Quakerism is rooted in the Christian tradition which celebrates the healing power of God.

This power enabled Jesus to be a healer,

When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured. (Luke 9.11, NRSV)

the disciples to be healers,

They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

(Luke 9.6, NRSV)

Paul to be a healer,

And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said in a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And the man sprang up and began to walk. (Acts 14.9-10, NRSV)

and George Fox to be a healer.

(Fox Speaking.) After some time I went to a meeting at Arnside, where Richard Myer was, who had been long lame in one of his arms. I was moved of the Lord to say unto him among all the people, ‘Prophet Myer, stand up upon your legs,’ for he was sitting down; and he stood up, and stretched out his arm that had been lame a long time, and said: ‘Be it known by all you people that this day I am healed.’ But his parents could hardly believe it; and after the meeting was done, took him aside, removed his jacket, and then they saw it was true. He soon came afterwards to the Swarthmore meeting and declared how the Lord had healed him. (Miracles of George Fox)

So, recently, I was dismayed to realize that some Friends don’t take the Light, one form of God’s healing power, seriously!

I had participated in a public worship service offered by Friends. It was a programmed service that was capped at both ends by short periods of silence. Before the initial time of silence, the leader said, “Just think about the happiest day of your life!”

I was concerned about the underlying message being sent. I didn’t want non-Friends to believe that we have a tradition of silent worship because we’ve found that we can use this time to forget our problems and bury our discomfort! Indirectly, it suggested that sitting in silence is just another means for feeling better.

We sit in silence to get better not feel better!

We open ourselves in silence to the Light of Christ. The Light can be comforting, but its primary purpose is to heal and to transform. Sometimes the Light heals us physically but it usually heals us from the inside out.

The Light helps us see what we don’t normally allow ourselves to see: the truth. It points out what we need to know so we can change, so we can be fully human… whole and holy. The Light reminds us of of our divine nature, heals us from soul damage, and guides us to find how we are called to participate in Christ’s ongoing healing of the world.