"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant." – Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
Devastated. Disillusioned. Defeated. The list goes on regarding my emotional state since the most recent US election. Trying to make sense of it, I follow the political pundits’ election postmortem. One thing, at least, is clear – lies and hate carried the day. Truth and love were sidelined.
In 1964, speaking at his acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, had the hope that “unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word…” Dr King’s hope was forged through repeated lynchings of Black Americans, through Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, and through the untold and many injustices perpetrated since chattel slavery reached the shores of this country. Yet, Dr King was not pessimistic about the future. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had just been signed into law by President Johnson a few months before. Perhaps that glimmer of hope emboldened Dr King’s enthusiasm that truth and love would ultimately win.
Dr King’s sense of truth was unarmed and the love he encouraged was unconditional. His faith in the hopeful prevalence of truth demanded nonviolence to the oppression he encountered for he knew that violence only begets more violence. He spoke truth to power to call out oppression and injustice. He loved unconditionally for he saw the image of God in all he met. He envisioned a time when there would be no divisions between races, genders, or nations because people would love without limits, restrictions, or borders. Dr King’s theology cost him his life. Yet his followers persevered.
Truth and love matter.
And they have mattered since the dawn of time. Two millennia ago, the birth of a Jewish baby in a stable coincided with horrific Roman oppression. This baby-turned-itinerant preacher taught his followers how to live and love, even in the worst of times. His purpose was to bring good news to the poor and to set the captives free, propositions that required changed hearts and minds. To love God and to love people, he preached, was the most important thing of all, along with providing for the “least of these.” He spoke truth in an era where truth was scarce. The poor and the curious flocked to him. The powers that be plotted against him. Undeterred, he spoke truth boldly, even to Pontius Pilate, who had become so impervious to the truth, that he dismissed this King of the Jews.
Armed only with truth and love, Jesus did not resist arrest. He was executed as a nonviolent activist, one who preached love, not hate; unity, not division; peace, not war. His unconditional love for the oppressed motivated him to speak truth to power. It cost him his life. His followers, after a huge setback, regrouped and persevered.
Like those who have come before us, we, too, must take on the mantle of truth and love. And we must persevere. Because even during a setback, we are still stronger than the forces of “evil triumphant.”
In this Advent season, may we not forget that this Christ Child was born into poverty and oppression to teach us how to live in truth and love. May we never waver in our pursuit of unarmed truth and unconditional love.
Text and photograph copyright © 2024 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of the Vågan Church, often called “Lofoten Cathedral,” near Svolvær, in the Lofoten Islands, Norway. Designed in the Gothic revival style and consecrated in 1898, this church is the largest wooden structure in Northern Norway. It was built large enough to accommodate (and include) all the fishermen who came there in the fishing season.
Not a subscriber to the monthly blog posts? Click here to subscribe. Subscribers receive an email each month that includes the post with the lead photo as well as bonus photos not posted on the website. Email addresses are never sold or shared.
A NOTE ON SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Jesus says the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37-40). The Christian faith boils down to these two precepts.
Social justice puts that love into action by helping individuals who are oppressed, mistreated, or suffering, and by pursuing ways to dismantle systems of oppression. How we treat others, particularly those less powerful in society than ourselves, matters (Matthew 25:31-46).
Racial justice is one aspect of social justice. Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
Devastated. Disillusioned. Defeated. The list goes on regarding my emotional state since the most recent US election. Trying to make sense of it, I follow the political pundits’ election postmortem. One thing, at least, is clear – lies and hate carried the day. Truth and love were sidelined.
In 1964, speaking at his acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, had the hope that “unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word…” Dr King’s hope was forged through repeated lynchings of Black Americans, through Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, and through the untold and many injustices perpetrated since chattel slavery reached the shores of this country. Yet, Dr King was not pessimistic about the future. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had just been signed into law by President Johnson a few months before. Perhaps that glimmer of hope emboldened Dr King’s enthusiasm that truth and love would ultimately win.
Dr King’s sense of truth was unarmed and the love he encouraged was unconditional. His faith in the hopeful prevalence of truth demanded nonviolence to the oppression he encountered for he knew that violence only begets more violence. He spoke truth to power to call out oppression and injustice. He loved unconditionally for he saw the image of God in all he met. He envisioned a time when there would be no divisions between races, genders, or nations because people would love without limits, restrictions, or borders. Dr King’s theology cost him his life. Yet his followers persevered.
Truth and love matter.
And they have mattered since the dawn of time. Two millennia ago, the birth of a Jewish baby in a stable coincided with horrific Roman oppression. This baby-turned-itinerant preacher taught his followers how to live and love, even in the worst of times. His purpose was to bring good news to the poor and to set the captives free, propositions that required changed hearts and minds. To love God and to love people, he preached, was the most important thing of all, along with providing for the “least of these.” He spoke truth in an era where truth was scarce. The poor and the curious flocked to him. The powers that be plotted against him. Undeterred, he spoke truth boldly, even to Pontius Pilate, who had become so impervious to the truth, that he dismissed this King of the Jews.
Armed only with truth and love, Jesus did not resist arrest. He was executed as a nonviolent activist, one who preached love, not hate; unity, not division; peace, not war. His unconditional love for the oppressed motivated him to speak truth to power. It cost him his life. His followers, after a huge setback, regrouped and persevered.
Like those who have come before us, we, too, must take on the mantle of truth and love. And we must persevere. Because even during a setback, we are still stronger than the forces of “evil triumphant.”
In this Advent season, may we not forget that this Christ Child was born into poverty and oppression to teach us how to live in truth and love. May we never waver in our pursuit of unarmed truth and unconditional love.
Text and photograph copyright © 2024 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of the Vågan Church, often called “Lofoten Cathedral,” near Svolvær, in the Lofoten Islands, Norway. Designed in the Gothic revival style and consecrated in 1898, this church is the largest wooden structure in Northern Norway. It was built large enough to accommodate (and include) all the fishermen who came there in the fishing season.
Not a subscriber to the monthly blog posts? Click here to subscribe. Subscribers receive an email each month that includes the post with the lead photo as well as bonus photos not posted on the website. Email addresses are never sold or shared.
A NOTE ON SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Jesus says the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37-40). The Christian faith boils down to these two precepts.
Social justice puts that love into action by helping individuals who are oppressed, mistreated, or suffering, and by pursuing ways to dismantle systems of oppression. How we treat others, particularly those less powerful in society than ourselves, matters (Matthew 25:31-46).
Racial justice is one aspect of social justice. Check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
RSS Feed