Due to technical issues the video from today’s service is not available
Scripture: Micah:6-8; Luke 4:16-18; Romans 12:21; Revelation 21:3-4
I have long been compelled by the magic of story, which is sometimes referred to as narrative thinking.
Not long before the pandemic started in 2019, I was asked to come speak at one of the Smithsonian museums located in Memphis, TN. It is one of the civil rights museums located at the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Part of my visit to the museum was a VIP tour of the museum and the Lorraine Motel, including the hotel room where King stayed and the balcony where he was shot and killed.
As I stepped out onto the balcony, I could see the rolling hills where the shooter waited. I stood there felt the bodily turbulence, the instability of the moment, and realized that I was having a somatic response to being in a place where one of the last moral and courageous leaders we’ve had recently who was shot and killed because he took a step of faith and called for community over the chaos of white supremacy.
Supremacy culture socializes us to be distrustful of community; to silo ourselves to like-minded people, like falling into the binary of Republican and Democrat, forgetting that differences make us not only more complex but richer in our embodied experience.
Story helps create Connection, which helps create Trust. When we have trust, we can then have community, safety, influence.
I have spent the last year building relationships with those who are leaning into relationship with me. Some folks only want relationship on Sundays; others want a more broad and robust relationship with me. I have been following the relational aliveness with those who attend Sundays and those who live in the community and reach out to me.
We have to move at the speed of trust. If we move faster than the speed of trust, the process will fail and we will lose our sense of community.
Over a sustained amount of time, we will build community, safety, and influence.
We can move the trust train when we become more empathetic.
When we feel known, seen, and understood, we are better able to connect and trust one another.
Stories are the currency of human connection.
What is the story of UUC? What is your personal story? What keeps you here at UUC? What kind of church do you want?
What will bring you joy on Sundays?
If this is truly a community church, we each need to exercise agency and our voice, or we lose momentum at this crossroads and become apathetic. When we become apathetic, we risk abandoning community, but what we all want is to reclaim the certainty many of us have had about the church and what UUC stands for.
Living by faith means that we must discern a way forward, which means we need to plan and embody a theory of change.
Every organization, even my own, has a theory of change. What is UUC’s theory of change? Where do you want to go from here? You’ve hired a new pastor. I am not a dictator; I do not dictate our direction. I gently guide and steward us into another possible world, which we don’t know what that will look like. There is an element of surprise and uncertainty to this stewardship. That is by design.
Maybe our prayer needs to be:
Opening Prayer
Gracious God, guide us as we reflect on the path You have laid before us. Open our hearts to Your call for justice, peace, and unity, and help us to choose love over chaos and community over division. Amen.
Introduction
In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. published his final book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? His words resonate as powerfully today as they did then. King offered a stark choice: Will we descend into chaos, or will we rise to create the Beloved Community? This question is not just a political or social one—it is a deeply spiritual one. Scripture calls us to this same choice: to walk in the ways of justice, love, and humility or to succumb to fear, hatred, and division.
Today, we’ll explore this through four scriptures that illuminate King’s vision: Micah 6:8, Luke 4:18-19, Romans 12:21, and Revelation 21:3-4. Together, they call us to choose community over chaos, embody God’s love, and work for a world transformed by hope and justice.
1. Choosing Community Over Chaos
Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
The prophet Micah’s words capture the essence of King’s message. Justice, kindness, and humility are not optional; they are divine requirements. Yet, in a world rife with division, it is easy to default to fear and hostility. Chaos takes root when we neglect these divine calls.
King understood this. He wrote, “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.” In our lives, in our communities, are we living with this urgency? Are we stepping into the justice and kindness God requires?
2. The Beloved Community
Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus’ mission statement in Luke calls us to a radical vision of liberation and equity. King’s dream of the Beloved Community mirrors this—a place where poverty, oppression, and injustice are no more.
But the Beloved Community isn’t just a lofty idea. It begins with us. How do we care for the poor among us? How do we fight for those held captive—whether by systemic oppression, addiction, or despair? The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, too, calling us to this holy work.
3. Love as a Transformative Force
Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
In the face of hate and violence, King’s commitment to nonviolence was rooted in this verse. He wrote, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Love is not passive; it is active, courageous, and transformative.
We are called to this same love. It is easy to be overcome by evil—to respond to cruelty with bitterness or to allow apathy to creep in. But love calls us higher. How can we, as a church, respond to the chaos of our world with the goodness of God’s love? How can we embody love in ways that transform hearts and systems?
4. A Prophetic Vision of Hope
Revelation 21:3-4: “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
King’s vision of the Beloved Community is a foretaste of this prophetic promise. In God’s kingdom, there will be no more tears, no more suffering. But this vision isn’t just for the future; it is a call to action now. We are invited to partner with God in bringing about this reality on earth as it is in heaven.
What does this look like in our daily lives? It might mean standing up for a marginalized neighbor, offering forgiveness when it is difficult, or advocating for policies that reflect God’s justice. The small acts of love we practice today are building blocks of God’s kingdom.
Closing Challenge
Dr. King’s question echoes across the decades: Where do we go from here? Will we choose chaos, or will we choose community? As Christians, the answer is clear. God calls us to build the Beloved Community—to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly. To proclaim good news to the poor and liberation to the captives. To overcome evil with good. To live into God’s vision of a world where every tear is wiped away.
Let us leave this place committed to walking this path together. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. Now is the time to act.
Closing Prayer
God of peace, justice, and love, strengthen us to be instruments of Your will. Help us to build Your Beloved Community, where all are free and every tear is wiped away. May we go from this place committed to living out Your call to justice and reconciliation. Amen.