tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79900200404149303092024-03-13T13:17:59.322-07:00QuakerpostWilliam R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-89483259270272078722019-04-03T17:55:00.001-07:002021-04-08T16:33:00.454-07:00I am torn. As a lad growing up in Iowa, even through my college years ('53 - '57), I heard often of the amazing accomplishments in Israel. We were told of the Jews who were coming back to the Holy Land turning the barren wasteland into productive farms. It was even called a miracle. I continued to find this narrative important for my understanding of the Middle East for the next several years, at least. By that time I had begun to serve on the Friends United Meeting Wider Ministries Commission, and even filled in for the Wider Ministries Associate Secretary, Harold Smuck, while he was on sabbatical leave during 1975. And of course, during those years of close association with FUM missions, I heard much more about the Friends Schools in Ramallah. But in 1985 when I became the FUM Associate Secretary for the World Ministries Commission, I began to see it up close and real.<br />
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During my first trip to Ramallah in 1987 as Associate Secretary, when the First Intifada ("uprising") was just getting under way, a member of the Ramallah Friends Meeting pointed to a cluster of buildings on a hill top not too far away, and said to me that it was an illegal Israeli settlement, and that someday, because the Israeli government was not stopping this kind of illegal action, these kinds of settlements would surround Ramallah. It has come true.<br />
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William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-70988045087803144732016-03-24T17:39:00.000-07:002016-05-09T15:57:11.955-07:00Father, Forgive<br />
Whenever national elections roll around, our nation has to inevitably endure a certain amount of acrimony, as politicians and parties wage their wars of words. But I don't know of an election cycle that has been as bereft of incivility, and as marked by crudeness as the one we are in. It seems to be reaching a crescendo of vileness, much of which seems to be endorsed by "evangelicals" of our country, just as we should pause to ponder the reconciling and forgiving message of the Cross on Good Friday. <br />
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But few if any of us are free of missing the mark. We get caught up in unholy attitudes, spouting hurtful words, even letting the political atmosphere influence us more than we should be influencing it. So perhaps we should all be praying, "Father forgive us all, for we know not what we do."<br />
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In the Midlands of England, in the cathedral of the city of Coventry, stands a powerful witness to the forgiving and reconciling power of Christ. It is one for the world at large, but perhaps even more so our own nation needs to hear it and heed it at this time in our history. <br />
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On the night of 14 November, 1940, the city of Coventry was devastated by bombs dropped by the German Luftwaffe. The Cathedral burned with the city, having been hit by a number of incendiary bombs. The decision to rebuild the Cathedral was taken the morning after its destruction. Rebuilding would not be an act of defiance, but rather a sign of faith, trust, and hope for the future of the world.<br />
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Shortly after the destruction, the Cathedral stonemason noticed that two of the charred roof timbers had fallen in the shape of a cross. He set them up in the ruins where they were later placed on an altar of rubble with moving words 'Father Forgive' inscribed on the Sanctuary wall.The Cathedral was rebuilt, but today the ruins of the old Cathedral are preserved as a memorial and sacred space for the city.<br />
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It was my good fortune to visit that place once. It was very moving. It would be good if politicians and us common people alike could make that pilgrimage. But that's probably not possible. But it is possible for all us to pause before the Cross this Good Friday, and let its message of forgiveness and reconciliation sink deeply into our lives....and our nation.<br />
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William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-44266726380874227482015-05-24T09:01:00.003-07:002021-02-16T10:29:17.711-08:00Labels: Conveniences or Clubs?<span style="font-size: small;">Labels are important. My wife Joyce, like many other people, is a serious celiac victim, which means she is allergic to gluten in whatever shape or form it comes. So she has to read labels very carefully when purchasing food items to make sure they don't have the slightest modicum of gluten. If they do and she eats thereof, she can react with a day or two of miserable intestinal pain, with accompanying other inconvenient intestinal disorders plus joint pain wherever she has a joint in her body. Of course many people carefully study food labels for other information as well, to check on amounts of trans fats, calories, sodium, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Labels are also important on file folders. At our house, like many people, we have file folders to include important papers for just about everything. They are supposed to be in general categories---taxes, insurance, mortgage, and other similar documents in one drawer, and personal kinds of documents in another drawer. I try to label each folder and place them in more or less alphabetical order. However, that hasn't seemed to facilitate finding the one I want when I need it. I think one of the problems is there are so many. They seem to be multiplying overnight. I think they are breeding, the nasty things. I'll need a huge file labeled miscellaneous.