A place near to your altar

 I have been reading the psalms of late, and this is one of the themes that comes up. It also reminds me of a beautiful song, which draws from the same places (I cannot find a link - sorry).

And it sets me to thinking - how do we understand and interpret this idea in a non-sacramental form of Christianity, like the Quakers? We have no altar, and we meet in a room with no special meaning or structure.

So it is worth considering what the original meaning of this is. The place "near to the altar" is about a life dedicated to the worship of God - those near to the altar were the priests dedicated to the temple for life. These are the people who lived in the very presence of the divine. whose life was dedicated to maintaining this worship.

The problem is that this role has - because of some people in such roles - it has been confused. The role "near to the altar" is not a gatekeeper to God. Their role is to facilitate and enable to sacrifices of the people, the peoples worship of God. Also, it is not for "special" people - it is privileged, and these are different.

So, how does this relate to a Quaker faith? The "altar" - the presence of the divine - is still what we seek. a place near the divinity is my desire still. But also - it is about seeing this divinity not just in a place, not in a physical place, but in all of the world.

I live opposite a childrens playground. I can sit and watch the kids playing, enjoying themselves and exploring their abilities. I think I have a place near to the altar.

"Do not covet your neighbours ass"

 Yes, it is hilarious. To clear my mind of the humour in this, I had to explore what this actually said in Exodus. And it did prove interesting.

The list of things we are told not to "covet" are our neighbours house, animals and wife and other possessions. Yes, as we all know the wife was considered a possession.

So I will come back to that in a moment. Firstly, the word "covet" - it means desire, lust, unhealthy passion for. It is not just about wanting things, it is about obsessive desire for things. And, in this case, it is based on an obsessive desire for things because someone else has them.

The other word is "neighbour" - something there has been so much written about I cannot really add more. But it refers to others in the community. Our neighbours are those who are part of our community - whether we like it or not. They are those around us - whether we like them or not. People we live in the same area as us, people we work with, people we are at church with, people in our community. Not just people we like or respect - the point of the word "neighbour" is that they are near us, and may have no more in common than that.

But, to return to the passage about coveting these things are all about wealth and status. They are about not seeking the status of others, their position in society. The reason for this is because such jealousies are damaging to community. The call here is to work together, build together the community, the society we live in. To work all together to make the neighbourhood better.

I can only think that we in the UK might be in a better position, a better state in the world, if we had all - right the way to the top - followed this idea.

Do we know how to educate young people?

 Now I need to start by saying that I am not here criticising teachers or pedagogy in general. This post has come out of discussions I have had on social media which have helped me clarify my understanding.

It comes also from watching programmes like "Back in time..." and also "Educating...". Which are always really interesting insights into the past and the present.

So the challenge of "educating" young people is actually a relatively new one. You don't have to go back very far to the point where most young people did not get an education as such - they learned what they needed on the job, from family or artisans. It was only those with independent wealth who could take the time to travel and spend time discussing with others. Or reading books - a talent that was also an indication of privilege.

The early forms of education of young people tended to rely on "rote learning". In simple terms, a teacher put something on a blackboard, the students would copy it down and were expected to learn it. I say early - within my lifetime, the idea of learning bible verses by heart has been promoted as a way to educate young people. Rote learning has many problems, not least that it doesn't work.

My era of learning was very much more "hands on". Actually, it was an era of educational experimentation - schools where the pupils could do what they wanted were the vogue idea.

Today, there is a different idea too - engaging education, dealing with pupils much more as individuals. There is, in the sciences, a lack of the excitement and experimentation that I experienced, but there is a lot that is significantly better. Not least, the acceptance that different pupils will learn in different ways.

The problem still, in my view, is that we don't educate them. The focus is examinations, and - to a large extent - the teaching is to an examination. We train young people to pass exams, and in doing so, I think we fail to educate them.

