Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, November 10, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ring the bells that still will ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That\u2019s how the light gets in<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a quote from Leonard\nCohen\u2019s song \u201cAnthem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month I went to my 45th<\/sup> college reunion.\nWhen I was in college, I had many ideas and ideals about the world and my power\nto change it for the better. Since then, I\u2019ve struggled with the fact that I\nhaven\u2019t lived up to what I hoped, and the condition of the world seems to be\ngetting worse in many ways. Yet, I still have hope. Cohen reminds me I still\nhave bells to ring, I still have \u201cofferings\u201d to give. I trust the Divine is\nstill working through me in spite of my cracks, or maybe because of my cracks,\nand that the Light of the Divine is entering me and inspiring me. And once the\nlight enters me, I need to share it, as Jesus told us: No one lights a lamp and then\nhides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where\nits light can be seen by all who enter the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At one point during the reunion, we were wandering around\ncampus looking at trees. There are some beautiful ones there and they were just\nmoving into fall colors. Nuts and acorns littered the ground. I picked up this\nwalnut shell, which I know you can\u2019t really see, but you can check it out\nlater. Meanwhile, imagine how it looks. The outside is dark brown, beat up,\nchewed upon, broken, and scratched- nothing to catch your attention or make you\npause. But the inside! The walnut is gone, which must have been a perfect\noffering for some creature, but the shape of it remains, curvy and arresting.\nLike us as we grow and age, our outsides may not look that fresh, aren\u2019t a\nperfect offering, but our insides are beautiful, have developed interesting\ntwists and turns, and have offerings to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this past summer\u2019s yearly meeting session, Lisa\nGraustein\u2019s message about using our spiritual gifts resonated deeply with me.\nWe Friends often speak of the gift of ministry, or spiritual gifts. When I was\nyoung I understood that to be spoken ministry, or the ministry of leading an\norganization or movement. Later the idea expanded: for example, my mom is\nrecognized for her gift in organization. Jan Wood has identified many different\nareas of spiritual gifts, which I\u2019ve posted, and Lisa spoke about those. I\u2019ll\nshare a few examples with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jan has given some of the gifts unexpected names. One is\nexorcism- the ability to liberate from systemic oppression. Wendy and Brown\nexemplify this gift, as they work to create a world not dominated by\nenvironmental degradation or militarism, but one where respect and justice for\nall beings and the earth is primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is the spiritual gift of translation, the ability\nto translate or understand languages you don\u2019t know or the ability to\nunderstand and help others communicate across seemingly impossible divides.\nCraig exemplifies this with his facilitation of Makeshift Coffee houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is the spiritual gift of service: the ability and\ndesire to meet the practical needs of people. Dorothy Curtis exemplifies this\nas she cooks bounteous portions when needed, leads the Woman\u2019s Society, and\nhelps organize memorial service refreshments. Dan as trustee and soundman and\nKitsie as treasurer and trustee also exemplify this gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Margaret Wentworth exemplifies the gift of trust, or\nfaith- the deep assurance that \u201call is well\u201d even when circumstances go awry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paul Miller’s work as a counselor exemplifies the gift of healing- the ability to cure and restore body, mind, emotions, and\/or spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With her work with the Kakamega Orphan Care Center, Sukie\nexemplifies the gift of shepherding or pastoring – the ability and desire to\ncare for a group of people over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could go on and on, as many Sunday mornings I have gone\naround the room and thought of each person and the gifts that each one brings\nto this meeting and to the world. Everyone has bells they are ringing, whether\nor not it was the bell of their perfect offering, or the one that still rings\nno matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After my closing prayer, I\u2019ll hand around a basket.\nPlease draw a slip and look at the gift written on it. We did this at yearly meeting,\nthen Lisa asked us these questions, which I modified slightly for our\ncircumstance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. If this gift is new to\nyou, how might you be asked to breathe life into it in the days and weeks\nahead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. If this is a gift you\ncurrently manifest, how can you deepen and exercise this gift to a fuller\nextent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. If this gift is not for\nyou, who do you see manifesting this gift that you can affirm and support? How\ncan you name this gift in another, thereby empowering it to work among us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, as Leonard Cohen\nwrote: Ring the bells that still will\nring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That\u2019s how\nthe light gets <\/em>in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I offer this prayer: Dear Divine Spirit, thank you for filling us with light, for giving us spiritual gifts, for accepting our imperfect offerings. Thank you for giving us the strength, courage, and wisdom to share those gifts with the world. Let our lights shine brightly and our bells ring out clearly. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to learn more about Jan Wood\u2019s descriptions of spiritual gifts, go to https:\/\/goodnewsassoc.org\/associates\/jan-wood\/spiritual-gifts-resources\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, November 10, 2019 Ring the bells that still will ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That\u2019s how the light gets in. That\u2019s a quote from Leonard Cohen\u2019s song \u201cAnthem.\u201d … Continue reading