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">However, for all of their convenience and wholesome importance, labels have also come to serve as clubs. And as such they have become the tools for intolerance and partisanship, often due to lazy thinking. Obviously these thoughts are heading out into the territories of religion and politics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Passions run deep in both realms, and it happens that the same labels are thrown back and forth in both realms. They are familiar: liberals, conservatives, leftists, rightists, centrists, and everything else everywhere else on this spectrum in between.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Let us be fair. There are persons who are authentic, consistent, and beloved members of these categories, who are highly respected for their beliefs, mainly because they highly respect persons of the opposite points of view. They are passionate in their points of view, but also civil in their debates and discussions with those who differ. They are good advocates and good listeners.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">But for many, whether in political parties or religious organizations, there are those who throw these terms back and forth with sneers, as if the mere words left bitter tastes in their mouths. Apparently there can be no good thing among those who are so defined.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">This is sloppy, lazy thinking, and can be very wrong. Why? Because there are many well meaning people who refuse to be so neatly categorized. This is not because they are wishy-washy, or don't know what to believe. It's because they don't always see everything in categories of just purely right or wrong, black or white, conservative or liberal answers.. Things are sometimes more complex than that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Of course there must be political affiliations of diverse and like minds, and similarly with Christian denominations. But do we need to use simple descriptive words as epithets of evil?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"...speak evil of no one...avoid quarreling...be gentle...show perfect courtesy toward all people..." Titus 3:2</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Peace </span><br />
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William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-34539461667643660672014-02-02T14:19:00.000-08:002014-02-02T14:22:01.797-08:00SHARE HOLDING: A CONTRADICTION OF TERMS?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> It's just a one-syllable five letter word, but it's getting stretched in different, if not conflicting directions these days. The word?<i><b> SHARE.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Many words of our beloved English vocabulary have different shades of meaning, and this one no less. Let's start with one that's very much in the coinage (no pun intended) of money matters today: <b><i>share</i></b>holder. In the context of pushing for a raise in the minimum wage level across the land, a recent Washington Post piece by Jia Yang discussed President Obama's call in his State of the Union speech for corporations to voluntarily boost worker's wages. The writer went on to point out the problem with that request. Companies have discovered that precisely by keeping wages lower, they have been able to boost profits to record levels and fulfill their ultimate goal: rewarding <i>share</i>holders. Repeating the point, the article went on to say that executives are hard-wired to think that their primary responsibility is to return value to their <i>share</i>holders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Well, if you hold some shares in a particular company, you aren't going to argue with that point, are you? After all, financial security is at stake, both one's personal and family security now and in the future. But that raises a question: when is enough enough? And your answer might be, "You can never have enough. You can never accumulate too much, even if it means it results in others having too little. So, Mr. or Mrs. CEO, increase my shares!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> So let's interject another shade of meaning to <i>share. </i>Many families know what it's like to have to share and share alike, not so there is equality, but so there is enough. And then sometimes there is still not enough. Now carry that concept over into the larger family of our neighbors, as well as citizens of our common land, America, and even beyond our borders. It's been said many times that there is enough food in the world that there should be no starvation anywhere. It can also be said that there is enough profit in the corporate offices of America, and enough huge bonuses handed to CEOs, that their employees should not have to work for wages that keep them in poverty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> So, what are Christians to do? Continue to be good stewards of the resources with which God has blessed us. There's nothing wrong with investing to ensure secure futures. But there is something wrong with bowing to the altar of corporate profits and individual avarice when we know it contributes to the poverty of others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Christians can remember the basics of their faith, beginning with Proverbs 22:9 - "<i>Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor." </i>And when the crowd asked John the Baptist what they should do to fulfill the expectations of their faith, he didn't say go to church, or mouth pious prayers, but he said <i>"The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>A share holder is, after all, a contradiction of terms</b>. </i></span></span></div>
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William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-87454942390737403082013-07-05T15:56:00.000-07:002013-07-05T15:56:29.920-07:00To Control or Not to Control Guns: A Draw.....Or Is It?
