What Quakers believe: Community

Good morning, Friends! Thank you all for coming to worship.

For the last two months, we’ve been talking every Sunday about what Quakers believe. Have you learned anything? Has it been worthwhile?

I don’t want to wear you out, so today is the last Sunday in the series.

There are lots of other things we didn’t get around to talking about. But I’ve tried to show that these are things which are distinctive or special to Quakers. And they’re not just part of our history. They’ve all got roots in the Bible.

We’re going to do something we also did last week. I’ve handed out a bunch of different Bible verses. In a minute, I’m going to ask people to read them. You don’t have to come down front. Just take turns, pop up and read from where you are.

After the readings, we’ll have our meditation hymn. And after that, we’ll have some open worship. You can speak if you feel led. And then I have just a short message to pull it all together.

Carry each other’s burdens,
and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily
those who were being saved.

Acts 2:47

Bear with each other and forgive one another
if any of you has a grievance against someone.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:14-15

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34-35

Love must be sincere.
Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.
Practice hospitality.
Rejoice with those who rejoice;
mourn with those who mourn.
Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.
Do not be conceited. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone.

Romans 12:9-18

A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Proverbs 17:17

If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask,
it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
For where two or three gather in my name,
there am I with them.

Matthew 18:20

Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it.
There should be no division in the body.
The parts of the body should have equal concern
for each other.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it;
if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

1 Corinthians 12:25-27

Above all, love each other deeply,
because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,
as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 4:8-10

Be completely humble and gentle;
be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:2

Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mark 9:35

Make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love,
being one in spirit and of one mind.

Philippians 2:2

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

No one has ever seen God;
but if we love one another,
God lives in us
and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:12

May the God of endurance and encouragement
grant you to live in such harmony with one another,
in accord with Christ Jesus,
that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6

Two are better than one,
because they have a good reward for their toil.
For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls
and doesn’t have another to lift him up!

Ecclesiastes 4:9

Quakers believe in truth. We believe in light. We believe in peace and equality. We believe in simplicity. We believe in the Bible. We believe in quiet prayer. And we believe in community.

Community functions on a lot of different levels. It means fellowship – we love to sit down and eat a meal together.

Many people have told me Max Rees’ famous saying, “Put food on the table, and people will come!”

That’s always been true at Springfield. When I was doing research for our 250th anniversary, I came across a description of a meal we had here in 1869 – more than 150 years ago. It was just five years after the Civil War, which had left the entire state in poverty. This meal was a celebration, as the work of recovery was getting started.

It says that the people of Springfield set up a long table, 30 inches wide, and 250 feet long. That would be the same as 32 of the long tables that we use today, lined up end to end. It was covered with white table clothes, and someone had put up arches of evergreen boughs every so often, all along the way. More than 1,000 people came, and prayed quietly before the meal. There were so many people, that they had to eat in shifts.

It was a celebration. It was more than a fellowship meal. It was almost a communion. The war had ended. The suffering was over. Rebuilding had begun. Life was here at Springfield. And they all gave thanks to God.

That was community. And it spread out from this place. In the next generation, five new Quaker meetings were set up by Springfield.

When we are a community – in worship, in fellowship, in prayer, in support for each other – that’s when we grow. That’s when we are strong.

The Bible readings we heard this morning all talk about community. The early Christians were some of the most loving people the world has ever seen. They were inspired by Jesus. Every one of them would have said, “Jesus loves me. Jesus helped me. Jesus healed me. Jesus forgave me. Jesus saved me.”

Because of Jesus, they were willing to do anything.

Jesus himself told us: “A new commandment I give you: love one another, as I have loved you. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. . .”

The early Christians were poor, by our standards. They had no buildings. Most of them had been kicked out of the places of worship they grew up in. Many of the early Christians were slaves.

But they met where they could, usually in someone’s home. They prayed, often far into the night. Everyone brought food, and shared it. And they were united.

The moment that there was any kind of division, someone like Paul would step in, or write them a letter, and tell them, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. . .”

Christians aren’t perfect. Sometimes we argue. Sometimes we disagree with each other. But always, there has been this voice, calling us back together.

Community means that we support each other. This past week has been an important example. We’ve had two deaths, and people have gathered round to support the families. When people are in the hospital, we visit them. When people are lonely, we call or write to them. When babies are born, we have a party, and bring gifts to help the new family.

I’m sure that many of you have heard the famous poem by John Donne:

No one is an island,
Entire of itself;
Each one of us is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.

So, community is about praying together, and singing together, and worshiping together. It’s certainly about eating together, and enjoying fellowship time together. But it’s even more than that.

One of the things about a healthy community, is that we respect each other. I think we do that, but it’s worth repeating.

