MLK Reflection on Light and Love

Last February, in a newsletter I created at my previous workplace, I chose to put Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s well-known and beloved quote at the top:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

The perfect quote to recognize Black History Month, the month of Valentine's Day, and to serve as a reminder of our calling to love and to be a shining light in the darkness. Or so I thought.

After submitting the newsletter for approval, I was told to remove the quote because, "We want to remain politically neutral in this time." I was stunned and upset, and several conversations later, I also realized I was alone in fighting for it to remain in the newsletter. With my stubborn commitment to justice and the support of family, I quit my job.

Only a couple months later, I began working with the Church of the Brethren and On Earth Peace, an organization centered on King's principles of nonviolence. A place in which King is celebrated, not censored. I am delighted that now I am in a position in which I can write a reflection in King's honor. I love God's sense of humor and faithfulness.

Last January, a month before I put King's quotation in my newsletter, I was in King's old neighborhood in Atlanta for a class through Bethany Theological Seminary. I could sense the Holy Spirit's presence infused in every word written at the King Center, and alive in song at Ebenezer Baptist Church. King knew Love. That Love animated his life and illuminated a vision for the world in which every human being was treated with dignity and where everyone belonged: Beloved Community, the kingdom of God on earth.

Today, nearly 60 years after the Civil Rights Movement, we face a different, but similar, racial crisis against immigrants within a larger social crisis in our nation. We are witnessing a country and world that looks far from the Beloved Community.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed, grieved, anxious, and paralyzed right now. But I've been sitting with the following lately, and I pray it restores you in the same way it restored me:

Anne Lamott writes in her book Somehow: Thoughts on Love about a pastor gathering a group of people together who all want to follow the radical Jesus and do something together. They argue about what projects to take on together, and then someone suggests, "Maybe we should be radical Jesus to each other before we go out and help the world."Lamott goes on to give examples of the church members, one by one admitting their needs, and then helping one another with these needs—everything from fixing a sink to sitting in prayer with someone on their porch. She writes, "And after the people in the group had been caring for one another for a while, the original dreams came true: they remodeled the church basement to make showers for the homeless, started a soup kitchen, went solar, and helped start a Pride parade for the town. Funny how this love business works." (p. 113-116) This reminds me of the church in Acts.

If we are to work for the Beloved Community, we must be radical Jesus to each other in our churches and communities. We must come undone and surrender to the same Spirit of Love that vitalized King. We must see ourselves and one another as human beings deserving of care, mercy, grace, forgiveness, dignity, belonging, and love. Then, enlivened by the Spirit, in mutuality, we can go forth together and do those things we think we cannot do: 

• Fighting for the Beloved Community through nonviolent direct action

• Praying for those who persecute

• Speaking and acting in ways that show we are a people filled with the Spirit

• Driving out darkness with light

• Driving out hate with love

At a time of great upheaval, we must, together, confess our needs and find our strength to move forward in vulnerability and solidarity. Only then can we go forth and be prophetic witnesses to a world in need of justice and righteousness.

May these words of King inspire and confront us today as we consider how, together in mutual love and solidarity, we may be the "spiritual salt preserving the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times":

"...I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of Albany, Georgia, with us. They have gone down the highways of the South on tortuous rides for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment."(Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail")

Let's step out in faith together.

Read HERE about how clergy in Minnesota are following the example of King, putting their bodies on the line to protect their immigrant neighbors and meet cruelty with love.