The question on the table today in many parts of the world is 'How can we stop the cycles of violence and counter-violence?' For at least 2500 years, there have been two answers: more violence or non-violence, the sword or the open hand. The debate about our national policy towards Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Israel or Palestine hinges on the same question: 'How can we stop the cycles of violence and counter-violence?'

Both answers are well-represented in my family history: for hundreds of years the Beckwiths have been warriors and the Carlyles have been peace-makers. While my grandfather favored evangelical religion and all-star wrestling, my grandmother's mantra was "peace at any price". When I became a conscientious objector in 1972, I was choosing to align myself with a long tradition of peace-making in my family. My sermon today is a continuation of that commitment.

My reflections today are in honor of one of the great peace makers of the 20th century, Martin Luther King, Jr. I'd like to place his legacy in this larger context of creative non-violence. In brief, I will identify the deep roots of his creative non-violence (what he called "soul force"). I will then describe how and why creative non-violence works. In conclusion, I'll ask some open ended questions about how creative non-violence might be of use in the twenty-first century.

Martin's approach to peace-making has three deep roots: Christian, Unitarian and Hindu. The Christian roots of non-violence go back to words of Jesus, collected in the"Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 5-7). One of the key texts is the "Beatitudes", where Jesus invites his followers into a life of peace-making:

Blessed are those who mourn, for you will be comforted.

Blessed are those with gentle hearts, for the earth will be entrusted to your care.

Blessed are those who hunger for justice, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are those who purify your hearts and minds, for you will dwell in the presence of a living Truth.

Blessed are the merciful, for you will plant seeds of mercy in the hearts of your enemies.

Blessed are the peace makers, for through you the words of the prophets have become flesh and blood.

Blessed are those who are persecuted and reviled for a good cause, your reward will endure forever.

Jesus demonstrated his commitment to peace-making when Roman soldiers came to arrest him. Does anyone remember what Peter did? That's right, he grabbed a sword or a knife and cut off the ear of a Roman soldier. And how did Jesus respond to Peter's use of a sword? He did not say: "Atta' boy, Peter... I can tell you've been listening to my sermons". He said: "Peter, don't you know, those who live by the sword die by the sword". Jesus yielded to the over-whelming force of the Roman soldiers and continues on a path that will lead to his death and transformation. If Jesus and his disciples had picked up swords and resisted arrest, would anyone know about 'the Prince of Peace' or his teachings?

A second root of Martin's "soul force" was Unitarian, actually two Unitarians. The first is my mentor Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau refused to pay a poll-tax to support a foolish and unnecessary war (the Mexican-American War) and was taken to jail. Though his neighbor Emerson bailed him out, Thoreau wrote an essay based on his experience called "Civil Disobedience". This essay, which proclaims that someone "more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one" paved the way for Gandhi and later Martin Luther King to create a strategy for large-scale civil disobedience. Another Unitarian mentor was Henry Nelson Wieman. Wieman gave to Martin Luther King and his generation a language to describe how reality is deeply interconnected. What Nelson called "Process Philosophy" became in Martin's skillful hands a "Network of Mutuality":

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,

tied in a single garment of destiny.

      Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere...

We must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects

revenge, aggression, retaliation.

      The foundations of such a method is love...

We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.

      We shall hew out of the mountain of despair,

      a stone of hope.

This "network of mutuality" unites oppressor and oppressed in a seamless community. It reinforces our own 7th UU principle: "the interdependent web of life of which we are a part".

The Hindu roots of creative non-violence go back to a lawyer, liberator and likely saint named Mohandes Gandhi. It was Gandhi who wove together the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, Civil Disobedience and the Bhagavad Gita into a method for non-violent change that works. Thanks to Gandhi and his method, the British left India on friendly terms, Civil Rights legislation was enacted in America, apartheid was ended in South Africa, and much of Eastern Europe went through a mostly non-violent transition from communism to something like democracy. Gandhi's method which he called "satyagraha" (truth-force or the power of being) has saved at least a million lives in the twentieth century.

I believe that Creative Non-violence is often the best way to resolve conflicts. It's where we should start and, according to most versions of 'Just War' theory, non-violent methods should be exhausted before we think about escalating into violence. Though the method and its outcomes are sometimes treated as 'miraculous', I believe that there is a mechanism at work that can be described, learned and taught. The method of Creative Non-violence has 4 or 5 stages some of which happen simultaneously

Jesus, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Thoreau, Gandhi and Martin Luther King didn't create change through force of character, luck or magic. Each of them had a spiritual discipline which harnessed the energies of life for a higher purpose. If you want to change the world, start with yourself! In particular, do something every day that tempers your instincts, deepens your compassion, and widens your world-view. When head, heart and will are aligned with the Common Good, a tremendous power for change is unleashed. Jesus, Gandhi and Martin prayed. Lao Tzu, Thoreau and Gandhi meditated. Several kept a journal.

