Many societies past and present fall into patterns and practices that are not healthy, desirable, or good for persons or the planet. This discourse explores the importance of working together to express love, do justice, and provide support for one another. Even in the darkest of times, it is important to keep shining the light of love and justice in the world – even if it is a flicker of light, it can still provide comfort and hope.

Whatever our orientation to religion might be, it must not be allowed to become a cover or justification for hate and injustice. Any belief system that requires we see differences in the sacred worth of persons becomes a dangerous source of injustice within the human community. Religious communities are at their best when they model ways of being a more fully inclusive human community through love and justice for all, and they are at their worst when they use fear and exclusion of others to gain and expand power to further their own narrow ethnocultural interests.

Some of the most powerful movements for justice in the history of humanity were led by persons who did not feed what Howard Thurman called the three hounds of hell – fear, deception, and hatred; but who forged a path of courage, truth, and love.

As satisfying as it may feel to call the purveyors of injustice names that in most cases they most assuredly deserve, that will not be the way to defeating injustice. We must communicate a compelling vision and plan that moves us all towards a just and beloved community. The most effective way to overcome hate and fear is not through more hate and fear but rather through love and hope.

The power of non-violence and love to bring about significant systemic change within human communities has been underestimated over and over again by those who use violence, force, and fear to maintain their power. It is only through the power of love that we can cultivate a truly just and sustainable community. We will never get where we need to be though hate and fear.

The powerhouse people for good in human history have realized that the only way to overcome the power of hate and fear is through love and courage in pursuit of justice. We are called to a hope that “love force” ultimately has more power in the world than the force of hate, even if it may not always look that way in the short run.

Some of the most powerful shapers of human history have used the least amount of violence because they recognized that true power for good comes from the force of love and justice, not from the use of violent force. Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Thich Nhat Hanh, Desmond Tutu, and Wangari Maathai did not have power through brute strength or physical force. Theirs was a force of love, a force of justice that changed the world during their lives and that continues to transform the world for good today and into the future.

One of the greatest acts of faith, hope, love and courage is to work for the creation of just and beloved community even though we ourselves may never get to see it come to full fruition in our lives. It is our way of expressing love for all who are and who are yet to come just as so many have done who have lived and loved before us. It is also one of the greatest ways that we can love and respect those who have worked for love and justice through the ages.

Every act of love and kindness and justice is ultimately not lost. They all find ways, sometimes small and sometimes large, to make a positive difference in the world, even when it seems that the world is not taking note. Every act of love and justice is good in itself, but it can also become a seed for something greater to grow and potentially flourish.

May we find the strength in these extremely troubling times to avoid feeding the hounds of hell of fear, deception, and hatred but rather gain the courage to leave a legacy of love and justice. May it be so.