growing up years, even more than school. My family – my parents, my three siblings, and me – attended an evangelical church that was centered in the holiness tradition. Now, I don’t want to get too deep into theological doctrine, at least not until we’ve all had enough coffee for the day. But I will say this – the holiness tradition is rooted in the belief that there are two “works of grace”, as they are called. The first is salvation – you “get saved”. I can see some heads nodding from some of you who are familiar with this language. The second work is “entire sanctification”. This, according to the teachings of John Wesley, brings about “Christian perfection”, his words, defined generally as a life filled with and guided by the Holy Spirit. Reflecting on this now, many years later, it’s sometimes still hard for me to believe the use of the word “perfection” in this context. But that’s exactly what we were taught, and what, for many years, I internalized and strived for.

This brought about two distinct responses in me. One, more heart-driven, and the other, more head-driven. The first was the notion that I was never going to measure up to what I was “supposed to be”. And this was a bad thing. I was constantly striving for, and falling short. Having the best intentions, and then feeling like a failure every time I had “sin” in my life. The second response was the notion that, once you became saved and sanctified, your beliefs about God, about the world, and about right and wrong, did not change. You accepted the teachings of the church as the small-g gospel truth.

Again, reflecting from this vantage point, it’s difficult to discern which of these responses was more damaging in my life – the guilt I felt for not measuring up, or the fervent conviction that my beliefs about God and the world were “right”, set in stone, and should not, or would not change.

But the danger came about when someone started asking tough questions. “Wrestling with their faith”, as it was called. This was thin ice, and I remember more than one person advising me to “just have faith”. “Let go and let God”. The implication was that I should not get too worried about the questions, but instead just trust that everything I’d been taught was right, and that God would take care of the rest. Not to be too harsh, but when I describe these types of things now, it sounds a little culty.

So, with that backdrop… This is an interesting scripture that Beth read, the words of Jesus from the book of Matthew, chapter 13. And I like The Message paraphrase. Specifically when Jesus says, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. …Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. …You have eyes that see, ears that hear!” I’m struck by the present and active tone of some of these words – insights and understandings that flow freely, eyes that do see, ears that do hear. But I wonder, what are these insights and understandings? Eyes to see and ears to hear…what? And what does it mean to have a “ready heart for this”, as Jesus says?

The implication that there could be “new insights” into God’s kingdom is not something that was emphasized in my formative years. However, it is something that has become very important to me in the years since. So, how do we gain insights? How do we continue to evolve in our faith and understanding? Well, we can talk about ‘evolving’ from a few different perspectives. Let’s start with an evolving mind.

I’ve had the privilege and honor to be able to teach and mentor many young people throughout my adult life. It’s something that I grew to have a passion for. Most of these relationships began in the context of music – piano or voice lessons, choir directing, band coaching… But many developed from lessons and conversations just about music, to also include conversations about life. About relationships with friends and significant others, about family dynamics, sexual orientation, alcohol and other substances, career choices, and so much more.

One of my favorite things to do with my students was something I called “marker moments”. Let’s say I had introduced a hard concept – playing a certain piece or passage, or maybe scales at a specific tempo. Or, in voice, singing over your “break”, from chest voice to head voice, or blending, or breath control… Can I get an “amen” from my choir? You get the picture. Almost without exception, students struggled with these concepts at first. A week, or two weeks, or a month might go by with little noticeable change. But then, at the, say, three month mark, when we had added other things, other pieces into the mix, and the student breezed through that original three month old concept, I would stop them, and say, “Hey, remember when you couldn’t play that? Remember when trying to do that was so frustrating? Do you realize that you just played it without stopping, and maybe even without thinking about it? Way to go! That progress needs to be celebrated!” Then I’d high-five them, and they’d have a big smile on their face.

Or, maybe the marker moment wasn’t about music at all, but something in their life – passing a particularly difficult class, or finding a job, joining a club, maybe initiating a hard conversation with a friend or family member. And when that “thing” happened, it called for acknowledging and celebrating, not just for the event itself, but for the growth that had occurred in that person as a result.

With several of my really close students and mentor-mentee relationships, we’d have conversations about the really hard questions – Is there a God? What’s the purpose of my life? What really hard things might life throw at me, and will I be strong enough to get through them? These are questions that don’t have simple, pat answers.

