By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
April 19, 2026
Click here to join our Meeting for Worship
1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV)
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
We are currently living in a historic time. I say it is historic because we are at a cross road that I never thought I would have ever been. Twenty-five years ago on September 12, 2001 Pope John Paul II said “[9/11] was a dark day in human history, a terrible attack on human dignity.” and added: “The heart of man is an abyss whence, at times, emerge acts of unspeakable ferocity.” He then went on to urge against the spiral of hatred and violence, and faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail, stressing that those who believe in God know that evil does not have the final say, and that forgiveness is not weakness but the fullness of justice needed to heal the wounds caused by such atrocities.
I am not Catholic, I am a Quaker. I am a minister of the gospel among Friends. Our Faith and Practice says this, “Friends feel that life is sacred, and that war and violence are not consistent with Christian Principals (Matthew 5:38-48). It is our firm conviction that war is wrong as a method of settling disputes, destructive of our highest values, and productive of the seeds of future wars. We, therefore, as a church, unequivocally support young Friends who as conscientious objectors to war refuse military service. And we are concerned to find alternative solutions based upon justice and righteousness for all peoples and are deeply moved to participate in the new calls to peacemaking which are being sounded in our day.”
This is what I was taught growing up. When I turned eighteen and had to register for selective service my mother, father, pastor, and pretty much everyone in our Meeting both those that served in the military and those that refused to serve, made sure I knew that as Friends we seek peaceful methods of resolving disputes and each wanted me to register as a conscientious objector. Much to my surprise there is not a box to check on the form for a conscientious objector. I stressed about this. And unfortunately no one had an answer. The final solution we came up with was that I needed to write a letter to my pastor with a copy of the registration form that we could keep on file at the Meeting.
There is still not a box on the form for CO’s, I even asked our Yearly Meeting Superintendents how we should encourage our young people to register as CO’s and they did not have an answer. So the method I used when I turned eighteen is the same method I encourage today. If you want to register as a CO, I encourage you write a letter to the Meeting expressing that desire, we will keep it, and if needed we will stand with you.
I bring this up because for some reason, when the current pope expresses concern for peace, there is an outrage. When I make comments about the peace testimony there is outrage. I have been told by many of my friends that I am being political, and have mental illness because I just cannot accept the current administration. No, that is not the case. This has been the stance of the Catholic church my entire life, they had a few eras of their history where they started wars, but for my entire life the Catholic church has been advocates for peace. And the Friends Church has had a testimony for peace since our beginning. When William Penn, whose father was the admiral of the British Navy, was first becoming convinced he asked George Fox if it was alright to wear his sword. In that day and age, the aristocracy would often wear a sword, both for protection and status. The answer that George gave was profound. You would think that being a proponent of peace that George would have chastised young William for asking the question. You would think he would say, “Friends are peaceful you shall not wear a weapon of war.” but that is not what George said. Instead he said, “Wear it as long as you are able.”
Wear it as long as you are able.
I want us to consider that statement for a moment. George did not tell him that he was wrong for wearing a sword, he did not belittle him for owing a weapon, he simply said wear it as long as you are able. William Penn could not bring himself to continue wearing the sword much longer after that. He had listened to the preaching, and the teaching of the Friends and was convinced that warfare was opposed to the teachings of Christ, and that testimony went with him to the colony here in America that bears his father’s name. It is this testimony that drove Penn to promote and petition all the other colonies of America to form a congress where representatives of each could come and find resolution to their disputes and promote common good. That testimony of peace was woven into the very fabric of what became our nation.
There are times where it appears that peace cannot stand, but we must try. We must encourage those around us to recognize that of God in the image bearers that we see as our enemies. Because if we do not try, we can quickly fall prey of dehumanization. We can justify violence against others, because they are not like us. They are other. And we turn into something terrible, we begin to champion sin instead of grace. We become the ones that nailed Christ to the tree.
