The world we seek
“We seek a world free of war and the threat of war. / We seek a society with equity and justice for all. / We seek a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled. / We seek an earth restored.”
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Follow your leadings, even the “silly” ones
“I think I have wasted a great deal of my life waiting to be called to some great mission which would change the world. I have looked for important social movements. I have wanted to make a big and important contribution to the causes I believe in. I think I have been too ready to reject the genuine leadings I have been given as being matters of little consequence. It has taken me a long time to learn that obedience means doing what we are called to do even if it seems pointless or unimportant or even silly.”
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Prophets suffer the harms done to others
“The prophets’ great contribution to humanity was the discovery of the evil of indifference. One may be decent and sinister, pious and sinful.
The prophet is a person who suffers the harms done to others. Wherever a crime is committed, it is as if the prophet were the victim and the prey. The prophet’s angry words cry. The wrath of God is a lamentation. All prophecy is one great exclamation: God is not indifferent to evil! He is always concerned, He is personally affected by what man does to man. He is a God of pathos.”
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Stand up, ye prophets of the Lord
“Stand up ye prophets of the Lord, for the truth upon the earth; quench not your prophecy, neither heed them that despise it; but in that stand which brings you through to the end. Heed not the eyes of the world, ye prophets of the Lord, but answer that in them all, which they have closed their eye to.”
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Witness grounded in the resurrection
“In our world today, it is entirely too easy to witness all kinds of brutality and alienation, and yet not to bear witness. We can watch the news reports… but if all we do is watch, how is that different from voyeurism? The voyeur’s eyes are not soft, for they look in expectation of titillation, of being stimulated, of gaining something for oneself; and once that is satisfied, they look away. The eyes of a witness see the hard things and do not look away.”
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Authentic prayer, authentic witness
“We need both a deeper spirituality and a more outspoken witness. If our spirituality can reach the depths of authentic prayer, our lives will become an authentic witness for justice, peace and the integrity of creation, a witness which becomes the context for our prayer. Out of the depths of authentic prayer comes a longing for peace and a passion for justice. And our response to violence and injustice is to pray more deeply, because only God can show us the way out of the mess that the world is in. And only God gives us the strength to follow that Way.”
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Come to know the word of God in yourself
“Dwell everyone in your own light, so will every one have an ear kept open to hear the bridegroom’s voice. He that is born of god knoweth the deciding betwixt the good motions and the bad, and so cometh to know the word of god in himself, and so he beareth not witness of himself, but of the father who hath sent him, and so it is no more I but the spirit of my father which speaketh in me.”
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A witness has handled something true
“It is impossible that a mere man, with all his abilities, arts, and acquirements, can turn people from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, which is the very end and work of the Gospel ministry. Indeed, it must be inspired men, gifted by God, taught and influenced by His heavenly Spirit, who are qualified for so great, so inward, and so spiritual a work. Ministers of Christ are said to be His witnesses, and the credit of a witness is that he has heard, seen, or handled something true.”
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You will be my witnesses
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
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What is Quaker witness?
“Generally, ‘witness’ refers to our actions regarding injustices and inequalities in the outside world. Friends are said to ‘witness’ to their beliefs; our daily behavior is our ‘witness’ to the validity of the testimonies. In other words, Friends’ witness is manifested by what we do and how we act in the world outside the meeting. Friends are known to ‘live our beliefs out loud’ or ‘let our lives speak.’ Integrity compels Quakers to notice and address what goes against our testimonies of peace, equality, stewardship, simplicity, integrity, and community. That noticing and addressing — that action — is Quaker witness.”
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