We’re coming up on a big election in a few days. And I know, from conversation, that many of you have strong opinions about the candidates.

But even if people disagree, I haven’t heard anyone in the meeting attacking each other. That’s not something we do. We know, pretty much, what party each other leans toward. But party politics isn’t what makes us a spiritual community.

That’s not what we’re here for. We respect each other. And we know that when the election is over, we will still be a church. We will still be a community – together.

One of the first generation of Friends, a Quaker named Edward Burrough, wrote: “We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party nor against the other. . .but we are for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation. . .”

One of the things which makes Quaker meetings different, is that when we get together to take care of our church business, we don’t vote. A lot of other churches do, but Quakers don’t.

We believe that God knows what’s best for the church. Our job, is to figure out God’s plan. And that doesn’t happen, by voting.

A vote may decide things. But as often as not, a vote will leave some people happy, and other people dissatisfied. There will be disunity in the church. And that’s not what we want, or what God wants.

Our goal is to be united, and to be led by the Spirit. We use our minds, and we listen to each others’ hearts. And if we aren’t united, we go back, and listen, and pray.

It took a whole generation for Quakers to unite and say that slavery was wrong. One of the ministers who led the way on that decision, was Nathan Hunt, who was a member of Springfield. He preached against slavery for over 40 years. But once we were united against slavery, it gave us so much strength. Because part of being a community, is unity.

None of these things are easy.

Well, sitting down to enjoy a good meal is easy! That may be why we do it so much. Everybody likes good food!

But a lot of these other things, which create and support community, are difficult and expensive. They demand a lot of our time, and sometimes our pride.

Loving each other is a demanding challenge. William Penn, another of that first generation of Quakers, once wrote: “Love is the hardest lesson in Christianity; but for that reason it should be most our care to learn it. . .” (Fruits of Solitude)

Community isn’t always easy. Sometimes it means we need to admit we’re wrong. As a pastor, I’ve had to eat crow, many times. Sometimes it was because I made a mistake. Sometimes it was because I neglected something, or didn’t listen enough, hurt someone’s feelings, or lost my temper, or rushed ahead with a plan when I should have waited.

These aren’t secrets! I make mistakes, just like everyone else.

Part of what makes a community, is when people listen to each other, and forgive each other.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean saying, “Oh, just forget about it.”

Forgiveness is saying, “You hurt me. By rights, it should all be over between us. But let’s start again, and do what we need to, to make sure this doesn’t happen next time. We want to be friends, together.”

We need to do that, more often. It’s not as easy, as going down the line and filling up your plate. But if it’s done right, forgiveness makes us all better friends.

There is so much that goes into community. It used to be, marrying into each others’ families. A lot of Springfield’s strength always used to be, these family networks. People helped each other, because they were all related to each other.

The Blairs and the Pettys and the Mendenhalls and the Tomlinsons and the Richardsons couldn’t help being a community, because they were all married to each other.

We don’t have that same glue here any more. Of course, we all have families. We even have some three and four generation families in our meeting. But we have to work harder, to find a new bond, a new glue, in today’s generation.

It used to be the Sunday School classes. Those classes were such a powerful force in our meeting, for almost 100 years.

I have looked back through the records, and almost none of the classes which powered our meeting, were led by the pastor. In most cases, they weren’t even started by the teacher.

The way our adult classes got started, in almost every case, was when a small group of people got together, and they asked someone to lead them. They chose their own leader. And they supported the leader, and freed them to teach, by choosing additional leaders, to do the organizing.

A group isn’t one person. One or two people teach. A couple of others, invite, and keep track of who’s not there, and call them, and encourage them. The whole group decides on a mission, or a project, or a ministry.

We can do that. You can do that! If you want a group, start one! Don’t ask me for permission. Find some people, get them together, invite a teacher, and organize yourselves. It’s not rocket science. It isn’t even very scary.

What you’re doing, is building a small community, inside of our bigger community.

And one of the other things that builds community, is fun. A lot of the things we do are hard work, and that’s OK. But unless we have fun, unless there’s some joy going around, unless we’re happy to be here, nobody’s going to want to play.

I don’t care how many books and plans and how many church growth ideas get introduced. If there isn’t joy, if there isn’t love, if there isn’t food – for the stomach or for the soul – it isn’t going to get off the ground.

We have talked about a lot of things here this morning. We went from history and Bible verses, to respect and reconciliation. We’ve talked about families, and food, and how we make decisions.

We’ve talked about new classes, which is another way of saying we need new wineskins for a generation of new wine.

If we want to be a church, there are so many possibilities. There isn’t one road map. There are many. All those things we’ve been talking about now, for two months. We can be a church. We can be a Quaker church.

If that’s what we want, I’m sure that God is more than willing to help.

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