This service was part of a weekend long celebration of the 70th anniversar
of Dr. King's visit to our Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland, NY.
When the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the invitation of the New York Sate Convention of Universalists (NYSCU) to be the keynote speaker at their annual convention in 1956, he was fresh out of school- having had just received his doctorate the year before. He was also the proud father of a baby girl born the same year Rosa Parks made the strategic and courageous action of refusing to give her seat to a white man, and the great bus boycotts in Montgomery began[i]. The bus boycotts were still going when King came to Cortland to speak to NYSCU, and no one knew whether all their work and sacrifice would result in any lasting change. But Dr. King had faith.
We live now with tensions similar to those felt in MLK’s time. We have seen many come to power who believe America is a country for white people, and who are breaking down the hard-won victories of MLK’s time: repealing voting rights, punishing and repealing DEI programs, Prioritizing the white race for government resources and jobs.
We also live at a time when political violence is at the highest I remember in my lifetime.[ii] Violence against political figures, and violence and force used against peaceful protestors. Violence and imprisonment used against ordinary people swept up in ICE raids. People are full of anger on all the right and the left. I was at a rally the other day, and some of those gathered had signs and shouted slogans calling for violence against the Cornell 7. And though I understand how one might feel a murderous rage when we think about the oppression and harm done to our sisters, our brothers, our siblings, MLK in his speech to the Universalists 70 years ago called us to a different path – the path of non-violent resistance.
Though King was a young man not long out of school, he was not naive. From the beginning of his public life, he received threats to himself and his family. He spoke of one of those threats in an interview, talking about a night in January of 1956, not long after Rosa Parks appealed her $14 fine, and about 10 months before he came to speak here in Cortland. He said in an interview:
When Dr. King came to speak to the Universalists in Cortland, all of that was in his heart. When he called for nonviolence, it came out of a deep faith-filled conviction that this was the way God was calling him, was calling the movement. Calling us to see beyond the hate-filled moment, to the future we want to build for ourselves and our children. In his keynote that day, King said that the end goal of non-violence is:
King us calling us to want that beloved community more than we want to see the destruction of those who oppose us. Right now, all around us we see examples of what happens when the main goal of people in power is to “own” and to punish their opposition for who they are and what they believe. I challenge us not to be tempted into following that destructive path. King continued:
When I hear that, I think of the new Unitarian Univeralist statement of values, that asks us to keep love at the center. And I think of our long Universalist history born out of a deep belief that God was eternally and unimaginably loving.
King clarifies what he means by love saying:
This is so similar to our historic UU beliefs about evil, about injustice. Now, we UUs don’t believe just one thing, we don’t all believe in God, our plurality is one of our core values, but I think we do all believe in love. The hard part is living that love in the world. Of carrying that love not only into our daily life of family and friends, but out into protests and rallies, onto social media, into the halls of government, into our schools and businesses.
This is the core of our Universalist message, and why we continue, year after year, because there must be communities who keep love at the center, and radiate that love out into the world. The very reason we strive to stand up for our siblings who are oppressed, remembering that God loves the most vulnerable among us, is the same reason that as we rise up on behalf of justice, we strive to embody God’s love even when facing those who are hateful toward us and those we care about.
As we honor the anniversary of Dr King’s visit to this very place, we not only renew our commitment to stand against racism, to protecting those voting rights and all human rights for people of every race, we also renew our commitment to love others as God loves us, and to hear anew King’s call to the path of nonviolent resistance.
We live now with tensions similar to those felt in MLK’s time. We have seen many come to power who believe America is a country for white people, and who are breaking down the hard-won victories of MLK’s time: repealing voting rights, punishing and repealing DEI programs, Prioritizing the white race for government resources and jobs.
We also live at a time when political violence is at the highest I remember in my lifetime.[ii] Violence against political figures, and violence and force used against peaceful protestors. Violence and imprisonment used against ordinary people swept up in ICE raids. People are full of anger on all the right and the left. I was at a rally the other day, and some of those gathered had signs and shouted slogans calling for violence against the Cornell 7. And though I understand how one might feel a murderous rage when we think about the oppression and harm done to our sisters, our brothers, our siblings, MLK in his speech to the Universalists 70 years ago called us to a different path – the path of non-violent resistance.