“And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.” We live in a world that is at odds with our professed beliefs. It has always been at odds with our expressed beliefs. Those that profess Christ are living in exile, because our ways are not the ways of this world. Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to do good for those who persecute you. But that is not the easiest thing to do. When we face our rivals we want them to pay. We see it on the sports’ field at the KU vs. MU Football game. Albert faces that on the ice, especially when he challenges the Stars. We do not want to lose, we want the opponent to face the worst. Competition is not wrong if we keep it in check. After each period of play Albert often meets the opposing goalie with a fist bump as they skate to the bench. After each game the players often shake hands at center field. But the world does not often lend it self to that kind of sportsmanship.
The world wants us not to see the opponent as a friend but an enemy. The world wants us to look at the citizen of Germany as something less than us. The Russians as less than us. The world wants us to view the Muslim as a hopelessly violent beast in need of eradication. We once lived in a world like that, but instead of people of Islam the enemy was Israel. We fought a war to defeat that world view, and we made treaties signed by all nations within the United Nations that made the claim that genocide is a crime against humanity and a war crime. Yet have we stopped to think about how we speak about those we have disagreements with? Do we not remember the words of scripture that say, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10 ESV).
While we were God’s enemy, Jesus came to us. While we were living in full rebellion against everything God stood for, Jesus came, lived among us, taught us, faced injustice, execution, and the grave. That was what we were, but God so loved the world that he send his son not to condemn the world, but to save it, so that whoever calls upon his name will have life.
“If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers.”
We were ransomed. This is a term we do not often think about in our contemporary lives. We might hear the word on a movie when a child is taken from their parents and the criminals demand money for the return. Often we look at this verse, and that is what we think, Jesus paid the price. That is only part of the meaning. The word here can also used in the story of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth was not kidnapped but according to the law the nearest relative had an obligation to marry Ruth after her husband died. Boaz was a relative of Ruth’s husband but he was not the nearest relative. Boaz had to go before the council of elders and ransom Ruth, he had to free the man from his obligation and take it on himself. But this is not the only instance.
Every first born child according to Jewish law belonged to the Lord. When Israel lived in bondage in Egypt, God sent plagues to defeat the spiritual forces of that dark empire. The final plague, was the death of the first born children of all the land, and Israel was ransomed from that horror by the blood of the passover lamb that was spread across their doorposts. From that moment on God told the people of Israel, that the first child to open a womb was his. That child would be dedicated to service of the Lord. In some instances, like Samuel, the child was given to the priests to literally serve, but in most cases the family would ransom the child. They would bring gifts of praise and offerings of thanksgiving to the temple to thank God for the child, and to provide for the livelihood of the Levite who would take their place of service. To ransom is to free, to release, and to redeem. It can be a release from bondage, or it can be a release to service.
Peter is reminding us that we have called upon the name of Jesus, and the Father who judges impartially has heard that call. He knows what we were. He knows who we are, and we should conduct or live our lives with fear. Not afraid, we should not be afraid of God, or of what the world can do to us. We should live in reverence. We should revere and reflect the life of Jesus in everything we do, because through him we have been ransomed. We have been released from our obligation. We have been freed to serve. We have been restored to a different kind of life. We were once enemies of God, but while we were still on that field of battle Christ stopped the conflict and stood in our place.
What does this look like? For Ruth, she was once a foreigner living in the land of Israel. A widow of a man whose marriage would have been scandalous during that time. Yet Boaz ransomed her. She was no longer a daughter of Moab, instead she would become the great grandmother of a king. She was released from shame, from poverty, and from disgrace because Boaz saw her as she was a beautiful child of God. Consider Moses and Aaron. They gathered in the huts of Egypt, they listened to the screams of sorrow that filled the empire of Egypt, while they held their children close, eating the meal of roasted lamb. They stood ready to act in an instant. Ransomed by God, released to act if called, ready to face the armies of an empire. But they did not fight, instead they, along with the rest of Israel, walked out of Egypt no longer slaves but at liberty.
“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.”