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">When
I was a kid growing up in Iowa there was always a firearm in our house, or rather a gun
that to me was more like a cannon. My dad was Quaker to the core, but he owned
a 12 gauge shot gun. I guess it was mostly for hunting, since in safe and
conservative central Iowa in the 40’s I don’t recall him thinking we had to
protect ourselves from the government. After all, our government was jolly well
busy fighting the evil Hitler in the distant lands of Europe. I never tried shooting
that 12 gauge shot gun lest as a scrawny Quaker kid I should dismantle my right
shoulder at worst, or end up on my posterior at best. When he was old enough
one of my elder brothers brought into the family arsenal an over and under gun
that was combination 22 caliber long rifle on top of a 410 shot gun on the
bottom. Now that was one I could handle. While I didn’t do very much hunting
with it (ammunition was expensive for us), I can remember once when I ventured
out onto a recently picked cornfield covered with light snow on a moon-lit
night to bag a few rabbits. It was no contest. The rabbits were never in
trouble. They could hop right by me giggling away and wiggling their cute
little tails in the moon light, and the most I could do was shred a few half
standing corn stalks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So,
until I got married in 1954, I lived in a house with guns. I never gave it much
thought, but that right to have guns in our house was protected by the Second
Amendment. That’s how it was then and should have been, and that’s how it still
is and should be. But my Quaker father taught us that combined with the right
to own guns went a sense of sacred responsibility to and for the wider
community, and that “wider” meant going well beyond the local confines of Hartland
Corner, Marshall County, Iowa, to embrace the worth of people everywhere.
Quakers were a small bunch then and still are, but we have staunchly held to a
belief that there is worth and dignity to every person, that this worth and
dignity must be protected, and it is done so by all of us accepting that we
belong to a common human family in which and for which we seek the common good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So
let’s now cut to the chase. Since the Newtown, Connecticut massacre of 26
persons, including 20 utterly defenseless children, there have been calls to
have a national conversation about gun control. Some local conversations have
perhaps been tried here and there across our land, but usually the parties have
had to admit that they couldn’t hear what the other side was saying because each
was yelling so loud. So I am going to herein launch some concerns and
questions, and I invite civil, caring, thoughtful responses from anyone, if
anyone in fact reads this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
affirm the right of every American to own as many guns as they want to for
their pleasure and protection, and that can mean literally hundreds and
hundreds. The Second Amendment has your back on this, and no one is ever going
to repeal that Amendment and take away that right. It’s been said that Pres.
Obama wants to destroy the Second Amendment. Folks, he may not be the smartest
president we’ve ever had, but he’s smart enough to know he could never get that
done. For that reason, but more so because I believe as President he sees it as
his job to protect the entire Constitution, it’s safe under his watch. So let
me say this charitably---those of you who insist the President is going to or
wants to destroy the Second Amendment have swallowed too much of Wayne LaPierre
(and frankly for all of his words he is too smart to actually believe it
himself anyway), and are spending far too much of your precious energy on a
non-issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Therefore,
since our right to own guns is well protected, that brings us to the other side
of our personal involvement, and that is our personal responsibility. While we
are held responsible to obey certain national, state, and local laws, the
failure to do so having certain dire legal consequences, there are various moral
responsibilities which are not required by laws, but which can only be carried
out voluntarily. And caring for the lives and well being of others all across
our land is one of them, which brings me to the following concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After
the killings at Newtown, Connecticut, I was very disappointed that congress
could not muster the courage and votes to pass a universal background check. I
was also distressed that a bill banning military style assault weapons never
even got off the ground. In regard to the above and the Newtown killings,
opponents to the universal background check and the ban on military style
assault weapons insisted that they wouldn’t have stopped the Newtown killings
anyway. How do they know? By what powers of omniscience are they able to be so
certain? But they rightly counter with the question: how do I, Bill Wagoner, know
they would have helped? I can’t be any more certain than they, which seems to brings
us to a draw. Or does it? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If there is any question at all</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, do not the
rights of six adults and 20 totally defenseless children to be alive and well rather
than killed seem more important than anyone’s right to own the kind of weapon
that took away their lives, and could surely be given up leaving literally hundreds
and hundreds other guns for the owner’s pleasure? Sure, there are other issues
that add to the compelling importance and complexity of this matter, including
mental health, and laxity in applying laws that already exist. But there is one
issue that is of more importance than any of the above, and that is the
balancing of our personal right to own guns, with our personal responsibility
toward the rest of the members of our American human family, especially our
children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">To
conclude: first, I affirm that the right to own a gun is very American. Secondly,
