MLK "How Long?"

1-16-11
Again today I used my pulpit to preach the gospel of nonviolence. We were celebrating Martin Luther King's birthday. So it was a straight shot.

One of perks of preaching is that I get to keep what I give away. Today I gained encouragement, confidence and patience regarding the lag time between seeding and harvesting. Often that lag time is quite significant. It took 15 years before legislation to make King's birthday a holiday passed, 18 years before the first observance, and 32 years before the last state (SC) began observing the holiday.

But that's nothing. To the extent that Martin's message of nonviolence was inherited from Jesus, the lag time for fruition has been two milenium thus far. Christianity has itself ignored the centrality of nonviolence to Jesus message and ministry has been ignored for nearly 2000 years. By asserting that King's nonviolence was based in an understanding of Jesus's nonviolence teachings, I'm offering more evidence for how long it sometimes takes a long time for a message to take root.

those of us who seek to establish the consciousness and practice of nonviolence on a societal level, need to remember the magnitude of the task we've chosen. I'm not suggesting that we wait. I am intending to challenge the discouraged view that assumes "if it hasn't happened yet, it probably isn't going to happen."

Choices made by Martin Luther King continue to bear fruit. It is still early in the growing season. King said "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." He made that statement during the speech on the steps of the capital of Alabama after the successful completion of the Selma to Montgomery march.

If you want encouragement, watch 2 min from this speech, which has come to be known as the "How Long" speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAYITODNvlM

It may seem that the magnitude of the change is so great that there is little we can do. It may seem that we must wait until societal structures change. I've come to the conclusion that we must not only "keep our eyes on the prize" in terms of social change, but also do the work on our own heart and soul to become more effective agents of change. Dom Barter said that the biggest obsticle to our being effective in facilitating restorative circles is our own retributive justice consciousness. For us, who would create restorative systems, it may be neccessary to enroll in a long term education effort to shift our tendency from diagnosing what we see as right or wrong, good or bad. .. We can realize our own inclination to influence through reward and punishment, and begin to hear all communications as expressing a desire to make life more wonderful.

I have felt frustrated that I haven't created that RC system yet. Today reminded me that there is often a long season of labor before the harvest.