Building a Bridge to the...

Beloved Community

“The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opponents into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love that will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Every year, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I ponder what might have been had he succeeded in his mission of non-violent change. Had he lived long enough to bring about the Beloved Community, perhaps we would not be mired in interminable wars, and maybe we could have avoided the triple treats of newly aroused antisemitism, racism, and sexism alive today. Miracles in the hearts of men are hard to come by. They require an act of God.

Still, Dr. King gave us the tools for creating that beloved community, the one that accepts differences, provides for everyone equally, and encourages diversity. He gave us a glimpse of what it might look like. Because of him, and his role model, Mahatma Gandhi, we know the rules of the road and how to get where we're going. We know that the arc of history is bending in that direction. Perhaps King was a mile-marker along the way, and there will be others. Let us pray there will be others.

One of the most important understandings King brought to the Civil Rights movement was a game plan for what happens after the goal is met. Beyond the non-violent protest marches, beyond the civil disobedience and disruption, there had to be a clear path to reconciliation—what the pundits of today call “an exit ramp.” In other words, the plan for how to achieve reconciliation and peace afterward was every bit as important as the plan for winning concessions. In fact, disruption and disobedience would not achieve the goal of changing the culture unless relief from the fear and hard-feelings they caused could also be achieved, and that could not be left to chance. It must be part of the plan. No stick without the carrot. We could use that lesson today.

The Divine Source has seen fit to give us some astounding leaders in King, and Gandhi, and others, and they all say the same thing: We must first make peace within; we must overcome our fear of the other; and we must reach out our hand in friendship if we want peace. When we do, the miracle of the Beloved Community will become our reality.

                                                       In the Spirit,

                                                          Jane