Listening with an open mind enables an agent of change to learn the arguments on several sides of a question and find the grain of truth (as well as the logical flaws) in each. Listening with an open heart allows us to understand the fears and wounds that 'harden the heart' of the oppressors. Listening encourages the habit empathy and deflates childish rage.

Affirming common ground deepens the ties that bind all life in a 'network of mutuality'. By refusing to be the enemy or treat others as an enemy, we witness for our common humanity. Gandhi and Martin treated their adversaries as 'friends'. One of our colleagues in the alternative energy field always addresses his partners in debate as "my friends". I discovered many years ago that while others can treat me as their enemy, I alone have the power to respond in kind. I can choose to criticize their behavior but still treat them as "friends or neighbors". Though it might not move many mountains, the power of love can shift perceptions, open hearts and thereby create the possibility of change.

The effective power of creative non-violence is founded upon a deep insight into human character. Within every oppressed person, there are seeds of human dignity and worth. Within every oppressor, there are seeds of compassion and kindness. The masters of creative non-violence remind the oppressed that 'they are somebody' (Jesse Jackson), they are also "children of God" (Gandhi and Martin). They also have a knack for reminding oppressors of the compassion, their capacity to see the oppressed as fully human. There were Nazis who helped Jews escape; their were southern and south African racists who set down their weapons and made peace. When the nobility of the oppressed and the compassion of the oppressor join hands, no wall, no unjust law, no racist ideology is safe. As the prophets of Israel foretold, when peace- and-justice roll down like a mighty river and everything changes.

The last step is to harvest the sudden changing of hearts and minds and thereby create new forms of life which can last. In America, the Civil Right laws were passed, many African Americans were elected to local, state or national positions of power, and we came closer to fulfilling the promise of America. Similar changes have been wrought in South Africa , the Philippines and in eastern Europe. May the winds of non- violent change also blow through Burma and Tibet.

Is there room in our world for the methods of Creative Non-violence? I hope so. In the last four years, our leaders have spent about $400 billions to liberate Iraq. Except for getting rid of a petty tyrant, what has been accomplished? According to a growing majority of Americans, the fruits of this campaign are bitter indeed: 30,000 to 300,000 people killed in Iraq, the destruction of Iraqi infra-structure, straining our active military to the breaking point, creating more wanna-be terrorists and alienating many of our allies. We may have pushed Iraq towards a civil war that could embroil several of its neighbors. Does this sound like a good return on our investment? If we had invested a quarter the total in alternative energy, would we still be addicted to oil?

I would not claim that creative non-violence can solve all problems. I do believe it is the best place to start. And in the Middle East, there seems to be lots of room for improvement. Many of the recommendations of the bi-partisan commission on Iraq suggest non-violent alternatives to 'more of the same'. We could begin to treat Iran and Syria as "neighbors" and encourage their best behavior rather than their worst. We could talk with all parties, whether we like their religion, politics, slogans or not. If regional talks are a rational policy for the Korean peninsula, why not the Middle East?

I believe that the stakes in the Middle East are very high. Most known oil reserves are there. The current leader of Iran has been threatening to wipe Israel off the map while pursuing the enrichment of uranium. Iran has been testing missiles that could reach US bases in Iraq or Israel. How long will Israel wait before they replay their response to Iraq 12 years ago by wiping out most of the uranium enrichment facilities in Iran? It's worth remembering that Israel probably has 30-50 nuclear weapons. Even a few of them could turn Iran into a very large glass ash-tray that will glow in the dark for hundreds of years to come. Where will we get our oil fix then? Perhaps if we are courageous and thoughtful enough to pursue the path of creative non-violence, we will someday have a 'department of peace' to balance our 'department of defense'.

I want to leave you with the hopeful words of one of the first peace-makers on record. Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, reminds us of how peace-making reconnects to the 'networks of mutuality' in which we swim like fish in the sea:

Paths to Peace

If there is peace in heart & mind, there can be peace in the family.

If there is peace in the family, there can be peace in the village.

If there is peace in the village, there can be peace in the nation.

If there is peace in the nation, there can be peace in our world.

-Lao Tzu, from the Tao Te Ching

'blessed are the peace-makers'