Way Opening: Images for Discernment
The phrase, “The Way Will Open” is inspired by several intersecting wisdom threads including quaker spirituality, womanist theology, nonviolent action, and the early Christian concept of a way of life.
Way Opening: There is powerful simplicity and imagery in the Quaker discernment phrase, “way opening.” As we imagine the future, we are tempted to try to grasp the whole picture at once. What will the future look like? What will a better world look like? How do we make it all happen? It can be overwhelming and frustrating especially amid the rapid rate of change and tangled complexity of our cultural experiences.
Quaker spirituality invites careful and prayerful attention amid reality as it is to notice natural openings as steps into the future we yearn for with the Sacred. In true Quaker style, this invites patient waiting and a relinquishment of effort to be able to notice something opening within us or around us as an option previously unconsidered. Quaker teacher Parker Palmer suggests that sometimes we notice “way closing” more than we notice “way opening,”[1] which can have the same guiding effect. There is never a time when there is no way forward, even if the way forward is to turn around at a closing.
The Way Will Open also stems from the womanist conviction that God will make a way out of no way. Monica Coleman, womanist theologian, describes 4 characteristics of making a way out of no way, 1) God’s presentation of unforeseen possibilities, 2) human agency, 3) the goal of justice, survival, and quality of life, and 4) a challenge to the existing order.[2] All four characteristics are crucial to the larger work of discerning one’s concrete participation in God’s vision for all creation. Biblical images of a way out of no way abound; the Red Sea opening for the Israelites as they fled oppression in Egypt, manna from heaven, the prophet Isaiah’s vision of a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, water into wine, feeding the multitudes, and of course the deep (and cyclical) pattern of death and resurrection etched into Christian practice reminding us that endings can lead to new life.
It is crucial in our interpretation and application of these themes to integrate them in a strongly embodied way. The vision of a way out of no way comes from contexts (biblically, historically, and currently) of extreme violence, racism, sexism, and oppression met with profound spiritual and physical resilience. It is treasure of wisdom that must be approached with deep humility, reverence, and critical self-reflection. It testifies to the power of Spirit, the power of the personal, and the power of the collective. Discernment, as a way of living deep integrity in seeking the call of God amid the many destructive, life diminishing forces at work in the world today, requires such a source. It is a clarion call for all who find themselves “with their backs against the wall.[3]” Through creative engagement in the concrete realities before us, God works with us to make a way.
A Third Way
I first came across the concept of a third way when I was a young pastor fresh out of seminary. A dear mentor would often stay quiet during lively leadership team meetings with an attentive listening presence. After perspectives had been heard between this and that, he would wisely ask, what is the third way? Matt instilled in me the possibility of creative alternatives emerging from our differences. His pastoral questions led to a space where we could remove issues from a perceived binary and instead consider a wider realm of possible solutions and responses. It cultivated a more creative, imaginative, open stance among our leadership team.
This wisdom can also be attributed to Walter Wink, whose work on Jesus and nonviolence presented possibilities of a creative Spirit at work right in the heart of difficulty, complexity, and even violence. Movements of nonviolent resistance around the world demonstrate the kind of spiritual creativity, improvisation, and resourcefulness that can lead to emergent outcomes previously unimagined. Creative tensions and difference can be the birthplace for prophetic vision of a new future.
A Way of Life
A final source of inspiration for this work comes from the early Christian concept of following the way of Christ in the world. Ancient followers of Jesus called him “the way.” That faith is a path we are walking implies dynamism and movement. It is an on-the-go kind of faith that does not settle too comfortably in any one place or idea but remains open, poised, to follow the way of the Holy wherever it will lead in our lives, relationships, communities, and world.
A way of life also implies an integrated approach. This isn’t just something I do; this is part of who I am. Rather than an abstract statement of belief, it is a lived practice in the details of daily experience, as natural as breathing. For disciples of Jesus on the move, discernment is a habit of faithfulness. “Where will you lead today?” is the constant refrain of the people of God who anticipate the work of the Spirit always around and ahead of them.
[1] A Hidden Wholeness
[2] Monica Coleman, Making A Way Out of No Way
[3] Howard Thurman
