Journal of Sacred Work

"If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive." – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

   As we all know, Martin Luther King, Jr. did, in fact, give his life for his cause. The energy he captured through his passion was so great that it carried him through the forces of darkness and into the light. 

   "Darkness cannot drive out darkness;" he wrote, "only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

   Not only did King's passion lead him to sacrifice his life for justice, but it also carried him through periods when he was reviled, fire-hosed, spit at, cursed and jailed. Unique among great American leaders, he led his army of followers into war with no fists and no weapons. Instead, following Gandhi's example, King practiced non-violence. 

   It takes passion to march into the jaws of German Shepperd's. It takes passion to keep hope and heart when others around you are losing theirs (as happened repeatedly during the months-long Montgomery bus boycott.) And it takes passion to suffer the humiliation of prison to advance the cause of Love. 

   What is the relationship between passion and humility? Passion without humility is meaningless. Hitler was passionate but ego-maniacal.

   Ego blocks Love.

   Passion only comes to those who are willing to humble themselves before God's Love. King followed the pathway of Jesus in allowing himself to be ridiculed and imprisoned.

   In his famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" King refused to give way to anger, bitterness and hatred.
Instead, he challenged the conscience of all of us with these powerful words: "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people."

   Passion's energy is integral to the life of every single truly successful person. Not one loving caregiver has every accomplished anything important without passion.

   All the saints have engaged passion's energy. So have all the great loving caregivers. For the ancient Greeks, the highest compliment that could be paid them at their funerals was that they lived with passion.

   In my experience, the passion in hospitals and hospice settings is usually found among doctors and nurses, not in the offices and hallways of the executive suite. There are exceptions, of course, but they are shockingly rare. Instead, hospital leaders spend so much time trying to placate doctors, please board members, and find compromises that will save their jobs that they come to think of passion as dangerous.

   Since most people have closed the door on passions energy, its expression is typically viewed skeptically. A passion for serving can land a caregiver in trouble. My sister Martha, a thirty year hospital receptionist, was reprimanded for working too hardto meet the needs of visitors. She was told by her supervisor that she was "making the other employee's look bad" with all her "do-gooding."

   Every caregiver knows that peak-performing, passion-driven colleagues, are often viewed with jealousy and resentment. Yet, it is that kind of loving caregiver we want looking after our mothers and anyone else we love.

   Passion is found when we discover what it is we would die for. Parents often say they would die to protect their children. Is our passion so great they would die for something in which we believe? 

   On April 3, 1968, King gave a personal answer to that question:  "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will."

   Within twenty-four hours of speaking those words, King was assassinated.

   Passion does not always call us to sacrifice our lives. But, in sacrificing his own, Martin Luther King showed us the color of Loving care.

   How do we discover passion's energy? One way is to ask ourselves what we love? When I ask people this question, they often tell me what they like. When I push (an irritating habit of mine) it becomes clear that they have never really asked themselves this question.

   When we discover our passion and find the courage to express it, the energy of this power begins to flow through us. The question becomes whether we can sustain our passion against resistance. How many of us nurtured certain passions as young people that were blocked by parents or insensitive teachers?

   Passion helps Love banish fear. We all need to find our passion, live our passion and, in so doing, live Love.

-Rev. Erie Chapman