ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 3, 2022
I think most folks know the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Those are words spoken in faith, as Dr. King did not see in his lifetime the justice for which he worked. I found it interesting to learn that King’s words were a paraphrase of a sermon delivered in 1853 by an abolitionist minister named Theodore Parker. In that sermon, Parker said:
I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice.
For me, I find Parker’s words even more of a statement of faith, emphasizing the inability to see very far or to do much more than creatively imagine the movement of this moral arc. Yet, with all of that said, Parker still claimed with some certainty that the moral arc of the universe bent toward justice. Think about his context. Slavery remained a very real and accepted practice in many parts of our country, yet Parker appeared to claim that he knew, by faith, where all this was going… and it was moving toward a world with justice, kindness and goodness.
Where is your optimism today? How does your faith in God play into your opinion of the future?
May the faith we have glimpse your dream for this creation, O God, a dream embodied in the life and witness of Jesus. Such a dream has yet to be realized, yet we believe it and continue to strive toward it in all things. Amen.
