One of the verses in the bible that I consider key to our worship is 1 Corinthians 14:26:
What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. (NRSV)
In the King James Version, the last sentence is "Let all things be done unto edifying." The idea of edification is all over the writings of early Friends. It is very common for worship, or opportunities, or the influence of the Light upon the soul to be referred to as edifying. In a similar way, Friends were often encouraged to exhort one another, following the advice from Hebrews to "exhort one another daily." Alexander Parker, in a 1660 letter from prison writes, in part:
Dear hearts, in brotherly love and heavenly fear, I do exhort you all, as dear children, to walk together in truth and love; exhorting one another, and building up one another in the holy faith, which works by love;
What has been on my mind lately is how often vocal ministry seems to be about things like the nature of God or other more theological subjects (perhaps those who are bombarded by politics and summaries of NPR would ask "What are you complaining about?")
When I hear Friends talk about Quakerism, I often find that our supposedly creedless faith is described in terms of what we believe ("we believe there is that of God..", "we believe in equality, simplicity, etc."). It seems like many Quaker Quest sessions also present our faith tradition in terms of its beliefs or ideas. The rejection of creeds wasn't about not believing in anything, but was a witness that Quakerism was about our direct encounter with the Spirit and how it changes us, teaches us, and guides us. Faith is a matter of trusting in that Spirit, not about believing in particular doctrines. I think Friends often grasp this idea with respect to other faith traditions, but don't notice when they do the same thing.
Why does it seem rare to hear people speak about listening, obeying, welcoming the Light? Why aren't we exhorting others to faithfulness? I think we all need that from time to time. It isn't that I think we should resolve ourselves to deliver specific messages, but I feel that if faithfulness is in the forefront of our mind - both individually and as a meeting, that we may perceive messages differently, perhaps finding different ways to express what has been laid on our hearts.
I loved your article! I like the way you express your mind! Of course, these are really important questions: "Are we listening? Are we allowing ourselves to be led? Are we obeying the inward Guide, or are we resisting it?". I think, that the biggest problem is, that everyone is trying to explain God's messages as he thinks it would be right:) From here we have a lot of misunderstandings.
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