https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_(wisdom)#/media/File:Ephesus37.jpg Where two or more are gathered, I am there among you"  ~Mathew 18:20 In another era, the Hellenistic era, there was the idea of having a relationship with the sacred Sofia.  In our modern way of thinking we associate Sofia with sound judgment, clear thinking, practical wisdom and intelligence, but that wasn't the original definition.  Sofia was to Plato like a muse. He courted her.  Socrates, in Plato's Apology, presents himself as a man who knows nothing and yet was among the wisest.   The ..read more

It is ironic that often it is in the church where we are least open and honest with each other, unable to share and deal with the concerns that touch people most deeply. Part of the meaning of fellowship is to know and be known by others. Within this fellowship we should be able to share from the depths of our souls. There should be no pretending. Before God all our attempts at self-protection are worthless anyway. We cannot fool God and it is questionable whether we will fool others either….           In community we can take off the masks and give ..read more

Image by dgim-studio on Freepik https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/fantasy-warrior-with-sword_8224235.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=2&uuid=dbe175ce-af86-4a51-b0a7-97ec39487333 Jesus is known as the Prince of Peace who will rule over a peaceable kingdom. Yet he said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34, NIV) So, I guess Jesus wants a peaceable Kingdom of God; but he recognizes that there will be conflict in establishing that Kingdom. Yvette Shock writes this about Jesus’ double nature:        &nbs ..read more

A  tu lado mareado Abrumado por tus ojos El roce de tus manos Me deja paralizado.   El cuerpo está en la tierra, Con corazón acelerado, Pero el alma está volando Liberado por tus encantos.   At your side I’m dizzy, Overwhelmed by your eyes. The touch of your hands Leaves me paralyzed. My body’s on the Earth, My heart beating fast, But my soul’s flying away, Freed by your charms. ~ Richard Russell   How can I name a poem about romantic love, “A Quaker Poem.” Well, love is love in all its forms, and Quakerism—as I understand it—is about love. In the love of a man for a woman ..read more

https://pearlyarts.com/ Foreign visitors to the United States are often surprised by the religiosity of Americans. A 2023 Gallup Poll found that 82% of Americans identify as religious, spiritual, or religious and spiritual. According to a 2021 poll by the Pew Research Center, 63% of Americans identify as Christians and must (I assume) have some opinion about Jesus, Christianity’s central figure. In fact, we are fascinated by Jesus—a fascination that is easily seen in the popular culture. For example, Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, a graphic and violent depiction of Jesus’ last ..read more

https://www.hiclipart.com/free-transparent-background-png-clipart-flipa I was in a conversation recently about the zeitgeist of our current time with a group of friends and was reminded of the film The Golden Compass.  In that film Lyra, the main character, has an alethiometer, a compass-like artifact that reveals the truth. What a wonderful invention!!  In our time where truth seems to have become fungible, one alternate fact easily replacing an actual fact, we are living in one world but "sharing" different realities.  What is the word for that?   ..read more

Image designed by freepik at https://www.freepik.com/ Useage information: https://support.freepik.com/s/article/How-can-I-use-free-images?language=en_US …is the greatest science-fiction novel ever written. The concept of the book is riveting, and its language rises to literary heights. What’s it about? Well, I won’t summarize the entire story; but at the end of the book the human children of the world become non-human entities that swarm across the Earth and destroy the planet. I’ll quote one character—Jan—an adult who remains on Earth and witnesses the apocalypse:       ..read more

Namely, Halley’s Comet, which returns to viewing distance from Earth every 76 to 79 years. When I saw the comet in 1986, it was not that spectacular; but by going to a dark-sky place called Enchanted Rock, I saw what looked like a star with a long line stretching away from it. The 1910 appearance, which my grandfather observed, was much more impressive, inspiring fear of being poisoned when the Earth passed through the comet’s tail.           Howard Thurman, the minister and civil rights leader, was fearful when he—as a young boy—looked at the 1910 ..read more

The taproot of simplicity is to be found at that point in the life of a Friend when the realization comes that his or her inner and outer lives are connected, that for the inward life to continue to grow, there must be a response from the outward life. It is at that point where awareness dawns that spiritual knowledge itself comes from an open relationship between one’s inner and outer lives, and from a free movement between the two.   ~ from Frances Taber’s Pendle Hill Pamphlet, Finding the taproot. https://pendlehill.org/product/finding-taproot-simplicity-movement-inner-knowledge-o ..read more

In ancient Rome, a victorious general would return to the city in a triumphal procession that included his army together with captives and spoils taken in the war being celebrated. But as the general rode through the city in a four-horse chariot, a slave standing behind him in the chariot would whisper in his ear, “Memento mori”—"Remember that you will die.” In like fashion, Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday by receiving on their forehead ashes in the form of a cross while the priest says, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The Stoic philosophers of Greece and Rome counse ..read more