Beloved Community: Through the Eyes of the Spices+
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
September 7, 2025
Good morning Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. This morning at the meetinghouse it is Kick-Off Sunday. That means we are starting our fall programming, and I am starting this new sermon series on “Beloved Community: Through the Eyes of the Spices+.” The scripture I have chosen for this first message is from Romans 12:14-18 from the New Revised Standard Version.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
As I began working on this series on Beloved Community Through the Eyes of the S.P.I.C.E.S.+ a couple of months ago, I realized not everyone may know what we are talking about when we say the Beloved Community.
I personally wasn’t introduced to the Beloved Community until my late 20’s and as I have studied it, I have come to learn, I knew very little about it back then. It has taken 30 more years of study, conversation, and experience to come to my current understand and its implications for those of us on the Quaker Way.
Many associate the term, “Beloved Community” with the Civil Rights Movement, and often people attribute it to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., yet the concept was first coined by philosopher Josiah Royce in the early 20th century.
Josiah Royce, was a Harvard Professor who spoke of the Beloved Community in his 1913 book, “The Problem of Christianity.” Here is a bit of what he said in that book,
What is practically necessary is this: Let your (religion) be the practical acknowledgement of the Spirit of the Universal and Beloved Community... Since the office of religion is to aim towards the creation on earth of the Beloved Community, the future task of religion is the task of inventing and applying the arts which shall win men over to unity, and which shall overcome their original hatefulness by the gracious love, not of mere individuals, but of communities. Now such arts are still to be discovered. Judge every social device, every proposed reform, every national and local enterprise, by the one test:
Does this help towards the coming of the universal community? If you have a church, judge your own church by this standard; and if your church does not yet fully meet this standard, aid towards reforming your church accordingly.
Josiah Royce described the Beloved Community as a union based on mutual love, unlike a natural social group characterized by rules, conflict, and rebellion.
This makes Royce's Beloved Community an ideal universal community unified by shared love and loyalty, rather than external structures. (hmmm…..that sounds a bit Quaker-like). Royce viewed this community as the core of Christianity and even went as far as to call it the source of salvation. That may be a bit confusing, but too often, we in the church in America, only see salvation as Jesus dying on a cross so we can get to heaven, but that is not all salvation has meant throughout the Bible or even early Christianity. It is not always a future hope, but often a present reality.
Jesus himself, in Matthew 10:42 equates salvation to being kind and giving someone a cold cup of water. He says,
“and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
In Greek the word used is soteria – which is the same word used for salvation in many other places in the Bible. Salvation in the Bible can mean a lot of things, it can be deliverance or even preservation. So, within the Beloved Community, care for those in our midst is essential or key to preserve each other through love and compassion.
This isn’t that far off from Jesus who summarizes the commandments of God by saying,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
So, when the philosophy student, Martin Luther King Jr., comes across Josiah Joyce’s concept of Beloved Community he is drawn to that same challenge for the churches and communities of his day.
In “Facing the Challenge of a New Age” from 1956, Dr. King wrote this,
“But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of a beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this kind of understanding good will, that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles.”
That is a beautiful vision and full of hope for us still today.
On our family’s last trip a few years ago to the King Center in Atlanta, GA (a place I would highly recommend you spend some time), we were given a tour by one of my former students at Huntington University, whose fiancé at that time was working at the King Center. He led our family through The Freedom Hall Museum and then out into the courtyard where Martin and Coretta Scott King are entombed. Down at the end of the water feature where you get a good view of their tombs on display, you also can see a wall leading over to an eternal flame with words about the Beloved Community written on it.
Many do not know that Coretta Scott King became a champion for creating Beloved Community. Some scholars even think her work on the Beloved Community expanded her husband’s work greatly, giving it more definition and substance after his passing. Like her husband before her, Corretta became a student and champion of Josiah Joyce’s philosophy – but found a new way to interpret it for her day.