I strongly affirm that the right to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
is also very American. But when the former above begins to deny the latter,
something is wrong and needs to be changed. It comes best when we recognize the
problem and are willing to give up precious rights, in this case just one gun right
among many. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">From
time to time my Quaker dad would remind me and my brothers of a truth which
required us to reassess many a personal and relational issue, to wit: “You guys
aren’t the only ones who live on the face of the earth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-17223095064070439862013-05-17T11:44:00.000-07:002013-05-17T11:44:11.948-07:00One World Government? Yes, for Heaven's Sake!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Before some readers (if there are any)
call the authorities to have Bill Wagoner arrested for treason, he needs to say
that the topic above as stated depends on the science of semantics. The English
language being what it is, you can use scores of words that are spelled the
same and sound the same but have vastly different basic meanings. Such is the
case here. In fact, in this case, it’s not just one word, but three: “one world
government.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> In almost any day and age conspiracy
theories abound. They can be intriguing, if not far-fetched, especially when
they have to do with our national leaders. These days some United States
citizens, including some well-meaning Christians, believe that President Barak
Obama is working secretly with the United Nations to establish a one-world
government, in which our<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>U.S. Constitution will no longer be valid, our
independence as a nation will no longer be honored, our American individual
.liberties will no longer be daily privileges, and our dollars and cents currency
will be thrown in the trash. This is not a political blog, so I won’t make any
comments---except to say that’s nutty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> But let’s return to the topic, which is
not nutty. Should there be a one-world government? Yes, of course. In fact, for
Christians everywhere, there is a one world government already in place which
we should acknowledge as having the highest and greatest personal and national authority.
It is the realm of God’s rule. It is the Kingdom of God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> There are more implications to this
issue than this one blog can chase down. So I invite your comments, and I might
make a few more later myself. But for starters: asserting the above and living
it out can be two different things, because it is often easier to say than
obey. For example, there isn’t a nation on the face of the earth whose Christian
citizens have not struggled with whether to obey the laws of their land, or the
laws of God as they understand them. Of course some Christians have casually
solved this problem by simply asserting that the laws of their land and the
laws of God are one and the same. But many a martyr’s blood has been spilled
because they have refused to acknowledge that often dubious fact. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> But there is another important issue
posed by the kingdom of God being the one realm of God’s rule for all of God’s
people on earth, and it is this: how do all of God’s people within this one
realm handle their <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">diversity</i></b>? The short answer is, of course: sometimes not very
well. But we can still appreciate and accept the diversity in understanding and
living out the rules of God’s realm between the Quakers of Indiana, and, for
example, the newest Christians in the deepest interior of Papua New Guinea. And
yet we are all part of one family of God. On the other hand, some North
American Christians might reply, “We just have to give those primitive
Christians in New Guinea more time, and then they can be like us.” That can be
scary. And so is diversity, to a lot of us. What should it look like among the
one people of God? Care to pursue that with me?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> In Christ, the people of God all hail
one King. In Christ, the people of God should be members first of his one
kingdom whoever we are and wherever we live, studying and living by his Word
and empowered by his Spirit. That’s a start in what it means to build and be a
part of God’s one world government---for heaven’s sake.</span></div>
William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-53147442497042976092013-04-18T15:38:00.000-07:002013-04-18T15:38:21.377-07:00THY KINGDOM COME!.....DAY BY DAY
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Some of the disciples of Jesus would fit perfectly well into our instant gratification society. Following his 40
days of post-resurrection meetings with his them, as he was about to
ascend into heaven, they asked Jesus if he was going to restore the kingdom to
Israel <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i></b>. “Is this the time?” they asked. Jesus replied that they
didn’t get to know that kid of information, because timing was the Father’s
business. But he went on to tell them what they did need to know, and that was
his agenda for them: “…be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and
Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” Though they may not have comprehended
what “the ends of the world” fully meant, it did sound like a rather long
term time consuming job. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It wasn’t going to be done today. They
were going to need some day by day spiritual resources. That’s why Jesus told
them to go back to Jerusalem and wait for those resources to come, in the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit. They did just that, and the Holy Spirit
did come. Following that they spilled out into the streets and by-ways, and