At the end of these conversations, I would usually say something like, “Your perspective will likely change on these things as you get older, as you experience more of life. In 5 years, you may have a different answer. In 10 years, you’ll most likely have a different answer. And in 20 years, you’d better have a different answer!”

Ok, let’s get back to the topic at hand. To be clear, the thought of an “evolving faith” would be something akin to heresy in the churches of my youth. And not just for the possible association with Charles Darwin. In that setting, your beliefs, your convictions, were the very measure of the strength of your faith. If your convictions started to crumble, everything went with it. And besides, it was of utmost importance that everyone in a particular church, or even denomination, essentially believed the same things, about God, about certain social issues, about who’s going to heaven, and who’s not. The day I started to question this, was the day I wondered if maybe there was another way.

If you’ve attended this Meeting for very long, it’s likely that you’ve heard talk of the SPICES. These are our core values, sometimes called our Quaker “testimonies”, something we strive to “give witness to” in the world. When we say “spices”, we’re talking about Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. Now, I knew nothing of the SPICES when I first walked in to this Meeting back in 2012. But now they have become, and continue to be for me a kind of guiding principle in my life. However, my view of these values, these testimonies, has not been static. Indeed, it has been very dynamic.

I’ll take two of these, and give you a couple of examples – First, the “E” in SPICES: Equality.

When I was growing up, the issue of LGBT rights and the gay community in general, was just that – an issue. I was taught to “love the sinner, hate the sin”. Which, based on the models I was being shown, meant, keep “those people” at an arm’s length. And, I’m ashamed to say now, it was pretty easy for me to adopt this approach. Easy, that is, until I formed a friendship with someone who was gay. I was in my mid 20s. His name was Richard. He had stories of terrible treatment at the hands of other people, many of them from conservative faith communities, shunning him in the name of their particular brand of Christianity. I began to see and hear about Richard’s heart, his humanness, his sense of humor, his emotions, his dreams. And, over time, I began to relate to Richard not as a gay person, but as a person, created in the very image of God, just like I was. As our friendship strengthened, I realized that Richard and I were not really that different from one another. Over time, the LGBT community stopped being just a black and white “issue” for me, but now had faces, names, personalities, emotions, hopes.

More recently, I lived on the far east side of Indianapolis, for a period of about five years. The far east side has, for decades, struggled as a result of disinvestment from the city. There are large grocery deserts, struggling schools, boarded up buildings…potholes that don’t always get fixed, yards that don’t always get mowed, trash that doesn’t always get picked up. As a result, there are areas of high crime and violence, drug use, and urban blight. And yet, you know what I eventually found in the midst of all that? Humanity. But wait. I’m getting ahead of myself. I’d love to say that it was easy. That I noticed it right away. That I went in and was immediately able to see past and even through all the dirty outer surface. But, I was not. In fact, for a while, I was judgy, even curmudgeonly about my surroundings. And then I met Benjamin. He was the kid who lived across the street, the same age as my youngest. Benjamin came from a rough family situation. But man, that kid had such a soft heart. A kindness. A desire to learn. And also a pretty wicked jump shot. I began playing basketball with Benjamin in the neighborhood. Then occasionally I would drive him to school when he missed the bus, and had no one else to take him. On a few instances, he spent the night at my house, when his parents had locked him out. We would get into conversations about his interests, and what he wanted to do with his life after high school. Now, please understand, I’m not the savior here. In fact, quite the opposite. It was Benjamin who helped me to see past the ugly things I had chosen to focus on, past the things that were different than my own experience, and instead, connect on a level of mutual respect and admiration.

These two stories, and more specifically, these two people, have helped my understanding and practice of “equality” to grow in significant ways. A different perspective than I had 5 years ago. And a vastly different one than 20 years ago! In fact, sometimes I wonder if a faith journey that is given space to evolve over time, begins simply with the courage to say, “I was wrong about that. And I’ve changed my mind.”

A couple of weeks ago, Beth invited me and a few others to sit on a panel for the Quaker Affirmation class she was leading for some of our young people. Those are always fun and lively discussions. We talk about our histories with being Quaker, and we’re thrown all kinds of questions: “What do you believe about God? Do you think Jesus really resurrected from the dead? What are your thoughts on the Bible?” As I sat there that day and listened to the other 6 or 7 people on the panel talk about their faith journeys, how they understand God and the Bible and other big questions, I noticed two things. One was obvious – that we all had different answers! Thinking back to my evangelical roots, I thought, “Maybe I’ve found what I’d been curious enough to wonder about all those years before – another way.” Maybe we don’t have to all believe the exact same thing. Maybe there is complex beauty in diversity! As I listened to the rest of the panel members reflect, I also felt a deep and profound respect for all of them, despite having perspectives and views that were different than mine. In fact, when I’m really living into the SPICES, it is this deep respect for others’ perspectives that continues to form who I am.

