In England there is considerable emphasis on St George being our patron saint. His emblem of a red cross on a white background is on almost anything said to represent the nation. Now we even have a future king with his name. It would however seem appropriate to mention first of all that St George is very much more generous to confine himself to one nation.
For the purpose of this blog, it would also seem appropriate to argue that besides all these functions, and a rather misleading impression that St George went around upsetting vegetarians everywhere, he also just happened to be a Quaker.
This story begins with several cases of mistaken identity which are crucial to our investigation. There is for example another character quite regularly spotted in Churches whose primary function would seem to involve killing dragons. The clue here lies in the wings. Very big wings with three rows of feathers suggest that this individual isn't very likely to be human. Instead he is St Michael who happens to be an archangel, comes down from heaven with a predictable preference for high places and quite a separate tale to tell. St George however starts with us. This is a matter of direction. As with all human beings, we have no wings, our halos are entirely reliant on merit and may only eventually be given.
Although St George's ethnicity is very much up for debate, it is clear that he lived here on earth. At this point we gain our first clear evidence that St George was a Quaker, because he was evidently a Seeker after Truth, sufficiently brave to think independently, and apparently went on a journey.
The clothes St George wore signified his level of commitment. Red on white represented blood and the cross an issue of leadership. Here there were to be no short cuts or easy options. Love was to be his guiding force. To see love prevail and so be a part of God's Kingdom, St George was also prepared to suffer.
Perhaps you also know the town he visited, where they knowingly fed people to a dragon. Before that princess was tied to a rock, I wonder how many other subjects were considered on the fringes of society, of limited usefulness, a burden to the state, expendable and consequently fed to the dragon. As this town steadily became more select, those remaining subjects believed themselves to be of some importance. There was considerable emphasis on winning and so the horizons drew in and it gradually became smaller.
It is of particular significance to his identity as a Quaker that St George saw considerable possibilities in women. In the past Quakers were often criticised for allowing any ministry from women as if they were supposed to be tied to some rock in the kitchen. Instead of seeing some poor helpless damsel in distress, St George saw bravery, self-sacrifice and value in those who have the courage to give of themselves far more than the boundaries of reason. Perhaps even then he was able to predict some ministry about the human condition waiting to be given. For women everywhere it is very reassuring that St George did not merely pay a few compliments about her appearance or stand by to clap but untied her. St George realised that the future of any society is not achieved through the effects of a power struggle. Instead, as any good Quaker should, he lived out a testimony to the Truth, campaigned for a fairer more just society and respected the rights of all.
The evidence concerning St George's Quakerism also becomes apparent through his treatment of the dragon. Instead of merely killing the offensive creature, so inviting its family, friends and business associate to join the scene, he dealt with the crisis effectively through maintaining a peace testimony. Instead of reverting to all those panics associated with violence and war, St George realised that to deal with any situation it was necessary to first understand the problem. Through closer examination it emerged that the dragon was hungry. Perhaps in his hunger he had become restricted in his choices, addicted to the wrong sort of food, feeling a little unwell, and did not look particularly good, having developed a nasty rash through an allergic reaction to humans. St George understood the importance of compassion. Every time the dragon opened his mouth, he saw fire- something that looked very much like the power of the Holy Spirit and so knew there was light within!
To say that St George had a sword would simplify this story well beyond belief since this weapon is very typical of Quakers. It was a little plain-speaking, very sharp, and could cut through any layers of fear, ignorance, hierarchy or misinformation to re-discover truth. Although kept for much of the time in a scabbard, St George realised that the sword would only be effective if he practised. Consequently he carried a copy of Advices and Queries about, and took considerable care to remain open to any new insight of promptings of the Spirit that happened to be about. Typically of Quakers, St George met the dragon at the door of his cage with a handshake having volunteered that week for this particular rota. Instead of launching in with his ideas, St George knew that the most important requirement of any potential dragon is to feel safe. After first waiting for the dragon to sit down comfortably on a chair, he spoke to the dragon's condition of feeling unloved and being hungry. With a very large casserole pot (using vegetable stock just in case you are wondering!) they made a very large bean casserole, and planned the next part to their spiritual journey together.
Since princesses generally like to feel valued, it probably goes without say that St George (despite being human, Quaker and wearing sandals at the time!) came over as a being very attractive guy. In fact he seemed even better than St Michael because relationships tend to work better if you start with the things that you share. Their eyes met over the casserole pot and so it was bring and share from then on!
St George, the Princess and the Dragon all lived happily ever after. They attended the local Quaker meeting, sought out truth, distributed recipe books about local caves to increase the number of options, were prompted through love in all their dealings and so continued to invest in the Kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment