An article from the Cathedral Times by
the Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler,
Dean of the Cathedral of
St. Philip
Many of you have heard me preach on the occasion of the remembrance of
Martin Luther King, Jr. This weekend, our country remembers him with a
holiday, and The Episcopal Church designates that this Monday can be one
of two possible days on which to remember him. (Actually, such a dual
possibility is unusual in The Episcopal Church; most of our saints are
remembered on the days of their deaths "” April 4 for King "” for that was
their entrance into greater glory. The Episcopal Church acknowledges
that the day of Martin Luther King's birth can also be used, since so
much of The United States is remembering him on his
birthday.)
At any rate, I suppose that each of us has
our favorite M.L. King theme or quotation. Maybe it's the "I Have a
Dream" speech, or "I've Been to the Mountaintop," or his entire "Letters
from a Birmingham Jail." My favorite theme, if you have heard me say
anything at all, is "beloved community."
One of
King's great messages, among many, was that we were all called to be
part of God's beloved community. The image of beloved community had
potency for King on several levels, just as it had such power for other
Christian theologians. It is a gospel phrase. Last year in the
Cathedral Times (16 January 2011), I wrote
these words,
Martin Luther King, Jr. was
fond of the phrase "beloved community," and I associate the image with
him; but he was not its originator. I would claim that its origin goes
back to the New Testament itself. "Beloved" is a dear phrase in the New
Testament, from the instant in which Jesus is called "beloved" at his
baptism, to the countless instances in which Saint Paul describes his
church members as "beloved" (five times in the Epistle to the
Philippians). God really does love Jesus, who called the church into
being. The church's great apostle, Paul, really did love his people. The
church is meant to be a community, beloved of God, beloved by each
other, and beloved for the world.
In a time when our
culture is confused about community, I believe the church has the
calling and gift to be true community, to be "Beloved Community." We are
meant to gather together, to learn and laugh together, to love and cry
together. And, together, we account for each other. We teach each other
and hold each other to standards of civility and grace. We love (and
live) for the long term and not the short term. The Christian Church, at
our best, offers true and beloved community.
... of
course, in a beloved community, our ultimate values are the same values
as the One who "beloves" us. And it is a peaceful and just God who
beloves us. Such is the God who inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to
realize that the church's values of peace and non-violence could be a
model for the world around us. That world certainly includes the
political world, in which we all play a part. Dr. King's vision of a
beloved community came to include, not just the church, but the world
itself. And that is our calling, too. All of us have a part in today's
political world, to risk ourselves, to give ourselves, to the peace and
love, honor and respect, of a truly beloved community. I thank God for
everyone who shows up in the public square, for the common good, to take
that risk.
This year, I obviously repeat
those words! But let me add one thing more, relating community to this
holy season of Epiphany. Epiphany is meant to be our season of
"light-shining;" we are meant to be showing the light of Jesus Christ to
the world. Epiphany is a great evangelism
season!
So, my Epiphany/Martin Luther King question
is this: Who have you invited into beloved community? If God "” and
Martin Luther King "” calls you and me to beloved community, to whom have
we handed on the invitation? Who have we called to beloved community?
The Very Reverend Sam Candler