And this leads me to the “C” in SPICES. I am shaped by the community I keep! And I don’t think I’m alone in saying that this community, this Meeting, has had a profound impact on who I am, and how my faith has continued to evolve. The beauty in this is really two fold: Not only am I given the grace and, dare I say, permission to grow, to change, to consider things from a different perspective, but all around me are gentle opportunities to do just that. I just have to have “eyes that see, and ears that hear”. But here’s the real kicker: I get to do that for others, as well! And I’m not alone in this. Not only do you get the grace, the permission, the opportunity to learn, to grow, to see, to hear…but you also get the chance to make this community better, more beautiful, more equitable, by the unique gifts, experiences, and perspectives that you bring.

I don’t want a faith that’s static. I’ve found that there are some questions that I’ll never have the answers to, and yet others that, as I wrestle with them, can open up a whole different level of love, compassion, peace-making, acceptance, and relationship. Maybe, just maybe, this starts to scratch the surface of the “insight into God’s Kingdom” that Jesus talks about. If so, it’s a marker moment to be celebrated.

We’re going to move into a time of waiting worship. If you feel the Spirit moving you to speak, come to the microphone at the front, or simply stand up, and someone will bring a microphone to you.

I’ve written several queries for us to consider this morning. They’re written in your bulletin, but I’ll read them out loud for us as we prepare to enter into this time.

What areas of my faith journey are growing, evolving, and opening up new levels of understanding for me?

Can I identify a barrier that might be keeping me from continuing to change and grow in my faith? If so, what is it?

What are the things or places, or, who are the people that inspire me to seek new insights, and to expand my perspective?

3-30-25 - In the Image or Likeness of God

In the Image or Likeness of God
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Beth Henricks

March 30, 2025

Our Scripture reading today is Genesis 1:26-31

26 Then God said, “Let us make humans[a] in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth[b] and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

27 So God created humans[c] in his image,
    in the image of God he created them;[d]
    male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

I just finished a book a good friend of mine sent me called The Act of Lovingkindness Preparing to Practice by Rabbi Rami Shapiro.  The first chapter talked about this idea of image and likeness of God, and it struck a deep chord within me.  Rabbi Shapiro says, “The book of Genesis tells us we are created in the image and likeness of God.  Yet when God actually creates us , Torah refers to us only as image of God and not the likeness.  What is the difference in the wording?  What does it mean to be the image of God?  Being the image of God means we are God manifest. Just as a wave in the ocean extended in time and space, so each one of us is God extended in time and space.”

I was raised in a faith tradition that emphasized the depravity of man and that we needed Jesus to save us from our original sin.  Even as a child and teenager I struggled with this idea as I studied the scriptures in Genesis talking about God creating us in His image.  Does that mean that God is part of original sin if we believe that we are born into sin?   How  do I reconcile the beautiful story of creation in Genesis with the image and imprint of God on our being?  Are we created with more Light or more Darkness?  I think we all know that we have both sides of this image as there cannot be Light without Darkness.   But our creation, our being  is in the image of God.  And while darkness is present in the mystery of God – I have to believe the Light is what overpowers the darkness.  And that Light , that image of God, is part of our essence, our spirit and our core.  I cannot accept that we are created as sinners that are depraved and need to be saved as we are born.  To me this is an antithesis to what I read in Genesis as we are being created in the image of God.  Can we all visualize the image of God within our physical bodies?  Do we name ourselves in that image?    We are one in God and God in us.  God is being itself. 

Phillip challenged Jesus with this idea in John 14:8-10 when he asked  Jesus to show us the Father and Jesus says, Phillip whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  I am in the Father and the Father is in me.   I think Phillip wanted Jesus to point to God, but Phillip was missing the teaching of Jesus  - I am in God and God is in me. Created in the image of God.