began the task of bringing his kingdom to bear upon earth---day by day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I don’t know exactly how many days have
passed since that one---just a lot. But I do know that the commission upon
God’s people to make his kingdom evident and active on earth has not been
lifted. We still need to be at it day by day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">That doesn’t have to happen in great and
grandiose ways. Of course we can contribute to or assist in any way we can efforts
to bring peace and justice on earth, eliminate suffering wherever we can, and
by all means support efforts to bring the good news of the gospel to all
nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But there are dozens and dozens of day by day ways
right next to us where we can help bring his kingdom to earth. These have to
do with family relationships---spouse with spouse, parents with children, siblings with siblings, and on and on. It also has to do with how we treat our neighbors, how we spend our
money and time, and how we take care of our earth, just to mention a few…and there’s
no other way these can be done than day by day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There are of course all kinds of other
things we have to do on a day by day basis. Life is so…<em><strong>daily</strong></em>. But even as we
live and move and have our being, let us as God’s people work day by day to
bring in his kingdom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">More later....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><em>But for now, dear God, help us not to be in so much of a hurry that we miss even the smallest thing we might do that will help bring in your kingdom.... day by day. Amen.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-8381591650241014852013-02-13T18:12:00.002-08:002013-02-13T18:17:42.999-08:00A Date with Life<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If you knew you had just so many days
left before you died, how would you live them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Today is Ash Wednesday, the annual day
in the Christian calendar that ushers in the season of Lent, the time many
Christians use as a period of spiritual preparation for Holy Week, Good Friday,
and Easter. While it was invented to give Christians a way of preparing for and
experiencing the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus, it wouldn’t be
anything, of course, without the death and resurrection of Jesus in the first
place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So let’s use the days of Lent and try to
put ourselves in that original scene. At some point in time in the closing
months of his life, Jesus was in fact 47 days away from his resurrection. He
was also 45 days away from his death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Was he aware of that? Many Christology
scholars will say he was, that he had foreknowledge in all things, particularly
that appointment with his divine destiny to die for the sins of the world.
Others will say he didn’t necessarily know, though he did know he was probably
walking into trouble when he went to Jerusalem for the last time. The gospel
writer Luke suggests Jesus knew death awaited him when he reports of Jesus
that, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to
Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51 NRSV)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We all have a date with death. What a
nice thing to say, Bill. Well, we do. In fact, by virtue of perhaps an unwelcome<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>medical diagnosis, some people with a
terminal disease know they have just ”so many” days or months left to live. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand, not to be offhanded about it,
we are all “terminal” cases. Some of you will have heard me use this story. Vin
Scully, the eloquent announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was commenting on
an ankle injury sustained by outfielder Andre Dawson. In terms of his playing
condition, he went on to mention that Dawson was listed “day to day.” And then
after a pause in his voice, Scully added, “But then aren’t we all?” Yes, aren’t
we all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
in spite of the inevitability of death, a good spiritual exercise for Lent is
in fact to walk with Jesus through his days ahead, beginning with Luke 9:51, as
he set his face toward Jerusalem, and see what keys there are to Life with him
and in him---not because death is imminent for any one of us, but because life
can be full for everyone of us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We’ll have to explore that some more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-68177782919932838052012-10-04T07:45:00.001-07:002012-10-04T12:04:29.004-07:00On Some Friends Facing A New Future<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Let's move on! I've got some great plans for you!" --- God</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The unknowns of life can be scary. If you are like me, stepping out into unfamiliar territory can be daunting. But for the people of God, it's not an option. In that regard I'm sure y</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ou will recognize the
following words from the prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel languishing in
exile. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Forget the former things; do not
dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not
perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and streams in the wasteland.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Isaiah 43:18-19 - NIV)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The “new thing” is
God’s intervention on behalf of the exiles to bring them home, and to give them
a new hope and a new future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some may say I am
pushing the envelope applying these words to the present situation facing
Indiana Yearly Meeting. But I suggest they can be applied to the Friends
meetings that find themselves in the non-B category of the reconfiguration
issue, wondering if there is for them any hope and any future. In fact, if