Corretta pointed out that for Royce, the Beloved Community was defined by five key characteristics:
· peaceful conflict resolution,
· recognition of the interdependence of humanity,
· compassion as an animating force,
· cooperative action against injustice,
· and the use of just means to achieve just ends.
Corretta also explored Royce’s five signal attributes central to the Beloved Community. All five hold profound relevance for us today and I think you will see how well they are going to be seen through the eyes of our Quaker S.P.I.C.E.S.:
1) Achievability through Shared Desire: The Beloved Community is built on the universal human aspiration for peace, happiness, and safety. It is a realistic vision, attainable through collective effort and moral courage.
2) Nonviolent Conflict Resolution: Conflicts are inevitable, but the Beloved Community addresses them without hostility, ill will, or resentment. This approach transforms adversaries into collaborators.
3) Recognition of Interdependence: The Beloved Community values the inherent worth of all living beings and ecosystems, fostering a sense of global responsibility.
4) Compassion-Driven Policies: In this society, kindness and love motivate actions, guiding efforts to end systemic issues like hunger, prejudice, and environmental degradation.
5) Just Means for Just Ends: The process of creating change must mirror the desired outcome, ensuring that compassion and goodwill underpin every action.
Coretta summarized and reinterpreted much of what Joyce and her husband taught about the Beloved Community and wanted those words not only remembered but lived out.
She did not want it to be just a flat utopian ideal (which many had thought Joyce’s ideas had become), but rather a practical and achievable vision for addressing the interconnected crises of our communities and ultimately our world as Dr. King envisioned.
So, as you leave the graves of Correta and Martin at the King Center, you cannot miss the wall with Coretta’s summary of the Beloved Community. It reads,
The Beloved Community is a realistic vision of an achievable society, one in which problems and conflict exist, but are resolved peacefully and without bitterness. In the Beloved Community, caring and compassion drive political policies that support the worldwide elimination of poverty and hunger and all forms of bigotry and violence. The Beloved Community is a state of heart and mind a spirit of hope and goodwill that transcends all boundaries and barriers and embraces all creation. At its core, the Beloved Community is an engine of reconciliation. This way of living seems a long way from the kind of word we have now, but I do believe it is a goal that can be accomplished through courage and determination, and through education and training, if enough people are willing to make the necessary commitment.
I remember my family stopping to read that word-for-word and I snapped a photo to remember it and to try to live it out. Those words made a deep impression on my soul. So much, that as I began my doctoral work I was moved to study not only the philosophies that shaped Dr. King, but also the realistic implications they presented.
What surprised me in my study was the intersection that arose between the Beloved Community and the Quaker Way.
People like Howard Thurman and Bayard Rustin who were both shaped heavily by the Quaker Way had the ear of Dr. King and together they articulated complementary ideas of the Beloved Community that gave wings to a practical approach – not just a philosophy.
What came to the surface were some topics that we as Quakers have come to appreciate and promote. Concepts like
· Finding simple and common approaches to conflicts and tapping into spiritual essentials,
· Seeking Peace, non-violence, and even pacifism instead of violence,
· Upholding integrity through moral principles and acting with moral authority,
· Emphasizing a community of love over violence and division,
· Embracing equality and the inherent worth of every individual, and
· Responsible management of shared resources and collective responsibility.
Otherwise known as our Testimonies or S.P.I.C.E.S. (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship.)
In the weeks leading to the Holiday season at First Friends, we will be exploring the Beloved Community: Through the Eyes of the S.P.I.C.E.S. As well, I am adding a couple additional SPICES: Justice and Truth, Empowerment, and Gratitude, which I believe are essential for building the Beloved Community, today. I look forward this to series and our interactions over the next several months.
For now, let us center down and enter a time of waiting worship. Here are some queries for us to ponder.
· Where do I see the Beloved Community in my midst? What can I offer?
· What is the hardest part for me in building the Beloved Community? What or who may help me with this?
· How may we together build a safer, more peaceful, and nurturing Beloved Community at First Friends?