Former Yale chaplain and civil rights activist Bill Coffin said, “The heart is a little left of center.” I found this phrase appealing, but the essence of it was, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).
Jesus was never the answer. That mistake was made by later believers, including some in the headlines today. The first believers “road.” In a prayer asking, “Teach me that I may know you on earth,” a missionary’s wife wrote:
Lord, you have said, I am the Way — not that we shall never be confused. You have said, I am the Truth — not that we shall have all the answers. And, I am the Life - not that we shall never die… Thank you, Lord, for saying instead, I am and giving your Spirit to be with us always.
Martin Luther King lived this saying when he said, “The arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” His dream was not for us to live. Hope It is to live the truth. Justice is not something we bring about, it is the order of the universe. Our job is to make known what is already true. Reconciliation is not a goal but a reality. It is up to us to show that it is true. “Am I my brother’s keeper? No, I am my brother’s brother.”
Southern preacher and civil rights activist Will Campbell distanced himself from the mainstream civil rights movement. He worried that the movement was more concerned with stopping hate than expressing love, and that fighting hate with hate only made things worse. Another civil rights leader and close friend, Bernard Lafayette, asked Campbell, “It’s one thing to say you love everybody, but everyone“Aren’t there exceptions? What if someone tries to crack your head open?'” Lafayette later added, “I always say Will became a civil rights minister for the Ku Klux Klan.”
For Campbell, love was the law of the universe. The Bible, which taught that racial segregation was wrong, taught that God loves everyone. “Jesus didn’t just die for those we like.” So Campbell packed his communion kit in a backpack, grabbed a bottle of bourbon, and traveled the deep South. He showed up unannounced to hundreds of doors. After starting a conversation, he invited those he called his “neighbors” to receive the sacrament on their doorsteps. To his surprise, most people accepted. His friend Lafayette said, “Will’s presence convinced people that someone else cared.”
It helped that the “weird guy” was from the South; bourbon wasn’t a sign of masculinity or free spirit; Body LanguageThis is a symptom of what scholars call a “high-context” culture: Campbell spoke Southern English, not “Globish,” the linguistic variant of the dominant culture. For example, “My heartfelt congratulations.” is a Southern English expression of sincere sympathy (often used sarcastically or condescendingly). In globalized English, “That’s a pity” is a straightforward expression of sympathy without layers of meaning. In Southern English, people “everyone”Everyone or “all of you” “Brothers” or “Sister.”
Campbell’s opinions were as strong as those of other civil rights heroes, but he was closer to their enemies, not just in race but in feelings, attitudes, and appearance. “Jesus, I just thank you.” Moreover, he wasn’t so much interested in converting sinners; he believed the best way to spread the gospel was to live it. Will didn’t just preach what he preached, he practiced it. When asked if others should follow his example, Campbell smiled and said, “Jesus took care of that.”
John Lewis, the civil rights legend and congressional bridge builder, said: “Let’s never forget the difference Will made. He has changed my life.”
“Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, Enact “All I say is, don’t pray for justice, live justice. Don’t imagine what awaits you, know what will happen.” Right next door.
Oh Happy Day – The Edwin Hawkins Singers [Triple-click]
George Harrison of the Beatles said the gospel song was his main inspiration in writing his 1970 international hit single, “My Sweet Lord.”
Notes and reading
References to Coffin, Martin Luther King, Will Campbell, and John Lewis are from Sunday services and conversations at Oberlin and Yale universities. “I’m his brother.” Coffin, Holy Impatience – Warren Goldstein (2004). 143.
A wonderful book about him by the Reverend Will Campbell (1924-2013). Dragonfly Brothers (2018). Featured in a PBS documentary God willing“He who understands the nature of tragedy can never take sides.” Overcoming real demons.
“Close to the enemy.” See also the work of another human rights activist, Irshad Manji, who University of Moral and CourageManji’s Don’t Label Me: Great Conversations for Divided Times.
“road” – Jesus in John 14:6 and Paul in Acts 24:14, for full context see https://tinyurl.com/5n7dusc4 – Isaiah 55:8 (NRSV).
“Tell me how I can know you on earth.” Elisabeth Elliot The beginning of wisdom After her husband was murdered in eastern Ecuador in 1995, she spent the next two years working with members of the tribe responsible.
“Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, Enact “What am I saying?” Matthew 7:21, 24 (Abridged, emphasis added) The New Testament: Translation/2nd Edition (2017), David Bentley Hart.
The Crisis of Culture: Identity Politics and the Empire of Norms – Olivier Roy (2023), especially chapter 5, “Communication: a problem of codes” and the conclusion, “Human, but not human enough.” Without a shared culture, often online, everything becomes an explicit norm on how to speak and behave. – Roy is a French political scientist and professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. He is known for his work on secularization. And Islam.
For those interested in theology – See David Bentley Hart The Salvation of All: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation” (2019) or at least Commonweal About the book: “A scathing, powerful and eloquent attack on those who claim that eternal punishment exists.” – Karen Kilby, ““Against the people of Hell” Commonweal (March 16, 2020)– Mr. Hart is an Eastern Orthodox religious scholar, philosopher, author, and cultural critic.
[“I feel so much better since I gave up hope.” – Zen Comics, vol. 2, compiled and drawn by Joanna Salajun (1982).]
Source: 2 + 2 = 5 – williamgreen.substack.com