I know there is a lot of shame out there and we don’t always feel like we are the image of God at many times in our lives.  I had lunch with a friend recently that works at a drug and alcohol rehab center and leads groups of men trying to put their lives back together.  These men live in unworthiness and shame and yet my friend in group sessions will tell them that she has never seen them not sober.  That is her only experience of them  as sober men.  They are always taken aback by this as most of their lives have had to live with all of their terrible decisions.  But there in rehab, they are sober, beloved and reminded of how they are created in the image of God.  We don’t have to “get our act together” before we are beloved,  before we are the image of God.  We have been created in the image of God since our inception and before. 

This idea of image of God is foundational to our Quaker faith.  One of our core values is that “there is that of God in each person”.  First, we must recognize this within ourselves and then we can recognize this in others.  With George Fox’s recognition of this we can be in God and God with us without the need for priests, pastors, rituals or adherence to doctrinal statements - we can directly access this connection and recognition. 

Our scripture reading today  reads in verse 26 “let us make humans in our image according to our likeness…  We could talk about the use of  the plural words of us and our – that could be a whole other discussion about God referring to God in the plural.  Does that mean there are other gods?  I know many in our fundamentalist communities think the text is referring to the Trinity.  But at the time of this writing there could not have been any idea of Trinity.  The explanation that makes more sense to me  as outlined in The Harper Collins Study Bible commentary states that the first 11 chapters of Genesis tells of the origins of the cosmos, and humankind and recounted in primeval narratives while the origins of Israel’s ancestors in the patriarchal narrative – mixture of myths and legends, cultural memories, revisions of tradition and literary brilliance.   Many primeval narratives talk about multiple Gods and could reflect the context of the time.  But that is something to think  about another day.

When the actual creating part happens in verse 27 the word likeness is left out and only image of God  is named.  But God says let us make humans in our image and likeness.  I’d like to focus  on  what does it mean to be the likeness of God?  And is this different than being created in the image of God?  I think being the likeness of God means that we have the potential to act in a Godly manner.  But it takes our action, our participation, our choices to live into the likeness of God.  Rabbi Shapiro writes that it means that” we can, regardless of our ideology, theology and politics, engage each moment and each other with lovingkindness.”    While we are created in the image of God, we are not yet the likeness of God.  Living into the likeness of God is a choice.  And living into the likeness of God means that we practice loving-kindness to all.  Those that believe differently than we do, those that disagree with us politically, those that look differently than we do. 

Rabbi Shapiro described an event he spoke at for a fundraiser for victims of the tsunami in Indonesia a number of years ago, and why all these thousands of people were there to support these victims of a culture that believes differently, looks differently, speaks differently and a place we likely have never been to.  He had the audience do an experience with the person they were sitting next to in drawing the letters of the Hebrew name of God YHVH (yod – hey-vav-hey) on each other.  It was a powerful experience with a tremendous emotional response and as the Rabbi sat down, he wondered why this was so moving.  He said “ The answer came quickly – because it was the truth.  You know in  your heart, you know in a way that theology can never touch, that you are one with God, the Source and Substance of all life, and thus one with all living things.  And knowing who you  are makes lovingkindness possible. “  Friends, it is the recognition of the image of God within us that we can choose to be the likeness of God. 

The verses that we read talk about humans having dominion over every living thing on the earth seems to speak to God’s  desire for humans to live in the likeness of God.  We are responsible for this earth, and I think God recognizes the fragility of creation, God declares it was good in verse 31 but God knows even with implanting God’s image on humans it must be their desire to be like God that will determine the fate of this world.  It seems like God has a hint that humans must desire to be like God to choose to recognize the image of God in all things and to take care of the birds, the fish, the waters, the sky, the plants, all animals to ensure all in the earth’s future.

I think our work is to try to live into being the likeness of God.  And it is not a one-time event of conversion.  Living into the likeness of God occurs every day as we have opportunities that open to us to show this likeness.

Rabbi Shapiro shares two visualizations to practice daily that I have started to do.  “Wake up each morning and stand in front of a mirror, seeing your body as the incarnate Name of God.  As you go about your day, see everyone and everything as the Name as well.  Listen for your angel announcing your true nature and listen for the angels of others doing the same.  In time you will break up the hard-packed soil of narrow mind and plant in it the seed of lovingkindness that will soon grow and awaken in you the spacious mind that is your holy and most true self.”

We will now enter a time of waiting worship.  I share several queries for you to consider during this time.

Can we embrace that we are created in the image of God?

            Can we live like we know we are a Beloved of God?

            Will we make a choice to live into the likeness of God today?