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The heart flag is ubiquitous throughout the city.[i]听听It is a symbol of hope in difficult times.

So was the Silent Minute.听听Instituted by Wellesley Tudor Pole during the Dunkirk evacuation, it gained millions of participants as the Second World War continued, particularly during the Blitz when the BBC drew attention to one minute鈥檚 silence when Big Ben sounded at 9 p.m.[ii]=

Different eras also have symbols of horror.听听The Holocaust extermination camps are one example.听听The recent public 鈥渆xecution鈥� of George Floyd, the handcuffed black man forcibly held on the ground by three Minneapolis police officers, one of whom pressed his knee down on Floyd鈥檚 neck for more than eight minutes, is another.[iii]

Although George Floyd was not a well-known figure like Martin Luther King, Jr., his death reminds me of that of the civil rights leader on April 4, 1968. 听

Senator Robert Kennedy broke the news of King鈥檚 assassination to a largely black audience in Indianapolis.听听He quoted Aeschylus鈥檚听Agamemnon: 鈥淎nd even in our sleep pain that cannot forget, / falls drop by drop upon the heart, / and in our despair, / against our will, / comes wisdom by the awful grace of God.鈥�

Despite being moved by those lines, for a long time I was unable to accept the word awful as an adjective for grace and I quarralled with the notion of wisdom coming against our will.听听But I found resolution in an even more remarkable speech, the one King gave the night before he was killed, and in which he intimated that he knew he was soon to die.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got some difficult days ahead,鈥� he intoned.听听鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 really matter with me now because I鈥檝e been to the mountaintop.听听I don鈥檛 mind.听听Like anybody, I would like to live a long life; longevity has its place.听听But I鈥檓 not concerned about that now.听听I just want to do God鈥檚 will.鈥�

Tudor Pole, who died six months after King, has been called a spiritual 鈥渕aster.鈥澨�听On April 19, 1968, he wrote to a friend that King 鈥渨as told about his imminent departure and accepted it.鈥漑iv]

Although King鈥檚 murder was devastating, it elevated his moral example and leadership and enshrined them for all time.听听But the initial means to these ends, what are they if not the awful grace of God?

Like the circumstances of King鈥檚 death, a similar stunning clarity attends George Floyd鈥檚 鈥渓ynching.鈥澨�听Was it another occasion of the awful grace of God? 听

The repeated acts of violent racism and resulting rioting and looting recall Robert Graves鈥� evocative line: 鈥淟et all the poisons that lurk in the mud, hatch out.鈥漑v]听听But the far larger meaning lies in the enormous, worldwide, peaceful 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� protests.

There was rioting in 110 cities after King鈥檚 assassination but not in Indianapolis.听听The audience that heard Kennedy speak heeded his call to avoid division and hatred, violence and lawlessness, and to pursue instead love, wisdom, compassion, and justice.[vi]听听In the aftermath of George Floyd鈥檚 murder, it appears wider and deeper positive repercussions are occurring.

We are challenged to see with new eyes in 2020.听听We might consider that God鈥攚hether we believe or not; whether God is just a notion or ultimate reality鈥攃an also be viewed as a symbol of humanity鈥檚 common interests.听听As with those ubiquitous heart flags and their message of gratitude, good will and hoped-for healing, it is up to us how we make use of that symbol.

It is God鈥檚 law, Aeschylus tells us, 鈥渢hat he who learns must suffer.鈥漑vii]听听Humanity is certainly suffering now.听听May we also be learning.

Author/historian Patrick Wolfe has an abiding interest in grace and the mystic.听听Essays on 鈥淲ellesley Tudor Pole and the Big Ben Silent Minute鈥� and 鈥淩obert Kennedy鈥檚 warning 50 years after his death鈥� can be found on his web site:听

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