reconfiguration eventually happens, I suppose those that move on as IYM-B
meetings may also claim these words. And that’s fine. It wouldn’t be the first
time Christians have found the same passages of the Bible speaking to more than
one side in conflicted situations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But in this blog I am
applying them to non-B meetings. That may seem premature, since there still
hasn’t been a final resolution to the reconfiguration question. However, in
spite of the pleas and prayers for unity and reconciliation from around the
yearly meeting, there are strong voices that are determined to see reconfiguration
happen. If it does, that shouldn’t mean these groups cannot <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>find
ways of fellowship and worshiping together. At least we hope not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Joyce and I happen to
find ourselves in a non-B church, not because we looked and looked until we
could find one, but because after a year of visiting different meetings, and
lots of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prayer for discernment we felt
led to Winchester Friends following our retirement as pastors at Friends
Memorial Church <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in Muncie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon joining in with them we found Winchester
Friends to be dealing with this issue, as were all of the rest of the meetings
of Indiana Yearly Meeting. But that is why I use the pronoun “us,” to include
Joyce and me as part of the non-B Friends on a possible exciting new journey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Christian history is a
story of multiple schisms and splits, and Quakers within that story have had
their share. Some have been without great rancor. Others have been rather
boisterous. On one of my trips into Ohio with some IYM Training and Recording
candidates to get in touch with our Friends roots we visited the meetinghouse
where we were told there was an Ohio Quaker split years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I’m not mistaken (I was once before) we
saw where, in the midst of this Quaker row, the Presiding Clerk’s chair was
tossed out of the window. Fortunately the Clerk was not still in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But along comes
the prophet’s call to get past the past---at least to not keep dwelling on it. Frankly,
Isaiah, that’s not always easy to do. There are ties and co-involvements in a
myriad of ministries that are a part of that past. There are memories of
meetings and conversions and conversations that are precious. You can't just shelve those easily. Therefore it doesn’t mean
that these must be erased. It does mean they should be placed in proper
perspective. The reason: we are otherwise liable to miss what God wants to do---to
us and through us---in the present and the future. I have read some really
exciting words on that infamous medium called Facebook from some persons who feel
God could be calling non-B Friends back to Christ-centered holistic missions,
with spirit filled meetings reaching out to a new a generation of seekers. God
can certainly be pleased with that! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But if we are too
absorbed in issues of financial assets, we can miss God calling us back to other
kinds of assets, such as ample gifts waiting to be used. If we are too absorbed
in matters of formal identity, such as whether we will be called Indiana Yearly
Meeting “this or that,” we can miss the calling to the most important identity
of all: the people of God through whom he wants to do a new thing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If reconfiguration
happens, this is not to minimize the importance of financial assets and formal
identity, and there are other issues that will require trained and patient minds.
<em><strong>But it is to encourage those non-B meetings who are interested in travelling
into a new future together to plan a gathering where there can be celebration in praise
and prayer, worship in silence and vocal expression, all to the end that we can
discern the new way forward. Who will pick that up?<o:p></o:p></strong></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After all, when God
told the people of Israel in exile that he was “making a way,” he didn’t expect
them to just sit there and stew. They had to get up, put one foot of faith in
front of the other one, and move into that new future. And to us God is lovingly
saying: “Get the point?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-81735427872934736582012-09-26T19:36:00.002-07:002012-09-26T19:48:53.728-07:00Discerning the Will of God---A Quaker Dilemma?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In a diverse body of
well intentioned Friends, how can we be certain of the will of God? Is not this
a present Quaker dilemma? This may get me branded a heretic for questioning
this fundamental tenet of Friends spirituality, but it has brought about more
than one impasse among Friends, and seems to be at the center of the “to
reconfigure or not to reconfigure” issue presently facing Indiana Yearly
Meeting. I was led (I hope) to write these thoughts after reading an exchange
this morning on the IYM Facebook Discussion Page in which two sincere Friends
framed the problem by asking why the “other side” could not accept the
possibility that their side was led by the Spirit. So allow me pose the issue in
the form of a heavenly conversation:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Holy Spirit returns home after a long day’s work among Quakers of Indiana, and
the Heavenly Father asks how it went. The Spirit answered, “It’s just….just
AWFUL!” The Father says, “Oh? Do you want to tell me about it?” The Spirit
replies, “I shouldn’t have to. You set up that impossible scenario!” The Father
asks, “I did? In what way?” The Spirit replies, “You created them to be persons
with the capacity to be individually led by us, and even in corporate
situations, to have different perspectives, each one claiming our leadership!”
