Scripture:
The readings for this morning are chosen in recognition of the life and ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I read from the prophet Micah, chapter 4, verses 1-5:

In days to come the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, [2] and many nations shall come and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. [3] He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; [4] but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. [5] For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

The letter to the Colossians sets up a wonderful contrast between how we are characterized before the gifts of the Holy Spirit are bestowed, and what we become upon receiving those gifts. I read that hope filled vision from the letter to the Colossians, chapter 3: verses 12-17:

As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. [13] Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. [16] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. [17] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Many of the most inspirational people of history have drawn upon Jesus' Sermon on the Mount to arouse their communities to live out their ideals. Martin Luther King took these admonitions to heart, and lived his life as a witness to their truth. I read from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 43-48:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. [46] For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? [47] And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? [48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Sermon:


Among the legends of ancient Greece is that of Gordius, chosen to be the King of Phrygia, who had a prized wagon of inestimable value. Gordius had cleverly fastened the yoke of his wagon to a beam using a rope woven of bark. No one could untie it . . . . although many tried, because the oracles had said that whoever unties this "Gordian knot" would reign over the whole East. A young man from the south named Alexander had heard the legend, and travelled to Phrygia that he might take on the challenge. After contemplating the complexity of the knot, he finally said, "Well then, it is thus that I perform the task," and he drew his sword and cut the knot in two.(1)

The social fabric of our life together in this country is knotted with any number of seemingly insoluble problems. Violence; drugs; abortion; race; the gap between the rich and the poor; the inability of both the government and its individual citizens to live within their means.

These and other conundrums cry out for leaders who are wise enough to restore reason. In despair, we contemplate the hollow future our children face if we are unable to negotiate a just and lasting response to these dilemmas. The complexity of our society's ills has become a Gordian knot, tied like a noose around our own necks. If we call upon Alexander's solution and employ violence to cut the knot, we cut our own throats as well.

Surely this truth was known to the prophet Micah when he proclaimed the vision of the Lord's house, established on the highest mountain. The word of the Lord proclaimed an end to the era of violent conflict. Swords and other implements of hostility were to be transformed into plowshares and farm implements which could nurture the people who had been made weary from war.

Surely this truth was known to Jesus when he urged his disciples: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." To give such advice requires nothing of the cleverness of Alexander the Great; loving our enemies demands courage of the highest caliber, not boldness which hides behind the protection of the sword. Followers of Jesus for 2,000 years have clothed themselves with just such love, depending on the force of forgiveness and the power of reconciliation to advance God's plan."

Martin Luther King, Jr. took seriously Jesus' admonition to "Love your enemies." He regarded love as the strongest force in the world. Indeed, beginning with the leadership he offered in the Montgomery bus boycott, King viewed his twelve and a half years of public service as An Experiment in Love(2), a phrase reminiscent of the title Gandhi used for his autobiography, Experiments in Truth. Ralph Abernathy, Rosa Parks, King and others initiated the Montgomery bus boycott before King had made a study of Gandhi's nonviolent campaigns. What motivated and inspired these Christian leaders was Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and his admonition to "love your enemies".

But a week after their protest began, Miss Juliette Morgan, a sensitive and frail elderly white woman, wrote a letter to the editor of the Montgomery Adviser comparing the bus protest with the tactics Gandhi used to transform the sub continent of India. Her letter prompted such vituperative disdain from the white community that she died a year and a half later(3). Nevertheless, she lived to see the bus boycott succeed, and to hear the name and methods of Gandhi invoked in an endless succession of disciplined commitment on the part of the Montgomery Improvement Association.

King took little notice of her letter. He was too preoccupied -- leading a movement. As their boycott gained momentum, so did the threats. On January 30, 1956, while Coretta and their two month old daughter Yoki were inside, an explosion rocked the King home. King rushed home from the worship service he was leading. He found his family safe, and a crowd gathering. The police chief asked King to calm the crowd. He obliged, reminding the crowd, and I quote, "We want to love our enemies. I want you to love your enemies. Be good to them. Love them and let them know you love them. . . ."(4) It was an extraordinary testimony to the power of love. But King knew that the repertoire of nonviolent tactics with which he was familiar was limited, and beginning to run out. How do you respond to such violence? How can you convert an enemy so full of hate?

Within three weeks, Martin Luther King, along with 100 of his associates, were indicted under the state antiboycott law. A few days later, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the religious peace organization which I directed before becoming a local church minister, sent a soft spoken emissary carrying an armful of books on the nonviolent methods of Gandhi. His name was Rev. Glenn Smiley. In his first meeting with Dr. King, Glenn said, "I'm assuming you're very familiar [with]--and have been greatly influenced by--Mahatma Gandhi." King paused, and responded thoughtfully, "As a matter of fact, no. I know who the man is. I have read some statements by him, and so on, but I will have to truthfully say . . . that I know very little about the man."(5)

After this first meeting, in which Smiley offered King an initial sketch of Gandhian methods, King asked Smiley to stick around, so that he could teach King "all the Gandhian nonviolence that" he knew.(6)

King was a quick study, but no one comes to a thorough understanding of nonviolence overnight. One month later, while visiting King in the parsonage, Smiley noticed a pistol on the chair in the living room. King acknowledged that he had it, but that he intended to harm no one, unless he was violently attacked. The friends talked late into the night about whether even the presence of guns was contrary to a commitment to nonviolence.(7)

King made considerable progress over the next seven years. By the Birmingham campaign in 1963, King had boiled down the nonviolent principles of the movement so that they could be printed on a pledge card, and carried by each of the thousands of committed, nonviolent activists.

