Go in Peace and Cause Good Trouble
“Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
— Rep. John Lewis (1940–2020)
Each week, I end our service with this charge: “Go in peace and cause good trouble.” I know some have expressed an annoyance that I end the services with the same phrase – week week in and week out. It’s more than a clever phrase. It’s a spiritual directive rooted in our deepest values.
“Good trouble” is the legacy of Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights hero whose faith propelled him to stand on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, to risk his body for the beloved community, and to speak truth with love and courage. Good trouble is what happens when the holy call to justice stirs in us a refusal to accept things as they are. It is nonviolent resistance, moral defiance, and courageous compassion.
For Unitarian Universalists, peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice, dignity, and love in action. When we say “go in peace,” we are not saying “go quietly” or “go along to get along.” We are blessing one another with the peace that comes from living in alignment with our values – even when that causes friction with unjust systems.
To “cause good trouble” is to embody our UU Principles: to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person; to seek justice, equity, and compassion; to respect the interdependent web. It is standing up at school board meetings, speaking up in our workplaces, showing up at protests, and lifting up the voices of those most often silenced. It is the work that you are compelled to do holding our shared values.
It is also quieter work: interrupting hateful jokes, making room for the marginalized at our tables, questioning the “way things have always been,” and being willing to risk comfort for connection and conscience.
As people of a liberating faith, our worship must lead to witness. Our prayers must propel us into the world as agents of change. So when we end our services with “Go in peace and cause good trouble,” we are sending each other forth – not just to feel inspired, but to be inspiring. Not just to rest in comfort, but to rise in holy unrest.
Let us be the people who trouble injustice with compassion, who stir up hope and solidarity, and who boldly follow in the footsteps of prophets, saints, and organizers – including John Lewis.
Rev. Will