Though King was a young man not long out of school, he was not naive. From the beginning of his public life, he received threats to himself and his family. He spoke of one of those threats in an interview, talking about a night in January of 1956, not long after Rosa Parks appealed her $14 fine, and about 10 months before he came to speak here in Cortland. He said in an interview:
“It was around midnight. You can have some strange experiences at midnight,” He had received a phone call saying “ . . . [We] are tired of you and your mess now. And if you aren’t out of this town in three days, we’re going to blow your brains out and blow up your house.”… just 3 days later, was his home was indeed bombed as the caller had threatened. Folks who saw him right after that attack said they were amazed at his calm which he attributed it to that experience at the kitchen table with the God he knew and loved. King fought on, always committed to the principles of non-violence.
“I sat there and thought about a beautiful little daughter who had just been born... . She was the darling of my life. I’d come in night after night and see that little gentle smile. And I sat at that table thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me any minute. . . . And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me, and I had to know God for myself. And I bowed down over that cup of coffee, I never will forget it . . . I prayed a prayer, and I prayed out loud that night.
“I said, ‘Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I’m right. I think the cause that we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I’m awake now. I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage. And I can’t let the people see me like this, because if they see me weak and losing my courage, they will begin to get weak.’ Then it happened: And it seemed at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying to me, ‘Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo I will be with you, even until the end of the world.’ . . . I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No never alone...”[iii]
When Dr. King came to speak to the Universalists in Cortland, all of that was in his heart. When he called for nonviolence, it came out of a deep faith-filled conviction that this was the way God was calling him, was calling the movement. Calling us to see beyond the hate-filled moment, to the future we want to build for ourselves and our children. In his keynote that day, King said that the end goal of non-violence is:
“redemption and reconciliation. The aftermath of non-violence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness.”
King us calling us to want that beloved community more than we want to see the destruction of those who oppose us. Right now, all around us we see examples of what happens when the main goal of people in power is to “own” and to punish their opposition for who they are and what they believe. I challenge us not to be tempted into following that destructive path. King continued:
“To retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the existence of hate in the universe. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can only be done by projecting the ethics of love to the center of our lives.”
When I hear that, I think of the new Unitarian Univeralist statement of values, that asks us to keep love at the center. And I think of our long Universalist history born out of a deep belief that God was eternally and unimaginably loving.
King clarifies what he means by love saying:
“it would be nonsense to urge men to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense... When we speak of loving those who oppose us ... We speak of a love which is expressed in the Greek word agape. Agape means nothing sentimental or basically affectionate; it means understanding, redeeming goodwill for all men. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. When we rise to love on the agape level we love men not because we like them, not because their attitudes and ways appeal to us, but because God loves them. Here we rise to the position of loving the person who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does.”
This is so similar to our historic UU beliefs about evil, about injustice. Now, we UUs don’t believe just one thing, we don’t all believe in God, our plurality is one of our core values, but I think we do all believe in love. The hard part is living that love in the world. Of carrying that love not only into our daily life of family and friends, but out into protests and rallies, onto social media, into the halls of government, into our schools and businesses.
This is the core of our Universalist message, and why we continue, year after year, because there must be communities who keep love at the center, and radiate that love out into the world. The very reason we strive to stand up for our siblings who are oppressed, remembering that God loves the most vulnerable among us, is the same reason that as we rise up on behalf of justice, we strive to embody God’s love even when facing those who are hateful toward us and those we care about.
As we honor the anniversary of Dr King’s visit to this very place, we not only renew our commitment to stand against racism, to protecting those voting rights and all human rights for people of every race, we also renew our commitment to love others as God loves us, and to hear anew King’s call to the path of nonviolent resistance.
[i][i] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/montgomery-story-address-delivered-forty-seventh-annual-naacp-convention
[ii] https://spia.princeton.edu/news/2026/04/02/new-data-princeton-spia-initiative-shows-political-violence-us-rise
[iii] https://www.ldsliving.com/never-alone-the-unforgettable-lesson-of-faith-i-learned-in-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-s-home/s/92243
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