In his life time, Martin Luther King, always stirred up opposition and controversy. Today, the day of his Memorial Dedication in Washington D.C., is no exception. More than 40 years after his death, Dr. King has stirred up, Hurricane Irene! The high winds and torrential rains will not be able to overturn the 20 foot granite statue in his honor, but it has postponed the official Memorial Dedication, if only temporarily. “In the words of Dr. King, "we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." That’s what the Foundation in charge of the Dedication posted on their website, concluding, ‘With that in mind, let’s remember the spirit of the [King] Memorial - justice, democracy, hope and love.’
In the face of overwhelming odds, the civil rights campaign that MLK came to embody, accepted the mantle of ‘non-violence’ as a means of change. Not a ‘turning of the cheek’ that is weak, or gives in to abuse, but from the tradition that Martin himself traced back through Gandhi all the way to Jesus. Not a plan for change when it was convenient, but with a courage that professed ‘the fierce urgency of now.’ “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all,” as our second reading from Romans says. Some days, King, and his followers, paid the price with their blood, but never surrendered their dignity. The picture of Dr. King linking arms with black and white, and with thousands of marchers behind and around him, is indelible. And so it was on Bloody Sunday in 1965, in Montgomery, AL, where opposition was not only stirred up, but attack dogs and water cannons assaulted peaceful protestors, and Martin escaped with his life, for the time being, and a nation woke up to the brutality and racism, alive and well in our own people.
“Let love be genuine,” St. Paul said, “hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good…outdo one another in showing honor.” The civil rights movement with Dr. King as its spokesperson, embodied this very high standard.
In my former parish, one summer we added an early service that became quite popular - with some – not everyone’s an early riser! As we created the liturgy, we used a concluding Blessing, not yet in our green LBW hymnal, but which you can now find in our red ELW one. It evokes the spirit, and much of the terminology of this passage of Paul’s letter to the Romans:
“Go out into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve our God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
It’s a Blessing, and a charge to the assembly, at the Sending! And when Kim and I delivered it, instead of staying behind the table, removed from the people as we usually did for the Benediction, we felt compelled to walk around it, down the steps, and into the middle of the gathering, to recite it. Somehow, it just seemed like it had to be said in the midst of the faithful, as if we were linking arms – there, where it lives as an extension of Christ’s Spirit, and takes on flesh. And then we all walked out into the world, renewed, and strengthened for the journey.
The Martin Luther King Memorial is the first one on the National Mall in Washington D. C. that honors an African-American, and the first that honors anyone other than a U.S. President, which is a remarkable testament to the place of Martin Luther King, Jr. in our lives and history, as a country. “The Stone of Hope,” or granite sculpture of King within the Memorial site, includes a number of quotes from his writings, speeches and sermons, including this one from December 1964: “World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.”
“If it is possible,” says Paul in Romans, “so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all.” That “you” is plural, by the way, as are all the you pronouns in this passage! Like Jesus, Paul is charging the whole church, the ekklesia and gathering of the faithful, about how they are to interact with the world. And this radical charge to “let your love be genuine” by ‘praying for and blessing your enemies,’ couldn’t have been made up by Paul, but could only come from his Messiah, from Jesus, who preached identical themes, we know, in the Sermon on the Mount.
Again, this is not a private ethic, but, is charged to the believing community as a whole, to act out. It calls for a kind of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee to carry out, if you will! Too often Protestantism has succumbed to an individualism which has made a mess of practicing non-violence. The New Testament ethic was not meant for individuals to suffer behind closed doors at the hand of their abuser, turning the other cheek – becoming a punching bag for an abusive spouse. According to Paul, the positive-directive in place of vengeance is, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This is a peace plan, as Dr. King said, “a mood of peace, out of which a system of peace can be built,” and is charged to the community of faith.
When Americans began to wake up after Bloody Sunday, it was due to King’s non-violent movement “overcoming evil with good.” Behind closed doors it would have been only violence and abuse. Out in public, as a systemic movement of like-minded and faithful people, it became a turning point. Repentance, and turning around in a new direction, were made possible, with a ‘genuine love,’ by ‘hating what is evil,’ and ‘blessing those who persecute you.’ Behind King’s non-violence, as with Jesus and St Paul, stands “love,” the font from which we have been named and claimed and sent out as ambassadors, with a faith active in love.
And it’s the same love that originates from the one who broke bread on the very night in which he was betrayed. Betrayed by one of his closest friends and disciples. ‘This is my body given for you,’ said Jesus. ‘This is my blood shed for you,’ as he watched Judas slip out to hand him over to the authorities. Jesus lived-out the love that he received from his heavenly parent, and taught it to us. We eat and drink and ingest his life and love, every first day of the week, the new day of a new creation, to celebrate his resurrection and his making all things new for us. We rejoice that we are loved, and that when we love others we feel more alive than ever. It is not a ‘sentimental love’ as Dr. King reminded us, but a love that is genuine and holds fast to what is good, outdoing one another in practicing mutual affection, and in showing honor, which multiplies and strengthens us for the journey of loving non-violently in a violent world.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesus both stirred up opposition by their outspoken stand for the poor, and for justice, freedom, and love. But there was nothing, not even a Hurricane, that could derail them, as long as the movement was blessed and empowered by our loving God. We too stand for overcoming evil with good.
