Address by Marisa Johnson to Queen’s College Chapel Evensong, Cambridge
An address by former EMES Executive Secretary Marisa Johnson to the Christian congregation at the Queen’s College Chapel, 5th February 2023
“Only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs” (Eph 4:29)
Quakers have a little red book called “Advices & Queries” which provides Friends with encouragement and challenge to live – or attempt to live – with integrity, in alignment with our faith. The first Advice reads:
“Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of Love and Truth in your hearts. Trust them as the leadings of God, whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life.”
Central to the Quaker understanding of the religious life is a direct, intimate and unmediated relationship to the divine. In the 17th century, early Quakers believed they were living in the “end times”. They understood Christ’s second coming to be a spiritual event, being revealed in the heart of each believer. They were fond of saying that “Christ has come to teach his people himself”. So, by turning inwards, and waiting patiently, Friends believed God’s guidance would come and show them the way forward in their personal and corporate lives. No longer relying on the wisdom of tradition and the authority of their “betters”, Friends affirmed the on-going and unfolding revelation of God’s will in their own times and
circumstances.
Prophecy was no longer relegated to the past, but became once again a living source of guidance that could come from women as well as men, the young as well as the old (Joel 2:28). And this guidance could be tested against the requirements of Love and Truth – a concise abbreviation of what Paul in Galatians named “the fruits of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. They were shown the darkness of armed conflict in support of one religious ideology or another – and made a declaration to this effect to Charles II in 1660, refusing to participate in bloodshed. In time, they heeded prophets like Benjamin Lay and John Woolman who had denounced the evil of owning and trading other human beings as slaves.
This guidance in the present did not replace or devalue the Bible, which was, and for many still is, a necessary aid to discernment. But one important difference is that, for Quakers, the Bible is not the Word of God as though given through dictation – it is a Witness to the Word of God, which of course is Jesus Christ himself. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John’s gospel) The risen Christ inaugurated a new relationship between humanity and God – it reversed the separation of Adam’s fall. The Good News is that, under Christ’s guidance, we can live in this world as witnesses to the Rule of God – the rule of Justice and Peace. So how does this continuing revelation manifest itself in our own times and circumstances? Do we continue to listen for the promptings of love and truth in our hearts?
I witnessed one example of God’s voice being heard unmistakably in the annual gathering of British Friends in York in 2009, when, against the prevailing wisdom of the time which urged caution, we heard and embraced a call to affirm equal marriage. To follow the promptings of love and truth requires that we understand what love and truth are. Love is not just a feeling that can degenerate into sentimentality, but mutual solidarity and compassion, and concern for fellow creatures, especially for those exploited and oppressed.
Truth is trickier to define – to borrow from Oscar Wild, “Truth is seldom pure and never simple”. It is multifaceted, often too big and complex to be seen in its entirety from the limitations of our perspective. We approach discernment of the truth with humility, listening carefully for the revelations that come from the experience of others. Truth is Reality, it is the acknowledgement of what is.
As we listened to the lived experience of people whose lives were lived in faithfulness and reverence, we recognised that we were seeing not just “committed relationships” – the preferred title at the time, between older people, who were past childbearing, and between people of the same gender, but marriage. We could not call it anything but marriage. We were reminded that early Friends had refused to be married by the priest,
and took each other in marriage before their Meetings. As George Fox, one of the early leaders, wrote: “We marry none. It is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses”. In York in 2009, we recognised that we do not confer marriage on people – we are simply witnesses to a God-given grace.
When confronted by people whose lives and circumstances are different from our own, can we be open to the promptings of love and truth in our hearts to recognise and articulate “Only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs”? (Eph 4:29) When almost a year ago Ukraine was invaded by its large and powerful neighbour, like many others I felt helpless and at a loss to know how to respond. When we heard of the call for people to sponsor refugees to come and live in their homes, my husband and I knew straightaway that we had to offer to help. Not without some apprehension – what would it be like to share our home with strangers? – we registered our willingness to host, and set about reorganising our home to free up at least two rooms – quite a task, after living in the house for almost 25 years.
We were put in touch with a mum with two daughters, aged 6 and 14, who were sheltering in Northern Italy – 25 km from the town where some of my family lives. After the inevitable bureaucratic delays, the family arrived in July. By this time they had already been away from Ukraine for five months, and were uprooting themselves again to a new country, new language, new surroundings – they were brave, and bewildered. In spite of the communications difficulties – we quickly became expert at Google Translate – we soon forged a very strong bond and settled into a busy but relaxed family routine. We share shopping, cooking, washing, household chores, childcare. Warmth and genuine affection hold us together.
One thing, however, that has been causing me some distress is the question of how I interpret and live by the peace testimony of Friends, which has been a fundamental part of my adherence to this community of faith. Is not all violence wrong? Isn’t sending military help to Ukraine only going to prolong the fighting and destruction? Has the West played a part in provoking this terrible attack? Listening to analysis, opinion and debate, often offered during Meetings for Worship as “ministry”, increased my distress. How can I say to our dear guests that Ukraine is wrong to defend itself? Their lives have been torn asunder, their future is completely uncertain. Who am I to judge?
Last December the younger child kept saying to me “For Christmas I want my daddy come” – a heartbreaking plea, knowing that for almost a year they have had only virtual calls, though these are often long and loving. Dad joined the army as a volunteer. We see pictures of him in fatigues, carrying weapons. This is as challenging for a Quaker to witness as equal marriage is for some Christians. My faith is shaken to the core. What do Love and Truth require of me in this situation? What promptings are being whispered in my heart? I hear “Only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs” (Eph 4:29)
I put my arms around my dear Ukrainian “daughter” and share her fears and anxiety for her husband, and I tell her he is doing what he feels called to do to protect their home and their future. I tell her that he is a hero, and that I pray God to keep him safe. Tonight I ask you to join me in that prayer. May we always sit lightly to even our most cherished beliefs, and hear the voice of the Living God showing us new truths and guiding us to embrace our reality in love. In such faithfulness we live with integrity, humility and hope.
