A somewhat long post about two days of Quaker Ministry.

Yesterday at my in-person Meeting we had three messages all on the theme of being present, and the difference between appearing present to receive guests or messages and actually being present. The first was a personal anecdote, the next two quoted biblical passages/stories - once the story of Abraham and Sarah receiving guests, and the second “Let Those Who Have Ears, Let Them Here”. This morning, I attended Woodbroke’s Monday morning worship, and there was a collection of messages related to service, and the need to be able to receive as well as to give service.

I’m grateful for both sets of messages. As I said in my Meeting afterwards, “today the vocal ministry was definitely intended for me.” I have not been present recently, I have been tied up with worry and frustration, in ways that aren’t helpful and make me less able to be present as a parent, partner, or friend.

There are a few things I want to notice, and think about more.

In both cases, I, specifically, did need to hear those messages. The Good News (Gospel!) of Quaker Ministry - that in all of us is the gift and responsibility of Ministry, and that there is one who speaks to our condition, has again been borne out experimentally in my life. I hope and pray that more people may learn this good news.

There’s something different about receiving a message that’s a personal anecdote, versus a message that’s grounded in a more universal text. I have to do more thinking about this, but the reminder that “some have entertained angels unawares” applies both to people and to ideas, and that the appearance of an open front door with no one home connects directly to that letter, and the older story, carries different resonances than the anecdote of the person with a broken arm needing to both ask for help and also gratefully accept it when it was offered. I appreciate the resonances between individual experience and broader spiritual messages, and I worry about Ministry that contains only one or the other.

I need to actually sit with the Ministry I received this week. How do I break out of my own anxiety in order to be present and a humble learner?

I wish that this good news, and the sudden inbreaking of spirit that speaks directly to our condition, was better known in the wider world. Quakers should be evangelizing! (See also the faithful waiting of the Sabbathday Lake Shakers)

It’s hard to have that universal connection, since there’s an assumed common framework of of passages and verses that people will know. I don’t recognize quotes from Hebrews unless they’re pointed out, though I do know enough of the biblical stories to know about Abraham and Sarah entertaining visitors and hearing the news of a child. I know that “Let Those Who Have Ears Let Them Hear” relates to a parable, but I couldn’t tell you which one or why it’s important it’s there. I’m not sure if I were to talk about “we are all humble learners in the school of Christ” how many people in my Meeting would recognize it as one of our Yearly Meeting’s Advices. I wonder about whether we’re “losing” that (probably) and both whether it’s a problem (both messages yesterday included some explanation of the source of the quote), and if so, whether there’s a way to do enough scaffolding to help it be better. (And now I’m wondering how many links I should have in this post. There’s probably a half-dozen more I could add. Would more references to the allusions I’m making help?)

(As an aside, I think about the letter from the elders at Balby here, and the final passage about “these things we do lay upon you as a rule” being often quoted, but not the many not-a-rules laid out above that conclusion)

One thing about quotes is that sometimes they get jumbled. There are multiple yearly meetings with different advices beginning with “take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts”, and when I hear about “we all”, I don’t jump immediately to humble learners, since one of my mom’s favorite quotes was about how we all have sinned and fallen short … a great reminder of forgiveness!

I’ll leave you with an afterword from today’s message, which will be my next passage to memorize - Milton’s Sonnet 19. “They also serve, who only stand and wait”