“Faith is confidence, not mere belief. Hope is effort, not wish; effort to make it so; not a wish that it may be so.” George Gurdjieff
I saw a T-shirt the other day that said: "The Whole World Matters." It reminded me of a passage from Martin Luther King's wonderful book "A Testament of Hope." The quote is from the 1967 Christmas Eve “Peace on Earth” sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he served as co-pastor. Although this is Easter time; with the covid virus cases rising again, the war in Ukraine tragedy, and all the violence and separateness spreading through the nations of the world, I think the passage is relevant for this Holy Week .
"It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality. Did you ever stop to think that you can’t leave for your job in the morning without being dependent on most of the world? You get up in the morning and go to the bathroom and reach over for the sponge, and that’s handed to you by a Pacific islander. You reach for a bar of soap, and that’s given to you at the hands of a Frenchman. And then you go into the kitchen to drink your coffee for the morning, and that’s poured into your cup by a South American. And maybe you want tea: that’s poured into your cup by a Chinese. Or maybe you’re desirous of having cocoa for breakfast, and that’s poured into your cup by a West African. And then you reach over for your toast, and that’s given to you at the hands of an English-speaking farmer, not to mention the baker. And before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half of the world. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality." Martin Luther King
I ask myself, what can I do? My better angels answer: Let It Begin With Me! This hymn, "Let There Be Peace on Earth", written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller is the closing song of many church services. The original song, that spoke of universal brotherhood and a solemn vow to practice peace has been updated in different versions, including this one from Hillside: "...with God our Creator, Family all are we, let me walk with my family, in perfect harmony. Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now, with every step I take, let this be my joyous vow, to take each moment and live each moment in Peace eternally, Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me. "
"Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. No individual can live alone; no nation can live alone, and as long as we try, the more we are going to have war in this world." Martin Luther King
I consider myself a tragic optimist, I have intense optimism and I know from experience that to overcome tragedy, suffering, and loss without the denial of it takes HOPE and WORK to make it so. Without Hope and Faith that things will get better because of our hard work, we have no foundation for the Grace of our Creator to work its miracles.
I like that T-shirt "The Whole World Matters". We are kin to this planet and all the beings that live on it. What happens to this world happens to us and what happens to all of us, happens and matters to the world.
From the little shack: Happy Easter, Peace on Earth, and Good Will to each of us!