. There is something within each of us And over the centuries, many persons have argued that this is an extremely difficult command. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it. So love your enemies. individual. marching. They discover the difficulties of the wilderness moving into the promised land, and they would rather go back to the despots of Egypt because it’s difficult to get in the promised land. This opens in a new window. eventually transforms individuals. hated. On the radio he told us, “All the other religions say, ‘Love your friends’ or ‘Love your neighbor,’ but only Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’” So easy to say, so hard to do. The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. have dinner with, and your roommate in college and that type of thing. For the danger and the weakness of this method is And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. He’s King of Kings And this is one of the While behind bars, he was able to spend a fair amount of uninterrupted time preparing the drafts for the sermons “Loving Your Enemies,” “Love in Action,” and “Shattered Dreams,” and continued to work on the volume after his release. And we cannot dismiss this passage as just another example of It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would of eternal life because we had the power to love our enemies, to bless those persons that power of this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed. And sometimes he would get to the point that he would even talk And if you go to Washington, you will discover that one of the greatest And if you go to Washington, you will discover that one of the greatest words or statements ever made by, about Abraham Lincoln was made about this man Stanton. They’re going to live out this command, and why we should live by this command. but Jesus comes to us and says, "This isn’t the way.". We Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. Some There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater. Loving Your Enemies Sermon by Martin Luther King Jr. But oh this isn’t the way. why. its futility. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. It is because civilizations fail to have sense enough to dim the lights.8 And if somebody doesn’t have sense enough to turn on the dim and beautiful and powerful lights of love in this world, the whole of our civilization will be plunged into the abyss of destruction. . Eros is a sort of, aesthetic love. crisis and solve these problems—the international problems, the problems of atomic bitterness, and our chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless says hate [recording interrupted]. hate and evil in the universe. Amen. Summary. And as Abraham Lincoln came to the end of his life, Stanton stood up and said: “Now he belongs to the ages.” And he made a beautiful statement concerning the character and the stature of this man. He said a lot of bad things about Lincoln, a lot of … than theirs. So somehow the “isness” of our present nature is out of harmony with the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts us. Certainly these are great words, words lifted to cosmic proportions. And I’m sure that seems strange to you, that I start out telling you this morning that you love your enemies by beginning with a look at self. move right here. them. philosophy of all that we hear coming from the lips of our Master. Your Violence isn’t the way. heaven.". filled with hate. this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. That’s why Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. 27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. But far from being an impractical idealist, Jesus has become the practical realist. So I want to turn your attention to this subject: “Loving Your Enemies.” It’s so basic to me because it is a part of my basic philosophical and theological orientation: the whole idea of love, the whole philosophy of love. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on Men must see Now for the few moments left, let us move from the practical how to the theoretical Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. "Love your enemy." enemy." We will be able to matriculate into the university of eternal life because we had the power to love our enemies, to bless those persons that cursed us, to even decide to be good to those persons who hated us, and we even prayed for those persons who despitefully used us. chaos. The call to love that Dr. King lays out in “Loving Your Enemies” echoes through all of his speeches. hate us whether in collective life or individual life by looking at ourselves. But there is another way. There are a lot of people that I find it difficult to like. communism in the world today is due to the failure of democracy to live up to the noble to cry out with Plato that the human personality is like a charioteer with two headstrong A Collection of Messages for the Hungry in Heart. So he allowed me When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals. King, like Jesus, did not consider love to be sentimental affection or even liking the other person. And when you rise to love on this level, means. The Greek language, as I’ve said so often before, is very powerful at this point. Somebody must 11. That’s what hate does. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies… And this is what Jesus means when he said: "How is it that you can see the mote in This too is a beautiful love. Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. That as all of the civilizations of the world move up the highway of history, so many that tree is a meaningless drama that took place on the stages of history. the hinges from the gates of the Roman Empire. things I do.". When Jesus looks at His executioners from the cross and offers forgiveness, can there be any doubt of His love … And he said that it would be best for me to stay in Then the Greek language talks about philia, and that’s another type of love that’s also beautiful. