Why you deserve rest

Hello dear readers,

I hope you have had a season full of warmth and light in the northern hemisphere’s darkest month of the year. The holidays have the potential to bring joy, togetherness, and hope, but for some they may bring feelings of stress, loneliness, or grief. So however December was for you, for the new year, I wish you rest.

We spent the last month exploring the relationship between rest and spirituality. Each of us deserves rest, not because we’ve “earned” it, or because we are preparing ourselves for productivity, but because we have divine light within us, inherent value. Setting aside regular quiet time for contemplation and centering, known as “retirement,” was an important devotional practice for early Friends that can still strengthen us today: a cleaning up of our spiritual living room in preparation for a more meaningful corporate experience at meeting for worship. That’s not to say that busy people have no time for retirement! There are small devotions that you can fold into your daily routine so that even scrubbing the floor becomes an act of prayer.

I also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that I am always learning, and to thank those readers who wrote to me concerning my letter from the editor last month that said that “gratitude isn’t one of the Quaker testimonies.” I should have been more precise with my language! After some reflection, I agree that reducing the definition of Quaker testimony to the SPICES (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Simplicity) is an oversimplification. In a faith with no creed, and with trust in continuing revelation, the very concept of a list is restrictive. This makes me think that Quaker Testimony could be a rich topic for a month of messages in the future!

Tomorrow we begin a month on the origins of the Quaker movement. We will focus on messages from early Friends, with modern analysis about early Quaker ideas. These messages will give us insight into how Quakerism began, the radical spirit of early Friends, and the theology of our spiritual ancestors. At the end of January we look forward to a week of messages from guest editor Max L. Carter, who spent 45 years in Quaker education, the last 25 at Guilford College as the Director of Friends Center and Quaker Studies.

With blessings for the new year,

Maeve Sutherland
Editor of the Daily Quaker Message

Reader Responses

What does Christmas mean to you?

What is on your heart at this time of year?

Coming at the darkest time of the year in the Northern hemisphere, it is a reminder that hope, light and warmth will eventually prevail. While the Christ Mass is historically associated with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, its real significance is the reminder that every human birth is a precious gift of God and that one human person, who lives their life in loving service to others, can have a profound impact on the entire course of human history. 

Joseph I., Washington, DC, USA
Christmas for me is a laser focus on the physical coming of God in Christ Jesus. The Spirit of God but in flesh, as the late pastor and author, Eugene Peterson says, "moved into the neighborhood." "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

Over 20 years ago I learned of Advent, the coming if Christ. The daily and weekly readings, Scriptures, prayers and practices of Advent did not change my perspective of Christmas, but deepened the true meaning with focus on the sacred, less on the secular commercialism of the Holy season. Keeping things in perspective, I enjoy the festive songs and gatherings, however, I lean more toward the sacred, quiet, reflective ritual of Christ-Mass. Christ will Advent again in the second coming. Christ Advents daily in my heart.

"Come let us walk in the light of the Lord."

Advent/Christmas Blessings.

Joseph J., Brown Deer (Milwaukee), WI, USA
Pour moi cela signifie le partage et la naissance de Jésus un nouveau cycle qui commence et une nouvelle chance de prendre le train en marche...

English translation: For me, it signifies sharing and the birth of Jesus, a new cycle beginning and a new chance to get on board...

Joos X., Amiens, France

This Week’s Messages

Mon Dec 22

Leisure is a receptive attitude

“Leisure implies (in the first place) an attitude of non-activity, of inward calm, of silence; it means not being ‘busy,’ but letting things happen… Leisure is a form of silence, of that silence that is the pre-requisite of the apprehension of reality: only the silent hear and those who do not remain silent, do not hear. Silence as it is used in this context, does not mean ‘dumbness’ or ‘noiselessness’: it means more nearly that the soul’s power to ‘answer’ to the reality of the world is left undisturbed. For leisure is a receptive attitude, and it is not only the occasion but also the capacity for steeping oneself in the whole of creation.” …
Tue Dec 23

Give rest to each other

“‘Hospitality’ as a word today is more often associated with ‘industry’ than with personal or community behaviour… Advertising tries to teach us to link ‘rest’ with a holiday somewhere hot, a luxury purchase, an indulgence, me-time (and perhaps we need some of that sometimes). However, we also need to be careful to avoid having a too commercialised or individualised understanding of what rest is. There are many kinds of rest (physical, mental, emotional) but to truly experience most of these does require the creation of a social space that allows it.” …
Wed Dec 24

The angel tells Mary, “The Holy Spirit will overtake you.”

“An angel tells the young Mary that God has elected her to be the means whereby divine love will be enfleshed in the human world. As a parabolic character, Mary represents us. She is a normal human being, which means that she is, by nature as it were, self-centered, self-enclosed. So she asks, in effect: ‘How can that happen? I’m alone; it’s just me.’ The angel replies, ‘The Holy Spirit will overtake you, and the power of God will overshadow you…'” …
Thu Dec 25

Christ is born in us

“It’s probably less important that Christ was born, but more important that Christ is born in us. And that can happen at any time. It’s not limited to any time of the year.” …
Fri Dec 26

A Quaker encounter with an old Christmas carol

“Now, at the start of a new year, the True Love gives as the first in a sequence of gifts a partridge in a pear tree. It is a pretty picture, even though it is so quaint. It belongs to another age; an age when there was more time, more opportunity, to escape into aloneness, to survey, to ponder.” …
Sat Dec 27

Centering down out of the cumbers and cares

Allowed my mind to be ruffled and soured by some cross occurrences this morning; which, however, I strove to suppress, and believe it was not discovered by others; but that did not satisfy me, not feeling that sweet peace which I prize above every other enjoyment. I retired awhile, and, centering down out of the cumbers and cares which had perplexed, was favoured to feel something of that healing virtue, which now, as formerly, heals every malady, and alone restores peace and tranquillity within our borders …

Banner art by Ruth A. Seeley

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Author

  • Maeve Sutherland

    Maeve Sutherland is a communications professional who never recovered from her wonderful childhood at a Quaker elementary school. She has spent her career helping nonprofits share their stories, from schools and universities, to museums, to radio stations. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, Maeve spent a year living in “Peaceable Kingdoms,” pacifist intentional communities around the world, where she learned that everyone has a role to play in shaping a better world. She worked as a freelance social media manager before joining Thee Quaker Project.

    After returning to Quakerism as a young adult, Maeve now attends Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting in Philadelphia.

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