Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
QuakerSpeak is a bi-weekly video series. New video every other THURSDAY!
SUBSCRIBE for a new video every other week! http://fdsj.nl/QS-Subscribe
WATCH all our videos: http://fdsj.nl/qs-all-videos
Earlham School of Religion prepares theologically diverse students for a pluralistic world. Rooted in the Quaker tradition of contemplation that inspires action, our curriculum unites spiritual formation, academic study, social engagement, and vital ministry. Learn more: https://esr.earlham.edu/Friends-ESR
___
Become a Friends Journal subscriber for only $28
http://fdsj.nl/FJ-Subscribe
Filming and Editing by Rebecca Hamilton-Levi
Music: "Ghost Byzantine" by Blue Dot Sessions
___
Transcript:
So for me, a lot of the Kingdom of the Heavens boils down to the messaging in things like the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes: you know, blessed are the poor, blessed are the mourners. But even more than that, I think it goes back even earlier to Mary and the Magnificat: you know, Mary says God will cast down the mighty, feed the poor, send the rich away empty. It’s a very upending of the order of the world as it is now in favor of a sort of radical equality
Changing Course for the Kingdom of the Heavens
Hi, I’m Ron Hogan. I use he/him pronouns, I live in New York City (specifically Queens), and I attend Flushing Monthly Meeting.
The Kingdom of the Heavens is a massive project, for lack of a better term, and it’s not necessarily achievable in my lifetime or the next generation’s lifetime - it’s something we have to work towards incrementally, and it’s something that we have to work towards in the conditions we have to work with, and it’s not something for which there are easy answers given human nature as it is now, and that actually ties into another big part of Jesus’s message.
Repentance and Metanoia
Jesus talks a lot in the Gospels about repentance as we translate it today. But when he says repentance, the Greek word that’s being used in the Gospels is metanoia, and metanoia really means something a little bit more profound than repentance as we understand it, which is simply saying, “I’m sorry I did that. I’ll try not to do it again.” Metanoia is more profoundly understood as a change of heart or a change of mind. It is literally the taking up of a new way of thinking; a new way of living one’s life. It’s not simply to say, “I’m sorry about that”; it’s to take proactive steps not to take one’s sins, one’s errors, and so that metanoia (that change of heart) includes more consciously attempting to recognize that which is of God. A lot of that is unconscious on our parts, and by that I mean the omissions and the sins that we’ve made, many of which we have made simply by virtue of the privilege we had and did not recognize. And once you come to recognize that and recognize that what you’ve been doing is antithetical to the gospel, you know that’s a big change and you can sort of look back at your past life and be racked by guilt about it but part of, for me, what the gospels say is that God still loves you. God still recognizes that of God in you. You have a do-over - and that does not mean you are unaccountable for the things you’ve done; you’re absolutely accountable, but within that accountability you can start today to be a better person. You know, weaning yourself off of racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism; it’s not an easy process but your life becomes so much richer, so much more vibrant and diverse when you make the effort to do that that it is absolutely worth it.
More: fdsj.nl/metanoia
___
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
QuakerSpeak is a bi-weekly video series. New video every other THURSDAY!
SUBSCRIBE for a new video every other week! http://fdsj.nl/QS-Subscribe
WATCH all our videos: http://fdsj.nl/qs-all-videos
Earlham School of Religion prepares theologically diverse students for a pluralistic world. Rooted in the Quaker tradition of contemplation that inspires action, our curriculum unites spiritual formation, academic study, social engagement, and vital ministry. Learn more: https://esr.earlham.edu/Friends-ESR
___
Become a Friends Journal subscriber for only $28
http://fdsj.nl/FJ-Subscribe
Filming and Editing by Rebecca Hamilton-Levi
Music: "Ghost Byzantine" by Blue Dot Sessions
___
Transcript:
So for me, a lot of the Kingdom of the Heavens boils down to the messaging in things like the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes: you know, blessed are the poor, blessed are the mourners. But even more than that, I think it goes back even earlier to Mary and the Magnificat: you know, Mary says God will cast down the mighty, feed the poor, send the rich away empty. It’s a very upending of the order of the world as it is now in favor of a sort of radical equality
Changing Course for the Kingdom of the Heavens
Hi, I’m Ron Hogan. I use he/him pronouns, I live in New York City (specifically Queens), and I attend Flushing Monthly Meeting.
The Kingdom of the Heavens is a massive project, for lack of a better term, and it’s not necessarily achievable in my lifetime or the next generation’s lifetime - it’s something we have to work towards incrementally, and it’s something that we have to work towards in the conditions we have to work with, and it’s not something for which there are easy answers given human nature as it is now, and that actually ties into another big part of Jesus’s message.
Repentance and Metanoia
Jesus talks a lot in the Gospels about repentance as we translate it today. But when he says repentance, the Greek word that’s being used in the Gospels is metanoia, and metanoia really means something a little bit more profound than repentance as we understand it, which is simply saying, “I’m sorry I did that. I’ll try not to do it again.” Metanoia is more profoundly understood as a change of heart or a change of mind. It is literally the taking up of a new way of thinking; a new way of living one’s life. It’s not simply to say, “I’m sorry about that”; it’s to take proactive steps not to take one’s sins, one’s errors, and so that metanoia (that change of heart) includes more consciously attempting to recognize that which is of God. A lot of that is unconscious on our parts, and by that I mean the omissions and the sins that we’ve made, many of which we have made simply by virtue of the privilege we had and did not recognize. And once you come to recognize that and recognize that what you’ve been doing is antithetical to the gospel, you know that’s a big change and you can sort of look back at your past life and be racked by guilt about it but part of, for me, what the gospels say is that God still loves you. God still recognizes that of God in you. You have a do-over - and that does not mean you are unaccountable for the things you’ve done; you’re absolutely accountable, but within that accountability you can start today to be a better person. You know, weaning yourself off of racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism; it’s not an easy process but your life becomes so much richer, so much more vibrant and diverse when you make the effort to do that that it is absolutely worth it.
More: fdsj.nl/metanoia
___
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
