Theotokos

Theotokos is a word that has lived in some remote area of my mind for quite some time.  Long enough that I had forgotten it and it’s meaning until a Friend reminded me.  Theotokos: God-carrier.  I was further reminded me that this term applies to all humanity.  As Quakers this is part of our core belief – that there is that of God within each of us.  We say this easily; almost matter of factly without stopping to grasp the immense magnitude of what we are saying.

We are God-carriers.  What incredible trust the Divine has to allow we humans to carry even a bit of the precious Light within, knowing that some will not value that fact, some will not acknowledge it, some will simply not care, and some will do their best to extinguish it.  Yet, God is infinite in ways far beyond our understanding – infinitely wise, infinitely loving, all knowing but even these descriptions cannot describe that which beyond human ken: unknowable, unnamable, indescribable. 

There are tears in my eyes as I write – tears of wonderment, of joy, of humility, of unworthiness, of thanksgiving, of gratitude.  What could be more amazing?

Sakartvelo: AVP Graduation

Today we graduated our first AVP workshop of this year’s stay in Sakartvelo. There were 15 participants in all – I think more men then women.  The group was made up of college students and young professionals: a very bright and challenging group.  It’s often difficult to get people who are curious to learn, and possibly replicate exercises to become fully invested as participants.  We were pleased that by our graduation today almost all of the participants had become full vested as participants and opened to the message of transforming power within each of us.  They had come to understood that they had actually tapped into their own skills to solve problems non-violently.  Many had come looking for a way to help others find a way to non-violent behavior without considering the violence in there own lives.

My personal leading to work for Peace is to help bring others to the understanding that the road to world Peace begins within each individual and radiates outward to our families, communities, countries, etc.  I believe that before we can speak with integrity to others about making peace, we must begin to walk that path ourselves.

Minorities of Georgia AVP Workshop Graduation

A good and faithful servant.........

Today was the first day of our first AVP workshop.  The workshop is comprised of young professional men and women from Georgian minorities - a challenging group who would like nothing better than to analyze each phase of the AVP process.  I implored them to wait until our third day since each step builds upon the next.  So far so good........

I am always grateful for the gifts of an AVP workshop.  For those times when I get to reach deep within for experiences that may have brought me joy, or pain, or happiness:  To understand my own failings and how the cycle of violence effects my life and those that I love.  Yes, there is a certain selfishness that keeps my doing the work but it is also a huge gift to help others open to their own understanding and journey.

I once had someone tell me that what I call my journey to God is not really that at all:  That it's really just working to try to understand myself.  What I've come to realize is that listening to and learning from and about that which is indwelling is one in the same with learning about God, for God is to be found in all times and in all places - including in us unworthy human beings.  And so, my journey to God is an inward journey - a path through my fears, beyond my hopes and dreams to a place where the Light of God's Love Lights my way and informs the path upon which my feet walk.  In those times when I listen well there is the clear sense of God walking beside me on the path, and for that moment, I am the good and faithful servant filled with a Joy that passes human understanding.  In those moments, I know why I would give all to do God's bidding.

Thursday in Sakartvelo

It's Thursday in Sakartvelo.  It feels like home to be here connecting with so many friends made over the previous two trips.  Catching up with the joys and sorrows of each friends lives.  Over the last two nights I've been treated to dinner out - Kinghali and Megrulian Kachapuri and Lobio with corn bread with Georgian wine and Borjomi water.  My minimal Georgian language skills are rejuvenating.  Life is good!

Last night we began preparation for our first Alternatives to Violence workshop with a team building and planning session.  This morning we begin the workshop with members of an organization of minorities in Georgia.  We are told that there will be 17 or 18 participants and our team is made up of five facilitators and one helper.  Time is short so I'll say good bye for now and hope to add some reflections later.  AVP workshops draw me deeper into reflections of who I am and draw me deeper, further into relationships with God and mankind.  There is always much to learn.
 

Children of the Light

I am filled to overflowing with the grief: overwhelmed with a deep and incredible pain - struggling to find the words to express it. I am not grieving for any individual in particular but for many who call themselves Children of the Light; members of the Religious Society of Friends.

There is a Spirit that can so fill us; so enrich our lives and bring us incredible Joy. I yearn for everyone to know that Spirit. For most of us it does not happen without both yearning and an openness - without faith. Without the understanding that we must be willing to give of ourselves - to commit ourselves to walk in the Light. Receiving also means being willing to give of ourselves.

I know all of this sounds very vague - "What on earth is she talking about?" I'm talking about the core of our faith that so many Friends seem to have somehow lost sight of - lost faith in. I'm talking about "divine unmediated revelation" (Rufus Jones). That belief that God can and will speak directly to us and through us. That when we are able to say "Yes!", to give over our will to God/Spirit/All/That which is Unknowable/The Divine, than we become God's eyes, ears, hands, and voice in the world. Our will is given over to God's Will. How utterly amazing! How completely joy filled! I have had this experience. I say this not because it makes me any more but so that everyone knows that they too can have this experience. There have been occasions in my life when I have said "yes" to God's clear voice. I believe it is what we are all called to. I will not say it has always been easy but for each time I say "yes" it gets easier the next time. I now know that God will walk with me guiding me every step of the way and that there is nothing on earth to compare with the Joy and the Peace which passes all understanding that I experience. So how can I not grieve when I know what so many are missing?

Many of today's Children of the Light have yet to experience this Joy. Indeed they do not accept that it is possible - for them, I weep.

Living up to the Light

Many years ago as a new Friend I pondered just what it meant to believe that there is that of God in everyone. I finally came to accept the Truth of this core belief and to see it as what I call "the Great Equalizer". It is what unfailingly makes each of us the same. It is the starting point that each of us has at the moment of our creation and provides the most important choice that we can ever make in the course of our lifetimes: "Will I fan that spark until it becomes an all consuming flame and allow the Light of Love to be my guide?" or "Will I ignore the spark?" effectively placing a rock upon it so that it lacks oxygen and must expend all it's energy simply keeping my body alive in hopes that my soul may awaken. I know those who chose to fan the spark. They are filled with unimaginable Joy and they glow with Love from the Spirit. I also know those who have not yet accepted the existence of this incredible gift. They struggle against the sorrows and trials of unbelief without the Loving guidance of the Spirit. In 1841 Caroline Fox explained it this way: “Live up to the Light thou hast and more will be granted thee.”

Friends often choose not to talk with one another about our faith; our spirituality. My personal perception is that, because we see our personal belief systems as diverse we shy away from these discussions usually because we are afraid of offending one another or of being offended. Yet, if each of us can say with honesty and clarity that we believe that there is that of God within each of us, there is a starting place. This is our common ground. It is where we all come together. Let us begin there.

As Friends, we yearn for a renaissance: for growth and outreach, a spreading of the Word. I find myself wondering if we are as a community traversing the dark night of the soul: That time of spiritual dryness and pain when we feel that God is far from us. It can be a time of frustration and fear. I remember Sister Ellen Stephen of the Order of St. Helena sharing her understanding that we sit in the midst of the darkness because the Light is so bright that we cannot see - that the dark night is a time to deepen our faith and prepare - that there is often revelation awaiting us and we will see it clearly when the time is right.

I believe that our time will be right when we can talk to each other with openness and clarity about who we, as Friends are, and what we believe: When we can see and touch the Universal Light within that we all carry and make the choice to fan the flame.