Let me simply read them at this time:

Imagine thousands of people signing such a pledge, and guiding their actions within the limits of this discipline! Imagine a conflict between two parties in which one of the parties consistently abided by these principles, regardless of the actions taken by the other party. Think of the faith one would have to have in the power of nonviolence to stick to these disciplines, confident that doing so would be the best way to convert an enemy.

What made Martin Luther King so impressive and successful was the way he combined these nonviolent methods -- which were largely built upon Gandhi's experience -- the way he combined these nonviolent methods with his uncompromising faith in the power of Christian love. King believed that Christian love involves "a willingness to go to any length to restore community. It doesn't stop at the first mile, but it goes the second mile to restore community. It is a willingness to forgive, not seven times, but seventy times seven to restore community." He believed that "the cross is the eternal expression of the length to which God will go in order to restore broken community" and that "the resurrection is a symbol of God's triumph over all the forces that seek to block community." King believed that the Holy Spirit worked through the community to change the course of history.(8) In the end, Christian love calls us to affirm that all life is interrelated. The more we live that out, the more progress we achieve. This last point is why King was so full of hope. In the end, the universe is governed by God, and God's truth will triumph, however insufficient and pathetic our attempts to hasten the day may be.

I'd like to bring this discussion a little closer to home. Let me confess that it has been years since I have returned to the sources of my own life commitment to nonviolence, and re-read Gandhi, or the principles of the Birmingham campaign. I do my best to live by these principles on a day to day basis. But I have not rigorously persisted in a process geared to maintaining the discipline of nonviolent love. Like staying in shape, an on going commitment to nonviolence requires that we exercise these principles, constantly testing ourselves and being tested by circumstances beyond our control, which we are committed to try to transform.

When I came upon these principles not long ago, I was stunned. A rush of questions overcame me:

• Could it be that only thirty some years ago, there were thousands of Americans living in a single city whose collective moral conscience had brought them to the point of affirming this 10 point pledge, and living it out -- amidst water cannons, church bombings, and snarling dogs?
  
• Are the challenges our society faces today any less onerous than the ones they faced then?
  
• Has each person's faith become such a private matter that the possibility of uniting in a commitment -- fraught with risk and certain to bring dramatic change to our lives --would be unthinkable?

We have only begun to do ministry together -- the first steps of a long journey. But on this day in which we honor Dr. King, I can't help but wonder how we will be led to discover the road on which God is calling us to travel AS A PEOPLE OF FAITH -- AS THE BELOVED COMMUNITY. I know we have a lot of work ahead before things here at Plymouth are even up to par: hiring two ministers and an office manager will take some time, as will the many other significant projects under way. But let us not forget that we have been given talent enough by God to pursue multiple paths, including a thorough exploration of the mission opportunities in the greater Cleveland area to which we can make an enormous difference.

With Dr. King, I believe that we can never successfully complete the task of building the "beloved community." But what we can do is openly acknowledge the direction God is calling us, which is to a higher, more just, more equitable, more whole society. While I believe fervently -- more fervently--perhaps--than many of you -- that each of us is a sinner, I believe all the more that we are children of a loving God, who redeems each and every one of us. While I recognize that we will never create a perfect community, I will strive ceaselessly toward the ideals which Christ sets before us, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to achieve.

These are not highfalutin, pie in the sky notions. They can--and should-- effect our conversation and action in regard to the overarching social issues of our times, not to mention the more prickly issues of our congregation. Living in the 1990s, we have no less of a challenge before us than the people of Montgomery or Birmingham. We aren't as clear our goals as they were. And our vision of a desired outcome is clouded by cataracts which are the result of a steady diet of negative news and cynical commentary.

But there is still a better way. Christ has walked that way before us, and beckons us to come. Martin Luther King and Gandhi too have gone on that path, and we can learn from their successes and failures. Let it be said of us that when given the chance -- the beautiful and grace filled opportunity -- which this life represents, that in the end, we did something with it; not for ourselves, but for our sisters and brothers whose needs are so much greater than our own. Then -- if we're called to account at the end of our days, if we're arrested and charged with being a Christian, at least there will be enough evidence to convict us.


Amen.

Footnotes:
1. As told by Edward Hays in A Pilgrim's Almanac (Forest of Peace Books, Leavenworth, KS; 1989) p. 18.
2. See King's essay of this title in A Testament of Hope, ed. James M. Washington (Harper & Row; San Francisco; 1986); pp. 16ff.
3. ibid., pp. 16-17.
4. Bearing the Cross by David J. Garrow (Vintage, New York; 1988); p. 60.
5. ibid., p. 68.
6. Fellowship Magazine, November/December 1993; "Glenn Smiley, The Gentle Persuader" by Richard Deats; p. 15.
7. Garrow, p. 73.
8. Testament . . ., p. 20.