The Father replies: “Hmm, I guess you are right. Well, it’s the only way I
could give them a sacred dignity and worth, and immediate access to The
Family---You, Me, and Jesus.” After another pause, the Father says: “Well….I
guess they’ll just have to live or die with it.” The Spirit replies, “You got
that right!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Indiana Yearly Meeting
Representative Council gathers again on Saturday, September 29 to consider the
Task Force’s recommendation concerning reconfiguration after having heard from
all of the meetings that are going to reply. And the decision may lead to life
among IYM churches…or death. My figures may not be exactly right, but I think there
are 4 meetings who are now going with the “A” option, and around 10 or 12 who
have not replied at all. I think there are 38 meetings that wish to go with
“B”, and 10 or 12 who do not wish to reconfigure. I’m sure there are some
persons reading this who will say Bill Wagoner is off here or there, and that’s
okay, but I think the numbers are close enough for me to continue these
thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So to get to those, let
me quote from IYM Faith and Practice on Ideals, Chapter I on Government,
Section 4 on Friends’ Methods” (page 50):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“It
is the practice of Friends to give unhurried and sympathetic consideration to
all proposals and expressions of opinions as the will of God is sought. Friends
endeavor to respect an earnest and sincere minority and, if it seems necessary,
may postpone action until Friends have secured more light on the question at
issue and attained a greater degree of unanimity. When exercising this
privilege each Friend should be certain that the expressed concern and comments
are led by the Spirit of God. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After due
consideration has been given to all points of view, it is the responsibility of
the Presiding Clerk of the Meeting to weigh carefully the various expressions
and to discern and present to the Monthly Meeting what he or she <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">believes to be the will of God for the
Meeting.” <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Three comments: (1) The
italics and high-lighting are mine; (2) I assume these words apply also to
Quarterly Meeting and Yearly Meeting Presiding Clerks; and finally, (3) in
response to the words, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“…believes to be
the will of God for the Meeting,” </i>I want to say, “Wow! That’some kind of
responsibility.” But there it is, on page 50 of IYM’s book on Faith and
Practice. I know that would give me pause if I was asked to be a Presiding
Clerk anywhere up and down our Quaker organizational scale. If under the
guidance and scenario of the words above I as a Presiding Clerk was required to
announce a decision, I’m not sure I could be absolutely, completely, perfectly
led to believe and announce <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>the will
of God</u></i>…Not just the better of two or more options, but the very will of
God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I can just hear someone
say, “Oh well, Bill, that’s just religious language or the proper Quaker way of
putting it. Don’t take that will of God thing so seriously. We’ve got to move
on, so all we want is for the leader of our meeting to settle it so we can all go
home.” Well pardon me, but trying to determine how or even why our yearly
meeting should go through painful division is not a casual matter, and it
certainly isn’t a matter for one appointed Presiding Clerk to decide so we can
all go home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Ah,” but you say, “the
Faith and Practice gives that person that power, and any changes in Faith and
Practice cannot be approved until next yearly meeting.” “Ah,” but I say, “it
may behoove a Clerk and all of us to give this more time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So in closing I have
two questions, both bearing on Faith and Practice, and on the question of
whether “to reconfigure or not to reconfigure”:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First, should we change
that will of God language in Faith and Practice, unless we really think one
mortal among us, where there are differing strongly held views, can confidently
announce God’s will, without <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>previous
bias bearing upon her or his mind? Why couldn’t we just say that the Clerk has
discerned a way in which Friends might move on, or has discerned the best
possible solution in a difficult situation, and not be so presumptuous about
divine sanction? Otherwise unity, which is always what God desires, will take a
lot more praying and seeking God’s face than we have done so far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, I must have
missed where the Faith and Practice emphasizes the use of the Clearness
Committee as a way to help persons discern their way through a situation. If
it’s there, will someone inform me. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But
has the yearly meeting given any thought to use a similar process for the
reconfiguration impasse? </i>There are organizations that can come in without
bias and help us truly corporately discern the will of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And isn’t that what
this is all about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990020040414930309.post-24838009204416698422012-08-02T16:45:00.000-07:002012-08-02T16:46:57.764-07:00Okay, so who's out of tune?<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I can well remember the
days when our small high school in LeGrand, Iowa introduced band. The year was
1951, and Joyce and I were beginning our senior year. How small was the high