“Go out into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve our God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
In the face of overwhelming odds, the civil rights campaign that MLK came to embody, accepted the mantle of ‘non-violence’ as a means of change. Not a ‘turning of the cheek’ that is weak, or gives in to abuse, but from the tradition that Martin himself traced back through Gandhi all the way to Jesus. Not a plan for change when it was convenient, but with a courage that professed ‘the fierce urgency of now.’ “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all,” as our second reading from Romans says. Some days, King, and his followers, paid the price with their blood, but never surrendered their dignity. The picture of Dr. King linking arms with black and white, and with thousands of marchers behind and around him, is indelible. And so it was on Bloody Sunday in 1965, in Montgomery, AL, where opposition was not only stirred up, but attack dogs and water cannons assaulted peaceful protestors, and Martin escaped with his life, for the time being, and a nation woke up to the brutality and racism, alive and well in our own people.
“Let love be genuine,” St. Paul said, “hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good…outdo one another in showing honor.” The civil rights movement with Dr. King as its spokesperson, embodied this very high standard.
In my former parish, one summer we added an early service that became quite popular - with some – not everyone’s an early riser! As we created the liturgy, we used a concluding Blessing, not yet in our green LBW hymnal, but which you can now find in our red ELW one. It evokes the spirit, and much of the terminology of this passage of Paul’s letter to the Romans:
“Go out into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve our God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
It’s a Blessing, and a charge to the assembly, at the Sending! And when Kim and I delivered it, instead of staying behind the table, removed from the people as we usually did for the Benediction, we felt compelled to walk around it, down the steps, and into the middle of the gathering, to recite it. Somehow, it just seemed like it had to be said in the midst of the faithful, as if we were linking arms – there, where it lives as an extension of Christ’s Spirit, and takes on flesh. And then we all walked out into the world, renewed, and strengthened for the journey.
The Martin Luther King Memorial is the first one on the National Mall in Washington D. C. that honors an African-American, and the first that honors anyone other than a U.S. President, which is a remarkable testament to the place of Martin Luther King, Jr. in our lives and history, as a country. “The Stone of Hope,” or granite sculpture of King within the Memorial site, includes a number of quotes from his writings, speeches and sermons, including this one from December 1964: “World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.”
“If it is possible,” says Paul in Romans, “so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all.” That “you” is plural, by the way, as are all the you pronouns in this passage! Like Jesus, Paul is charging the whole church, the ekklesia and gathering of the faithful, about how they are to interact with the world. And this radical charge to “let your love be genuine” by ‘praying for and blessing your enemies,’ couldn’t have been made up by Paul, but could only come from his Messiah, from Jesus, who preached identical themes, we know, in the Sermon on the Mount.
Again, this is not a private ethic, but, is charged to the believing community as a whole, to act out. It calls for a kind of Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee to carry out, if you will! Too often Protestantism has succumbed to an individualism which has made a mess of practicing non-violence. The New Testament ethic was not meant for individuals to suffer behind closed doors at the hand of their abuser, turning the other cheek – becoming a punching bag for an abusive spouse. According to Paul, the positive-directive in place of vengeance is, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This is a peace plan, as Dr. King said, “a mood of peace, out of which a system of peace can be built,” and is charged to the community of faith.
When Americans began to wake up after Bloody Sunday, it was due to King’s non-violent movement “overcoming evil with good.” Behind closed doors it would have been only violence and abuse. Out in public, as a systemic movement of like-minded and faithful people, it became a turning point. Repentance, and turning around in a new direction, were made possible, with a ‘genuine love,’ by ‘hating what is evil,’ and ‘blessing those who persecute you.’ Behind King’s non-violence, as with Jesus and St Paul, stands “love,” the font from which we have been named and claimed and sent out as ambassadors, with a faith active in love.
And it’s the same love that originates from the one who broke bread on the very night in which he was betrayed. Betrayed by one of his closest friends and disciples. ‘This is my body given for you,’ said Jesus. ‘This is my blood shed for you,’ as he watched Judas slip out to hand him over to the authorities. Jesus lived-out the love that he received from his heavenly parent, and taught it to us. We eat and drink and ingest his life and love, every first day of the week, the new day of a new creation, to celebrate his resurrection and his making all things new for us. We rejoice that we are loved, and that when we love others we feel more alive than ever. It is not a ‘sentimental love’ as Dr. King reminded us, but a love that is genuine and holds fast to what is good, outdoing one another in practicing mutual affection, and in showing honor, which multiplies and strengthens us for the journey of loving non-violently in a violent world.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesus both stirred up opposition by their outspoken stand for the poor, and for justice, freedom, and love. But there was nothing, not even a Hurricane, that could derail them, as long as the movement was blessed and empowered by our loving God. We too stand for overcoming evil with good.
“Go out into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve our God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
RSS Feed