#MonthOfMinistry Day 11
“Surrender” is another word I find very difficult: it clearly has military origins. It seems to be about giving up the struggle, ceding control of our lives and our society to the brutal forces of power over. It seems very clear right now that we can’t afford to do that. The forces of greed, hatred and fascism (which is not a term I use lightly, but which seems accurate right now) are hell-bent on destroying the institutions that we’ve created to care for one another and our planet.
I’m reminded of a wonderful song of resistance from the South African struggles against apartheid: We Shall Not Give up the Fight:
But I do think the idea of surrender can be helpful. For me it’s more about taking time to rest in that sense of connection that goes beyond our individual ego and will. I think this quote (which does use very theistic language) from one of the early 17th century Quakers expresses it well:
Give over thine own willing, give over thy own running, give over thine own desiring to know or be anything and sink down to the seed which God sows in the heart, and let that grow in thee and be in thee and breathe in thee and act in thee; and thou shalt find by sweet experience that the Lord knows that and loves and owns that, and will lead it to the inheritance of Life, which is its portion.
Isaac Penington, 1661
Sink Down to the Seed, artwork by Judy Holyer https://holyer.com/artwork/
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