2026 is trying to be a New Year, but two weeks in, are you feeling hopeful? Where do you find places of solace that bring you hope in the midst of a dark geo-political world? How can all who are here on United States’ soil trust the promises of light, truth and freedom that so many of our faith-leaders have encouraged us to grasp?
Two hundred and fifty years ago our nation saw bleaker challenges than we do today. History shows we eventually emerged successful, as our Declaration of Independence proclaimed we have the right of “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
But even then, not all on U.S. soil were given those guarantees. First there was the Civil War in the mid-1860s, with U.S. citizens fighting each other for freedom. Then forward to another 100 years, in the mid-1960s, when the country saw another major struggle for those liberties to be given to Black Americans.
A preacher and protestor named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came forward with a new vision, which finally won the federal right to vote in all states. In 1965, he went further to articulate the need for a “Beloved Community,” which would not be a federally forced mandate for moral behavior, but would be a spiritual awakening within all humanity.
“Beloved Community” as a term was first taught by the early 20th century American philosopher Josiah Royce. In his 1913 book, “The Problem with Christianity,” Royce first used the term Beloved Community to describe the kind of world we would live in if everyone participated in helping do what King later intended for humanity.
Some groups throughout the world may form their own small “Beloved Community,” but what if the world were a community where all strive to truly love our neighbor, to be the Good Samaritan who stops to care for the poor, the injured or the suffering? If people across all faiths and no faith were to live this compassionate rule, there would be true Beloved Community. As Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned, we would see universal peace.
Beloved Community is not just a value for those who follow the way of Jesus. King took this message out of the church and literally into the streets, delivering a message of love, backed with actions of mutual care, and living in ways that are non-violent.
One of the extraordinary moments of Dr. King’s influence in this world is not well known to most. The Zen Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh, while in the midst of his challenges with the Vietnam War, wrote to Dr. King in 1965.
Nhat Hanh encouraged King to help with his effort to raise awareness and bring peace in Vietnam. The two men met in person in 1966 and 1967 and became not only allies in the peace movement, but friends.
When King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, this remarkably influential Buddhist Monk vowed to carry King’s legacy of Beloved Community into the world, for all to experience how they can open their hearts to form their own inner spirituality, not just for themselves, but for the well-being of others.
The spiritual efforts for peace of an American Christian Baptist, whose life was cut short due to gun violence in the United States, was carried forward in the life, witness, teachings and practices of this influential Zen Buddhist Monk until his natural passing at age 95 in 2022.
One doesn’t have to be a Christian or a Buddhist to benefit from the spiritual partnership of these two remarkable religious leaders.
The question remains: will you help create Beloved Community right where you are?
The Rev. Mary B. Blessing, a longtime resident of Morgan Hill, is the Episcopal Priest of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real. She is an active member of Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County.
