John Lewis left a message to America, read at his funeral, to “let the spirit of peace and everlasting love be our guide”. In this last act of generosity and compassion, he extolled us to carry on the work he spent his life shaping. “Redeem the soul of America” he said, by getting into what he called “good trouble, necessary trouble”*.
I met Representative John Lewis in 2o11 when a Federal Building in Atlanta was being dedicated in my father’s name. He had petitioned Congress to name the building the ‘John C. Godbold United States Judicial Administration Building’, to honor him for being “Chief of both the 5th and 11th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, … a well-respected leader, courageous judge and public servant”*. He joked that it was unusual to request that a building in Georgia be named after a man from Alabama, but justified it nevertheless for it is the office for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. His speech left me spellbound, not so much by what he said, but by the tone of respect and dignity he brought to the occasion. He carried himself with the stately majesty of a man of greatness.
I have only recently learned more about John Lewis’s history. He witnessed and was subjected to the brutality and evils of prejudice firsthand and yet despite his many battles, carried on the traditions of non-violent compassionate leadership modeled by his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King. As President Barack Obama said in his eulogy of him, John Lewis had ‘unbreakable perseverance’. *
How do we rise to the challenge Representative John Lewis left for us? It will take some clarity and determination – here are some thoughts.
SPIRIT OF PEACE
John Lewis was trained as a minister and gave speeches with the same passion and intensity of a southern preacher. When he talked about the spirit of peace, it makes me think, as a point of reference, of Philippians 4:7 (KJV), ‘the peace of God, which passeth all understanding’. I realized he was speaking of the spirit of peace being an internal and strong belief you carry in your heart, a pervasive desire to make peace a way of life, among all people, in all places, not just a moment in time.
For us, adopting a spirit of peace includes creating a vision that we carry and use to underpin our decisions and declarations. Protests over injustice are done as a form of peaceful resistance. Comments on things we disagree with are not made in anger and judgment, but as a voice that upholds truth and justice. We can be advocates, supporting voters’ rights, mail in voting, peaceful protest and positive social change, all of which John Lewis advocated for in his lifetime.
EVERLASTING LOVE
While John Lewis was attacked in his pursuit of justice, he consistently responded with love. His skull was bashed open on the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, dubbing it Bloody Sunday, he was beaten on the march to Washington, and he was arrested more than 40 times for his peaceful work to increase racial equity and the right to vote. Yet he continued carrying a vision of love for all people without respect to race or creed and urged us to lead with “everlasting love”.
Embracing that concept of love is the underpinning of John Lewis’s work on civil rights reform. Taking inspiration from Martin Luther King, he advocated that we all embrace and continue the dream. He was inspired by the current protests, saying in his final words to us: “Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world, you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.” This is what he means by everlasting love, it is a call we can all respond to, it is something we can do every day.
Having met John Lewis, I was particularly moved by his words urging us to “let the spirit of peace and everlasting love be your guide”. It is something we can be inspired by, live by and take action around. At the least, please take action by voting and encourage everyone around you to do the same.
If you would like to explore these concepts for yourself, to feel and have more peace and love in your life, reach out. My Transformation Life Coaching and Counseling encourages you to fill your life with these higher based ideals so peace and love flow from you and to you. Go to www.spectrumtransformation.com for more information and use my Free Consultation button to reach me. I’d love to help bring these qualities into your life.
References:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2010-04-14/html/CREC-2010-04-14-pt1-PgH2516.htm
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/politics/john-lewis-dead-at-80/index.html
https://www.biography.com/political-figure/john-lewis
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