Mozart’s starling

Available for over a year

Good morning. Mozart bought a starling in 1784, recording in his notebook not only the cost of the bird, but also a snippet of its beautiful song, carefully transcribed. What a remarkable thing: Mozart, whose head and home were already full of the most sublime music, listening attentively, open to inspiration from the humblest places. The founders of Quakerism made two completely radical claims. The first was that divine revelation was ongoing – it didn’t end when the New Testament writers laid down their quills. Early Quakers considered that ultimate authority rested, not in the Biblical text, but in the living word of God, speaking in the heart of the listener, and tested in the community of the faithful. The second radical claim was that this direct spiritual experience was available to everybody, regardless of gender, social background, age, level of education. There was no need for ministers, because ministry could come from anyone, anywhere. Quakerism was founded on the principle of absolute equality. Quakers today strive to be open to new light, from whatever source it might come. In our meetings for worship, Friends share passages from the Bible, and the sacred texts of other traditions, read non-religious poetry, or simply share the meditations and questions that have arisen in their hearts. Our duty as listeners is to reach for the meaning within what we hear, whoever is speaking, seeking the truth and the beauty that the words may contain for us, even if the words themselves are strange or unfamiliar. May I seek to respond to that of God in everybody I encounter today, ready, like Mozart, to find something beautiful. Thank you friends.