Nonviolence: The Heart of the Matter
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
June 28, 2020
Micah 6:8 (MSG)
8 But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
As we have been working hard on creating our Peace Church Alliance – I have found myself having quite a few conversations about the Quaker’s nonviolent response in these turbulent times. It seems in every conversation whether about the racial unrest, the violence that has taken place, the ugly political scene, and even, the toll the pandemic and isolation is having on our mental health, at some point I am returning to non-violence and our Quaker peace testimony.
Sadly, too often today the nonviolent efforts that are happening go unnoticed by the news outlets because they are hard to sensationalize and get people to have a response. But as of late, I have started to notice side conversations beginning to happen which are talking about nonviolence, peace, and its importance in these difficult times. And that gives me hope that as Quakers – we have something to offer our world – and that it might be time to again speak up with our lives and voices.
It has been over a decade since that pacifist-progressive-Mennonite friend (I talked about last week in my sermon) introduced me to the nonviolent way. As I allowed him to mentor me, I found myself becoming more and more uncomfortable with the way I was educated, the things the church of my childhood had taught me, and how easily it was for me to accept violence and other beliefs that were counter to the teachings of Jesus – often in the name of religion or some denominational dogma.
I was quickly realizing that violence was becoming more than an outward physical reaction and was often deeply rooted in many parts of my faith which I had never carefully examined.
I also realized something was happening within my own heart at multiple levels, and I knew that I needed to ask some serious queries of myself in relation to my own views and what I actually believed.
This in many ways started a crisis of faith or what some may call a “dark night of the soul” in my life.
As I said last week, it was in this crisis time (around many issues) that I headed into that year of diversity training at Huntington University and my first classes as a doctoral student at George Fox Evangelical Seminary.
I love how God often prepares the soil of our lives before getting ready to plant new seeds into our lives.
Most of you know, I became a student of nonviolent heroes (who I quote often) such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, John Woolman, and many more.
Yet, it was specifically in my study about Gandhi’s influence on Martin Luther King Jr.’s spirituality where I began to hone my understanding of nonviolence and its importance at the core of my life.
At the time, I had no clue that it was the work of Bayard Rustin – a Quaker and nonviolent activist who influenced King in learning about Gandhi. Over the coming years I would begin to see the importance of the Quaker testimony of Peace and how nonviolence could influence the world for change.
As I began to study the concept of non-violence the following quote from Gandhi, in a book edited by Thomas Merton titled, “On Non-Violence” caught my attention. Mahatma Gandhi says,
Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being. . ..
If love or non-violence be not the law of our being, the whole of my argument falls to pieces. . ..
Belief in non-violence is based on the assumption that human nature in its essence is one and therefore unfailingly responds to the advances of love. . ..
If one does not practice non-violence in one’s personal relations with others and hopes to use it in bigger affairs, one is vastly mistaken.
To begin seeing the seat of nonviolence as my heart, started an evolution in my soul. In many ways, I was learning (and for that matter continue to learn each and every day) that the condition of my heart was key to how I respond to my world.
This was a little different than just saying I had the love of Jesus down in my heart, like I was taught in Sunday School.
This was saying that it was more than just an acknowledgement or belief. For the first time, I sensed the need to take care of nurturing my heart, finding inner peace, and connecting to my inner light to help me become a more peaceful and non-violent presence in this world.
I had to own up to and admit that some of the violence I experienced in this world – I actually caused (and still do) – and it stemmed from my own soul (and still does).
It is clear from the conversations that are taking place currently in our communities, neighborhoods, and on the world stage – until we deal with the violence in our own hearts – the violence is going to continue.
This is where the issues of today are still our problem – not just bad choices of people in the past. You and I sadly perpetuate the violence when we don’t take a moment to look inside and admit our own violence and its impact on those around us. We can’t deal with systemic racism, injustice, or violence until we first wrestle with the personal violences within our own hearts.
Gandhi wrestled with this as well. Not only did he begin to see non-violence (or as he named it Satyagraha) as inseparable from our being, he also saw it as desperately important to the future and shalom (peace) of humankind.
Unless we found the seeds of nonviolence in our own lives, the world was not going to get any better.
I have mentioned this before, but it should be reiterated here – On many occasions, Gandhi mentioned that he developed his ideas about Satyagraha (nonviolence) in large part from the New Testament teachings of Jesus.
Gandhi considered Satyagraha a way to synthesize Jesus’ teaching about peace and non-violence into the life of the individual.