school? Our senior class totaled 12 students. It stood to reason then that the
number of students who made up that first fledging band was not large---maybe 12
to 14. In spite of the small number, most of the usual <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>basic instruments were at least represented: saxophones,
clarinets, a cornet and a trumpet, a French horn, a tuba, a big bass drum, 2
trombones (I blasted away with one), and a flute. And guess who was behind the
light and airy sounds of the flute? Yep. Joyce. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Our first band director
was Alfred Witham. Of course he gave individual lessons to each of us as band
members, but when he brought us all together for our first practice session as
a band---<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">oh my!</i></b> In spite of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“tuning up” as a group before launching into our first joint effort,
there was much less than perfect harmony---more cacophony. At any point our
director could have stopped the music and asked, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Okay, who’s out of tune?”</i> At that point we might have looked at
each other with a “Not me” expression….But we knew better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Okay, so who <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i></b>
out of tune?” In I Corinthians 14 Paul talks about the issue of tongues as an
expression of praise used in worship in the church at Corinth, and says that if
no one understands what is said, what good is it? And then he adds (in verse 7 –
The Message) “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If musical instruments---flutes,
say, or harps---aren’t played so that each note is distinct and in tune, how
will anyone be able to catch the melody and enjoy the music?”</i> It appears
Paul alludes here to playing solo, but the same would be true if the harp and
flute were playing a duet. . And then it could be asked, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Which <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ONE</b> of you is out of
tune?”</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Not me,”</i> says the harp, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I’m always in tune.”</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Not me,”</i> says the flute. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I’m also always in</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tune.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to that all the
people are saying, not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Amen</i>, but
rather: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Well, something is wrong, because those listening to you are having
trouble catching the melody and enjoying the music!”<o:p></o:p></u></i></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">To expand that analogy,
it can also happen with more than two instruments. And to apply that analogy,
Indiana Yearly Meeting right now is trying to decide just how many diverse “sections”
there are to its combined orchestra of the Spirit, and which one or ones are
out of tune---because there <strong><em>is</em></strong> dissonance in the ranks. And you hear a lot of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We’re not out of tune. It must be them” </i>going
back and forth, and the world listening in is having trouble catching our
Quaker Christian melody and enjoying the music. And quite frankly, for a lot of
the participants, it’s not even fun playing the Lord’s song anymore---not even
with those whom we think are in tune with each other. And the amazing thing is
that however many players or groups there are, they are all using the same
sacred sheet music and notes called the Bible. Well, I guess it comes down to
how you interpret the musical score in front of you. And that opens up issues
we’re not going to try to nail down in this blog. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So, okay, who is out of
tune? </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It could be me, and if there is an Indiana Yearly Meeting
section that needs to profess and have absolute purity, don’t invite me in. I’m utterly
human and I do need <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">retuning</i></b> now and then. I can and do claim the joyous privilege
and possibility of the touch of the Master’s hand to do just that. In fact, what
I want to simply underscore here is the importance of each of us being personally
in tune with the Divine Director, and constantly retuned. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s amazing how that might help the whole. Individual
and corporate suggestions abound on how Friends can make sweet music again. All
you have to do is turn to Facebook and find that there is a plethora of ideas on
how to figure out reconfiguration, some of them good, some of them more heat
than light. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve also read a few,
though, that have gotten to the heart of the problem---mine, yours, and everyone’s.
And they are the ones that have called us back to personal accountability to
God, and to one another in the body of Christ. And maybe, just maybe God would
like us to gather for a yearly meeting wide “spiritual music fest,” bringing
nothing but the instruments of our lives, to pray and seek his face, to know
one another better, and to let Him heal our church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Hopefully, to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> all the people might say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Amen.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></span><br />
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<br /></div>William R Wagonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875410843087880661noreply@blogger.com1