MLK trumpeted a message of love

The Associated Press story in yesterday's Southeast Missourian summed up the dilemma: "Martin Luther King Jr.'s image has been used to protest a potential war on Iraq, denounce a gay rights law and sell wireless phone service. The trouble, of course, is that the civil rights leader 'is not here to speak for himself,' said the Rev. Richard Bennett, executive director of the African American Council of Christian Clergy in Miami."

King's absence is a tragedy. He would have been 74 years old on Friday and a vital voice in American culture today. That he was killed so young leaves much uncertainty about how a man of clear convictions on basic human rights would confront some of the leading questions in today's age: from terrorism to affirmative action. One thing is undeniable, however: His perspective would be guided by a profound belief in God, Jesus Christ and the equality of all humanity created in God's image.

To King, there was no separating his religion from his being. While an imperfect man, his touchstone for belief was the Bible.

Each year as our nation celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy, I re-read some of the civil rights leader's speeches and writings. They remain brilliant and provocative expressions of idealism and love. Here is an excerpt from a sermon on "Loving Your Enemies," delivered at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, in Montgomery, Ala., on November 17, 1957:

"In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It's not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.

"The Greek language, as I've said so often before, is very powerful at this point. It comes to our aid beautifully in giving us the real meaning and depth of the whole philosophy of love. And I think it is quite apropos at this point, for you see the Greek language has three words for love, interestingly enough. It talks about love as eros. That's one word for love. Eros is a sort of aesthetic love. Plato talks about it a great deal in his dialogues, a sort of yearning of the soul for the realm of the gods. And it's come to us to be a sort of romantic love, though it's a beautiful love. Everybody has experienced eros in all of its beauty when you find some individual that is attractive to you and that you pour out all of your like and your love on that individual. That is eros, you see, and it's a powerful, beautiful love that is given to us through all of the beauty of literature; we read about it.

"Then the Greek language talks about philia, and that's another type of love that's also beautiful. It is a sort of intimate affection between personal friends. And this is the type of love that you have for those persons that you're friendly with, your intimate friends, or people that you call on the telephone and you go by to have dinner with, and your roommate in college and that type of thing. It's a sort of reciprocal love. On this level, you like a person because that person likes you. You love on this level, because you are loved. You love on this level, because there's something about the person you love that is likeable to you. This too is a beautiful love. You can communicate with a person; you have certain things in common; you like to do things together. This is philia.

"The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape. And agape is more than eros; agape is more than philia; agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it's what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. You look at every man, and you love him because you know God loves him. And he might be the worst person you've ever seen.

"And this is what Jesus means, I think, in this very passage when he says, 'Love your enemy.' And it's significant that he does not say, 'Like your enemy.' Like is a sentimental something, an affectionate something. There are a lot of people that I find it difficult to like. I don't like what they do to me. I don't like what they say about me and other people. I don't like their attitudes. I don't like some of the things they're doing. I don't like them. But Jesus says love them. And love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, "Love your enemy.'"

"... There is a little tree planted on a little hill and on that tree hangs the most influential character that ever came in this world. But never feel that that tree is a meaningless drama that took place on the stages of history. Oh no, it is a telescope through which we look out into the long vista of eternity, and see the love of God breaking forth into time. It is an eternal reminder to a power-drunk generation that love is the only way. It is an eternal reminder to a generation depending on nuclear and atomic energy, a generation depending on physical violence, that love is the only creative, redemptive, transforming power in the universe."

There are many events around the area today commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s American legacy. You will find a list of those events on the front page. The man's words are always worth pondering.

Jon K. Rust is co-president of Rust Communications. His e-mail address is jrust@semissourian.com.