Oh, let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King and recognize that there are ties between us, all men and women, living on the earth. Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood, that we are bound together in our desire to see the world become a place in which our children can grow free and strong. We are bound together by the task that stands before us and the road that lies ahead. We are bound and we are bound.
James Taylor lyrics “Shed A Little Light”
If you were born after 1986, you may not know that there was not a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day prior to then. The creation of Martin Luther King Day was historic for a number of reasons. There are only two other federal holidays celebrating individuals, George Washington’s birthday and Columbus Day. Because King never held public office there were members of Congress who felt he didn’t meet the criteria to have a holiday named after him. It is a testimony to his legacy that 6 million signatures adorned the petition to establish the holiday and that it passed both houses of Congress by wide, veto-proof margins.
What made Martin Luther King, Jr. such a powerful figure in the civil rights movement was his renowned oratorical skill, his passion for social justice, and his commitment to non-violence. King based his actions on the life of Jesus Christ and on the success of the non-violent protests of Mohandas Ghandi. While he was a very public figure in the fight for civil rights it is important to note that he didn’t view himself as anything other than a minister of the gospel.
“Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don’t plan to run for any political office. I don’t plan to do anything but remain a preacher. And what I’m doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man.”
Sermon of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sometimes it’s easy for us to forget that Dr. King was first and foremost a Baptist minister. It’s easy for us to get caught up in his speeches and in his protests and forget that at the heart of those things was a desire to bring to life the prophetic words of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1). But Dr. King devoted his life to doing what all believers are called to do: to live his life the way Jesus did. As a disciple of Christ, Dr. King understood the importance of holding Scripture up as the highest law, and he understood through Scripture that all men are created equal. He also understood that speaking truth to power was best done through civil disobedience and non-violence. Jesus was a revolutionary, after all, according to the ruling political powers of His day.
Today of all days, let us reflect on Jesus’ call to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to turn the other cheek, and to put away our sword. Let us stand against injustice of all kinds through non-violent means. By doing so, we uphold the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and we, like him, can change the world. Before his death, Dr. King spoke of how he would like to be remembered:
I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major. Say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind.
Ebenezer Baptist Church February 4, 1968
What a legacy! Let us also commit to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those who were in prison, and love and serve humanity. In doing these things to the least of these, we do them as unto the Lord.
A Beautiful Mess 