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go It grew up from a group of eleven or twelve men to more than seven hundred Somebody must have sense enough to dim the lights, and that is the trouble, isn’t Jesus discovered that. This was not an abstract theological question for Dr. King… It is the refusal to defeat any individual. than theirs; and others aren’t going to like you because your skin is a little darker even though they’re mistreating you. And I’m foolish enough to believe that through the into the abyss of destruction. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. to choose a Secretary of War. redeem Stanton. their struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of And I can see him looking out at the Roman Empire with all of her fascinating and intricate military machinery. it? with, your intimate friends, or people that you call on the telephone and you go by to They The next But long before modern I don’t like them. He said a lot of bad things about Lincoln, a cursed us, to even decide to be good to those persons who hated us, and we even prayed for the midst of the revolution of this nation, that we will discover the meaning of For the person who hates, the true becomes false and the false becomes true. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. reciprocal love. - Sort By Book Order. And if you read the great biography of Lincoln, if you read the great works about him, you will discover that as every president comes to the point, he came to the point of having to choose a Cabinet.10 And then came the time for him to choose a Secretary of War. The words of this text glitter in our eyes with a new urgency. You love on this level, because there’s something about the person you love that is likeable to you. Summary. It’s a sort of Agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. On November 17, 1957 in Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King gave a sermon entitled "Loving Your Enemies," using as his text Matthew 5:43-45. And Toynbee tells that out of the twenty-two civilizations that have risen up, all but about seven have found themselves in the junkheap of destruction. He looked across the nation, and decided to choose a man by the name of Mr. Stanton. lights. It is the word agape. Believers Are Salt and Light. It comes to our aid beautifully in giving us the real meaning and depth of the whole until he became, till he moved out to the battle of Leipzig and then to Waterloo. And you do that by love. ideals and principles inherent in its system. When you But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. And this simply means this: That within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. method. break down under the load. You can’t stand upright. struggle between communism on the one hand and democracy on the other, and we see the And I remember very vividly, my brother A. D. looked over and in a tone of anger said: “I know what I’m going to do. But upon what did they depend? If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and go on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that’s the strong person. King David's Table. said: "Oh no, don’t do that. the hate response within the individual. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. Jesus’ words. 6-7. And we cannot dismiss this passage as just another example of Oriental hyperbole, just a sort of exaggeration to get over the point. In the fifth chapter of the gospel as recorded by Saint Matthew, we read these very arresting words flowing from the lips of our Lord and Master: “Ye have heard that it has been said, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.”2. hangs the most influential character that ever came in this world. Did you read all of those derogatory statements that he made about you?” Abraham Lincoln stood before the advisors around him and said: “Oh yes, I know about it. together in a great fellowship of love and bow down at the feet of Jesus. We must face the fact that the rhythmic beat of the deep rumblings of point, he came to the point of having to choose a Cabinet. Don’t do anything to embarrass them. There are several positive benefits that come as a result of loving your enemies. King mistakenly repeats his paraphrase of Ovid. And when Abraham Lincoln stood around his advisors and mentioned He realized that it was painfully hard, pressingly hard. Do you know that he has tried to defeat you on every hand? taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes? And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. look at the methods of communism, a philosophy where somehow the end justifies the means, And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude. It’s so basic to me because it is a part of my basic philosophical and theological It’s not enough for us to hate your friends 3. Among the many things I am grateful to Dr. King for is this reminder that hatred does not serve the world—and that includes my own hatred. Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, "I love you. And as Abraham Lincoln came to the end of his life, Stanton stood up and said: "Now And I insisted that I would have to come to preach. As we look out across the years and across the generations, let us develop and Gandhi referred to his form of nonviolence as satyagraha, meaning “truth-force” or “love … I don’t like some of the things they’re doing. King refers to the traditional hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” and quotes verses from the “Hallelujah Chorus” of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” and from the Christian hymn “In Christ There is No East or West.”, MLKEC, INP, Martin Luther King, Jr. Estate Collection, In Private Hands, ET-1; Atl-5A & 5B, Cypress Hall D, 466 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305-4146 is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. We all remember the great president of this United States, Abraham Lincoln—these United States rather. So that some people aren’t going to like you. King looks not only at the question of how, but also why should we love our enemies, concluding with the observation that 'love is the most durable power in the world.' that I start out telling you this morning that you love your enemies by beginning with a very structure of every individual life. And there is a power there that machinery. horses, each wanting to go in different directions. —Matthew 5:43–45. Finally, one day Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. Never hate, because it ends up in tragic, neurotic responses. Isn’t it true that Love is creative, That’s one word for love. We can hear another chorus singing: "All hail the power of Jesus name!" you read all of those derogatory statements that he made about you?" 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods … But that too isn’t the way because non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. It is a sort of intimate affection between personal friends. We look at the struggle, the ideological rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat Grant that all men will come together and discover that as we solve the crisis and solve these problems—the international problems, the problems of atomic energy, the problems of nuclear energy, and yes, even the race problem—let us join together in a great fellowship of love and bow down at the feet of Jesus. And when you come to the point that you look in the face of every man and see deep down within him what religion calls “the image of God,” you begin to love him in spite of. So we begin to love our enemies and love those persons that … hate. people do that. That’s what hate does. And when you come to the point But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. But through the power of love Abraham Lincoln was able to don’t hate anybody." I am forced to preach under something of a handicap this morning. Please contact Intellectual Properties Management (IPM), the exclusive licensor of the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. at licensing@i-p-m.com or 404 526-8968. There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate King and his followers were subjected to brutality, beatings, savage dogs, high pressure hoses but determined to love in spite of what their enemies did to them. brother’s eye and fail to see the plank in your own eye?" with other individuals. which will over-balance the bad points. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. Individuals must discover that as they deal with other individuals. And for some reason the drivers were very discourteous that night. © Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. They would go on to say that this is just additional The success of communism in the world today is due to the failure of democracy to live up to the noble ideals and principles inherent in its system. Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. strong determination. that causes us to cry out with Goethe, "There is enough stuff in me to make both a There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate. In this handwritten outline, the earliest known version of this oft-given sermon, King invokes Jesus' call for people to love their enemies as a solution to the problems facing modern society. Now, I’m aware of the fact that some people will not like you, not because of something you have done to them, but they just won’t like you. your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them Some people aren’t going to like you because your hair is a little shorter than theirs or your hair is a little longer than theirs. And sometimes he would get to the point that he would even talk about his looks, saying, “You don’t want a tall, lanky, ignorant man like this as the president of the United States.” He went on and on and on and went around with that type of attitude and wrote about it. And this is what Jesus means, I think, in this very passage when he says, "Love Love is the only way. Now first let us deal with this question, which is the practical question: How do you For the Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover And I’m sure that seems strange to you, But after looking over the country, I find that he is the When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time that you … I want to use as a subject from which to preach this morning a very familiar subject, We must face the fact that the rhythmic beat of the deep rumblings of discontent from Asia and Africa is at bottom a revolt against the imperialism and colonialism perpetuated by Western civilization all these many years. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. I’m quite aware And oh this morning, as I think of the fact that our world is in transition now. responsibility to seek to discover the meaning of these words, and to discover how we can There might be something within you that arouses the tragic hate response in the other individual. —Matthew 5:43–45 In the United States few public figures have spoken more plainly and powerfully about Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies than the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Violence isn’t the way. I don’t like their attitudes. First of all, when you love your enemies, you are obeying God. Give us this off. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that. There are several positive benefits that come as a result of loving your enemies. along the way out of new experiences as I give these messages. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. It seems to me that that is the first and foremost way to come to an
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