What can love do today?

This little light of mine is a line from a song well-known to many Quakers and followers of other worship practices.  I find no evidence of who wrote it or from what tradition it emerged.  The message: The light is the gift each of us receives from creation – and the song exhorts listeners to let that light, that gift, be seen and known by all.

Jesus, from a combination of studying the texts of his Jewish roots, and from his prayer practices, and perhaps from knowing other sources as well, knew that he had a mission.  At first, he thought it was to align the Jewish worship practices with the simple commands he read in scripture.  For example, Deuteronomy 6:5: love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Perhaps the prayer practices of Jesus bore some similarity to Quaker prayer practices – settling and listening. Perhaps as Elijah before him believed he heard a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12) and the voice asked: What are you doing here, Elijah?

And Jesus would have been well acquainted with, Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God, and: Isaiah 30:15   For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: ‘By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence.

Jesus began to walk, to talk, to do (love) and to pray. His talking was often teaching by asking questions.  Jesus was seemingly trying to provoke or stimulate the listener to see and experience the world, the culture, the group around them, in a new light – the light of Deuteronomy 6:5 and the small but powerful voice of 1 Kings 19:12 for example.  Doing this did not rely upon preachers and temples and organized gatherings of wealth or elaborate ceremonies or use of power to coerce people to obey.  Such relied upon study. Study not to pass a test, but to enrich one’s understanding of their roots and the practices and knowledge that led to goodness and mercy.  Such relied upon prayer, silent, listening prayer.  Such relied upon doing as led by the still small voice – which we Quakers call:  The Light. 

Every generation and every individual in a Quaker community long enough is challenged to know the Light.  What is the Light?  How do I experience the Light? How can I know that what I hear inside is the Light and not my hunger or my ego? 

The answer: Practice and hang with Friends, and with all your heart and mind, listen for the  truth that comes from beyond, the truth that you know is bigger than you are, and that leads you to places and actions that are not of your choosing but of your love and obedience.  Bit by bit.  Little Light Steps. 

Study, for much is written of great value to us, however, do not swallow it, or even this, whole.  Discern:  Does this seem so to me?  Does this beckon me forward?  Does it help me to question what I am doing, how I am doing, and to find answers?  Does it make the lives of people around me better in some way? 

If you start sensing the answer is yes then you are probably on the right track. 

Finding companions on this journey with whom you can share your experiences can be of great use. Practice.  Daily.  Keep a journal.  If you are not accustomed to keeping a journal, just start.  Write one sentence, then another, of what comes to you, what rises.   Light will in almost all probability begin to shine for you. Such is my hope. For your load will be lighter and the world will be a better place.