Jesus was known, he was foreknown before the foundation of the world. From the foundation of world it was known that we as humanity would reject our place with God. We would use the freewill God created us to have and abuse it. God knew, humanity would desire the knowledge of good and evil. God knew that we would use that knowledge and would become afraid of those around us. That we would use the brains we were gifted to create marvels and weapons. He knew that we would inherit from our forefathers, the constant quest for wealth and power. And even before this happened, God had already predestined Jesus to stand in our place for us. God, himself had already known that he would come to provide a way for our redemption.
The world fights. The world struggles against itself, taking from one nation what we think we deserve. What is it we deserve? What is it we think we deserve?
Open the pages of history and read. What do we deserve? Russia deserves Ukraine in their mind, because they are brothers, they share history, and culture. But the people of Ukraine do not see things from the same perspective. From the Ukrainian perspective, Russia is a thief. They stole their culture, their name, their heritage, and kept it for their own. What do they deserve?
Let us look at my own people, the English. Our language is spoken around the world, it is the language of business. But it is also the language of bondage, the language of oppression, and dominion. What do the English deserve? God will look at the people of Moscow and the people of England and judge impartially. Just as God looks at the people of Iran, Israel, Germany, and New Zealand. We do not deserve anything. We are nations and people of oppression every last one of us. If you give us the right tools, we have within us the capability to do the most heinous or the most beautiful things. We can create art, or missiles. We can walk on the moon in the pursuit of exploration and the advancement of knowledge, or we can annihilate civilizations. What do we deserve, what is the inheritance we receive from our forefathers?
I love my history. I love the history of Friends. My ancestors came to this nation for the right reasons. They traveled west hoping to create a city where Christ would be known. That was their mission, and I can look on a map and see the path they traveled, because they named the communities they set up the same. But even that grand ideal is tarnished. There was not a military in Pennsylvania colony, they sought to treat the indigenous people as equals, but even the greatest ideals have darkness. The people of Pennsylvania gave blankets to indigenous people, they gave them blankets as a gift, but those blankets carried disease. A people of peace, a people of God wanting to create cities where God could be freely worshiped, gave to the needy blankets of disease. We stand saying we deserve what is ours? We have done many good things. We have done marvelous things, but we deserve nothing in ourselves. For every amazing thing I have done, I have done something worse. For every smile, I have created a frown. I know what I am capable of, and at times it scares me.
I know what I am capable of, but I also know that I have been ransomed. I have been released from bondage. I have been liberated and called to something new. I have been raised with Christ from the dead, and my hope no longer resides in the things of my forefathers, but instead it is with Christ. We have been redeemed to a new life, a new hope, a new kingdom.
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been borne again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.”
I have reflected on the events in the news. I have listened to friends, I have heard people make claims and accusations. And my mind keeps going back. We were born into a world of sorrow and dust. And we will go back to dust. Kingdoms and empires rise and they fall. They always fall, but something remains. Children are born. Life continues. And my mind goes back to the words written by Paul, once again, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
We have been ransomed not by the might of David over Goliath, not by the passion Boaz had for Ruth, not by the righteousness and faith of Moses. But God himself come to live among us. God himself, came to live within our worldly systems of wealth and power struggles. God himself, challenged those systems and taught us to love one another just as he has loved us. He faced wrongful accusations, he faced brutality, and death. Not because he deserved it but because we do. He showed us just what we are capable of. We will kill an innocent man as long as we can profit. Jesus died and was buried. He laid separated from life for three days, and then rose from the grave. He rose to give us hope. He rose to show us that the systems of the world do not dictate the end of the story. Life will triumph over death.
We were enemies of God, and yet Jesus loved us enough. We deserved wrath, yet he gives hope. The world gives war and sorrow. Christ gives loves. Purify your souls by your obedience to the truth. Love one another earnestly from a pure imperishable heart, living and abiding in the word of God.
Previous Messages:
Born Again to a Living Hope
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 12, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born…
Broken Dreams Restored
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 05, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili John 20:1–18 (ESV) 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the…
The Mind of Christ
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 29, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 3: Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy…
To Donate to Willow Creek Friends Church Click here:
To donate directly to Pastor Warner click here:
Discover more from Jwquaker's Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Discussion
No comments yet.