In the beginning: John Wattis’ Thought for the week
‘Jesus’ way was not the way of violence but of peace.’
Early Friends would have recognised Jesus’ declaration that his followers were not his servants (John 15:15). A servant, he says, does not know what the master is doing. Instead his disciples are his friends. Let’s take a moment to think about what this means.
Jesus did not ‘pull rank’. As Paul the apostle wrote (in the King James translation), he instead ‘made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant’ by taking on our humanity (Philipians 2:7).
We call ourselves ‘Friends of the truth’. Early Friends, familiar with the New Testament, would have had no trouble in recognising Jesus as the Truth. He is said to have declared ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6, New International Version). This is not as exclusivist as it sounds – apart, perhaps, from its gendered language – because earlier in the same gospel Jesus is identified as ‘The true light that gives light to everyone’ (John 1:9, NIV).
Jesus did not want to ‘Lord it over us’ like earthly rulers but to be one of us, someone through whom God could express truth and love. As he is reported to have said to his disciples: ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ (John 15:13, NIV). Jesus’ way was not the way of violence but of peace.
Sometimes we call ourselves ‘Friends of the Light’ – indeed, there is an independent Quaker group meeting at Woodbrooke which still goes by that name. And this too we can see in Jesus: ‘in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.’ (John 1:4, New Revised Standard Version).
Our own Advices & queries starts with the words: ‘Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts. Trust them as the leadings of God whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life.’
Sometimes it may be that we do not remember the origins of the words that we use in our discourse about God. Sometimes we don’t take the time to consider the implications of these words for our testimonies for truth, equality, peace and simplicity. Sometimes, then, it is good to return to the beginning.
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