OLD CHATHAM QUAKERS
  • Home
  • What's Going On?
    • Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
  • Donate
  • More About Us
    • Location
    • Quaker Links
    • Renting the Meeting House
  • Meeting Life
    • Meeting Business
    • Meeting Directory
    • Miscellaneous Documents
    • Document Archive
    • Worship Sharing
    • The Role of Ministry and Counsel
    • Friends Burial Ground at Rayville
    • Photo Archive
  • Covid Policy
  • OCMM Visibility Strategy Survey
  • Blog
  • Sanctuary Documents
  • OPJ Documents
  • Solitary Housing Unit

Clothe Yourself In The Armor of Light

3/9/2022

2 Comments

 
Picture
Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; … put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:11-14)

I have watched in horror as war has broken out again and been subsumed in grief and cynicism about the state of the world.  This time Ukraine. Last time Iraq and Afghanistan. 

These things are rightly called by Paul, the apostle, the "works of darkness." It is so easy to destroy things and so much work to build them up.  But we must build them up because the alternative is too hard to fathom. 

I was sitting in silent meditation and remembered this quote from Romans.  What is the "Armor of Light?" And why is Paul using a war metaphor to bring the peace of Christ? 

I've heard it said that in order to have power over those things that oppress us we must make the slur or the insult our own.  Black people have taken ownership of the "N" word.  The LGBTQ community took ownership of  the word "faggot."  Maybe it is time the peace loving people take ownership of the language of war and do what Paul instructed us to do? 

When an article of clothing becomes too tattered, too small, or no longer fits we discard it.  The works of darkness are ignorance.  And we have labored under the illusion that peace can come from war.  That it is only through destruction that we can find peace. That peace requires the utter elimination of something or someone. 

Light dispels darkness. Discernment dispels ignorance. Unknowing and expectant waiting offers new ways of thinking and being.  We can't find new solutions to old problems with what we already know "to be the truth."  There are only dead ends on that route. 

To clothe ourselves with the armor of light is, I think, to be open to the working of God in our lives in unexpected ways.  It might just be saying out loud "we don't know what to do here, but it can't be what we've always done in the past." 

For Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and back into the dark and the dank of human history we have tried violence and failed.  For inside every "victory" lies the seed of more violence. There are ways of peaceful coexistence.  Nature finds ways of doing it. It is possible.

My inquiry for today is about the sources of ignorance:

  • In what ways can we clothe ourselves in the armor of light?
  • How can we invent new forms of conflict resolution? 
  • How can the human needs for safety & security be met? 
  • How much is enough?  
  • What are the limits of our wants and desires?
  • If what we fund prospers, why do we fund war over education? 
Joseph Olejak

2 Comments
Richard Russell
3/11/2022 07:02:42 am

Hi; Joseph.

Although I am not an absolute pacifist, I couldn’t agree more with your insightful, spirit-filled post. As Lincoln said, “We must think anew and act anew” if we are to stop war as a “solution” to problems.

Thanks,

Richard

Reply
joseph olejak
3/13/2022 08:25:26 pm

Where we draw the line on the use of violence is a tricky question. Where violence is used to "solve problems" a slippery slope of new problems quickly develops.

I've read about the protective use of force as an ethical way of considering violence; that is to say just enough violence to prevent harm.

No one wants to see maternity hospitals bombed ... and we have to ask ourselves WHO provides the protective use of force? A few questions:
-- Does the use of violence expand or diminish the overall use of violence?
-- Let us not forget that an escalation between two nuclear armed nations will not end well. As a member of the planet Earth I would vote for pacifism over annihilation by nuclear holocaust.
-- Do we, as a nation, have any legal authority to step into this fight? Ukraine is not a member of the EU, Nato, and shares no treaty with the US to protect it as an ally.
-- Food, medicine, blankets, water, diplomacy and sanctions all seem apropos
-- guns, missiles, tanks and jets will surely cause escalation.

Vietnam started with advisers and ended with 58,000 of the best and brightest of a generation laid in graves.

Iraq started with non-existent weapons of mass destruction and ended as a mess.

Afghanistan began with a hunt for Osama Bin Laden and ended with the Taliban back in power.

We have to understand where are limits of power are and not think that every fight is our fight and that every war is the domino theory.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    ​This blog was set up to post content of interest to Old Chatham Quaker members and attenders. Posts related to one's own personal spiritual journey, reports based on interviews with others, and reflections on Quaker-related topics are welcome. Posts by individuals are personal expressions and do not necessarily reflect those of the Meeting as a whole.
    Guidelines for posting on website blog:
    Submit to member of Communications committee; committee has editorial oversight over all content posted on the Meeting website.

    Be respectful of the nature of vocal ministry given in Meeting for Worship or other settings and any private conversations about spiritual matters.

    Cite source of any image or other external content submitted.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • What's Going On?
    • Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
  • Donate
  • More About Us
    • Location
    • Quaker Links
    • Renting the Meeting House
  • Meeting Life
    • Meeting Business
    • Meeting Directory
    • Miscellaneous Documents
    • Document Archive
    • Worship Sharing
    • The Role of Ministry and Counsel
    • Friends Burial Ground at Rayville
    • Photo Archive
  • Covid Policy
  • OCMM Visibility Strategy Survey
  • Blog
  • Sanctuary Documents
  • OPJ Documents
  • Solitary Housing Unit