The other thing that inspired this line of thought is the comments this week that "we need to get young people into school" otherwise they are not being educated. I strongly disagree with this, because most young people can - with some direction - get an education outside a school. Looking at and exploring nature can be educational. Discussion can be educational. TV can be educational. Listening to grandparents can be educational. Reading books - or even spending time on the internet - can be educational.

It may not help them pass exams. But then, I don't believe that passing exams should be the purpose of education. Education should seek to expand young peoples minds, provide them with tools they need to learn throughout their lives. Especially now, when the future might be very significantly different to the present, they need the skills to relearn, reskill, rethink. Not just pass exams.

I don't think we do know how to educate young people. It is not the fault of the teachers or the people who teach the teachers. It is the fault of the political direction. And in this, I think we are still failing our young people.

Engaging worship

 So, some people find the idea of a zoom Quaker worship odd - a zoom meeting where everyone is muted? I mean, why?

 More traditional churches have taken a variety of approaches to online worship - zoom from the building or YouTube of the service seem to be common. It struck me that this is very much reflecting the form of worship we are used to: worship as presentation. Where the participants can join in or not, and it makes very little real difference.

 And then, in the meeting this morning, I realised that our silent meetings are totally different. Joining in - being a part of the meeting - is not an optional aspect. Each person is a full participant, and it makes a difference.

I am not intending to criticise any form of worship, but I did get a real sense of participation today, that I do not think everyone gets from a broadcast service. Because, for me, I am not "joining in". I am an essential part of the worship - actually, an existential part of it, as my typo wanted to suggest. Without me, it does not exist.

Silent meeting is not for everyone. But zoom meeting is as participative and corporate as physical meeting. And it is an experience that helps me understand deeper what worship really is.

Left Behind

In meeting this morning, I was (as often) looking at my bookshelf. I noticed my copy of "Left Behind". Just for those who know it, it is not a book I have as representing my beliefs and understanding.

But reflecting on this, one of the issues I have with the book (and the theology) is that there is an acceptance that many people will be left behind by God. And yet, watching The Crystal Maze, one thing that is often said is that "No-one left behind" - a military principle, and a good one.

For me, faith is about leaving nobody behind. We should not accept that people should be left behind - and this applies spiritually and financially. This applies to health support and getting vaccination and everything.

The idea that "some will be left behind" is, to my view, anathema to a person of faith. I don't accept it, and I will fight for all to be accepted, to be included.

Left Behind - evey person left behind is a failure.

Spread your wings?

 So in meeting today, I was watching the clouds go by - this is not unusual, as I like to draw inspiration from outside during meeting. They were shifting at quite a rate today! There was a good wind, and lower clouds were passing quickly, while I could occasionally spot a higher cloud not moving noticably.

But I also saw some birds - no idea what. They were just flying with wings outstretched, enjoying the thermals or the wind, and flying effortlessly.

It struck me that we are so often blown about by the winds and storms (the world and political situation at the moment being a significant part of that), but sometimes - not always - we should open our wings, and fly on the drifts, not get buffeted by them. What does this mean? It means just ignore the problems for a moment, and enjoy life.

You will be back in the gusts eventually, but - maybe - better prepared after soaring for a while.

Reflecting

A group of photons leave the sun. They travel 95M miles in a few minutes, with just a few hitting space dust on the way.

They finally make it to the Earths atmosphere. Quite a few hit dust in the atmosphere and bounce around there. But not the Main Man (Photon). That one fights through.

This group make it very close to the earth, and then they hit a piece of glass. Quite a few are absorbed or reflected, but a good number get through. These find a piece of kitchen furniture, and many are taken in there, but a fair few are reflected off, rather slower, but still very excited. The original gang are now down to a sprinking.

These carry on their journey, and moments later they find some more glass. This time, ony a few get through, many are reflected. These carry on momentarily and then enter my eye. Some more degredation as they work through the structures of the eye and then a photon or two make it to be converted into electrical energy in my retina.

Then, in the space of a few inches, some of the most complex and amazing processing happens. This contributes to me seeing a reflection in the window.

This happens all the time of course. The amazing things that happen we treat as quotidian - and they are. But they are also amazing.