He believed that non-violence came through embracing the qualities Jesus lived out in his life – such as:
loving our enemies,
seeking truth,
experiencing personal transformation,
being people of virtue,
and having a religious faith
all things that Jesus had lived out in his life and had said should flow from our hearts.
If you remember, on one occasion, Jesus goes out of his way to make a point with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law about where our thoughts, beliefs, actions, and what we say and believe are rooted…Jesus said it bluntly in Eugene Peterson’s version of Matthew 12:34-37 – he said…
“You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard.” (MSG)
The importance of the condition of the heart was something that Martin Luther King Jr. also learned from Jesus. Bayard Rustin helped nurture those beliefs by encouraging him to study Gandhi during the difficult days of the Civil Rights movement.
King knew that retaliation or violent means were not what should flow from the heart and if they did it would only make things worse.
Rustin showed King how Gandhi was leading sit-ins, walk-outs, and marches in India with non-violent methods and King adopted the same perspectives for his movement.
The key for both of them was to make sure their heart was centered and in the right place. This is exactly what I have been hearing as I have participated with other faith leaders in peaceful demonstrations, prayer vigils, and Juneteenth celebrations in the last few weeks. Over and over the focus has been on how our current work flows from the same non-violent tradition that Rustin, Gandhi, and King modeled and lived.
King realized nonviolence and nonviolent resistance were better responses to what he was facing – and like many today, there was push back and disagreement. King also realized that to do this work meant to go deeper and see what was behind the outward violence – something many people are calling our politicians, teachers, and leaders on today. These are deep rooted systemics problem that are going to take time and a non-violent approach.
For Martin Luther King Jr. going deeper and seeing behind the violence meant to start within himself. King said this,
“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”
King’s views changed dramatically as he internalized an ethos of nonviolence and allowed his responses to flow from that centered space.
I believe, King, Rustin, and Gandhi all realized that nonviolence transcends our outward actions and must be rooted in our hearts where true love is found, and nonviolence has its beginnings.
Gandhi said it this way,
“Nonviolence, which is a quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.”
Nonviolence was not simply a body of knowledge to learn or be taught – it was something that as I said a couple of weeks ago when talking about the Beloved Community which must be lived. If it is planted deep within each of us and is cultivated and nurtured it will become a way of life.
Martin Luther King Jr. broke down nonviolence into six principles that clearly show us how nonviolence must stem from our depths starting with them being a way of life…take a moment to allow them to speak to your current condition…
Principle 1: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
Principle 2: Nonviolence seeks to win friendships and understanding.
Principle 3: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people.
Principle 4: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform.
Principle 5: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
Principle 6: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice.
This is how King saw the Beloved Community growing into something beautiful – by starting within oneself and making this a way of life.
In our text that Beth read for this morning, another prophet, the prophet Micah said it this way implying a nonviolent approach…
8 But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
Or as you may be more used to hearing it…
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
What God wants of us resonates with Gandhi, Rustin, King, and I believe Quakers as well. It sounds simple, but it is the foundation for building an “ethos of peace” in our world.
Our hearts should be filled with the desire to do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with our God – and that, I believe describes a nonviolent spirit.
Folks, love is nonviolent.
Love is peaceful.
Love is kind.
Love is what binds us to one another.
And when that is what is found in our hearts, we can understand better King’s words….
“Love is a force by which God binds man to Himself and man to man. Such love goes to the extreme; it remains loving and forgiving even in the midst of hostility. It matches the capacity of evil to inflict suffering with an even more enduring capacity to absorb evil, all the while persisting in love.”
This, as Quakers, is who we are. I love how it is stated in our Quaker Testimonies on the American Friends Service Committee site:
In renouncing war and violence, Friends embrace the transforming power of love and the power of nonviolence, striving for peace in daily interactions with family, neighbors, fellow community members, and those from every corner of the world.
This is who we are – people who embrace the transforming power of love and the power of nonviolence. When we strive to live this out in our daily lives – not in extraordinary ways but starting with our interactions with family, neighbors, fellow community members – we can begin to make a difference.
American Friends Service Committee has offered some queries for us to ponder regarding nonviolence and our current times. As we enter waiting worship, take some time to ponder these as we wait and listen.
1. How can I nurture the seeds of peace within myself, my community, and the world?
2. How can I be more open to seeking the goodness in people who act with violence and hatred?
3. How can I increase my understanding of nonviolence and use it in all my interactions?