Do you know my friend Martin?

The other day at school, a student asked me why they get MLK Day off but not Columbus Day. Columbus discovered American, they reasoned. We don't really get MLK Day off, students do but teachers have a staff development day. As a former History teacher (I now teach Art) I began to explain about Brendan the Navigator, Leif Erikson, the Chinese and the fact that the indigenous peoples were already here... before I could get to slavery and disease and operating under the delusion that Hispaniola was in Asia- the kid moved on. "I mean, what did he even do, anyway? Give some speech about a dream? So he was in some marches, so what?"

I'm pretty sure that this White teenage girl isn't racist, but was just trying to rile me and (she thought) she was being funny. Be that as it may, it did trouble me that so few kids understand who Martin Luther King Jr. was, let alone appreciate his legacy. After all, he helped end apartheid in the United States!

Two of the most amazing books I have ever read are Doctor King's Strength to Love and The Measure of a Man. Each of these books profoundly effected and influenced my faith and understanding of theology, society, politics, justice and grace.

What a lot of people don't know is that even though they were Baptists, King's father changed both of their names to Martin Luther after a trip to Germany where he studied about the protestant reformer's commitment to the liberating power of the Gospel.

I don't think we should recognize and commemorate his civil rights work or his fight against poverty or his opposition to injustice and political hypocrisy. I think we should remember him because he sacrificed everything to do those things. He risked his life and forfeited prosperity and security to do those things. No, I do not elevate him to the same level as Jesus Christ- he would not either. His death didn't bring salvation- if anything his savage murder denied the world of his further wisdom and an his potential further leadership and example. But one reason he should be remembered is that he followed Christ's example by spending even his own life for the sake of others.

If you need a refresher in civil rights history, read this brief explanation:

King helped change America’s conscience, not only about civil rights but also about economic justice, poverty and war. As an inexperienced young pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, King was reluctantly thrust into the leadership of the bus boycott. During the 382-day boycott, King was arrested and abused and his home was bombed, but he emerged as a national figure and honed his leadership skills. In 1957 he helped launch the (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) SCLC to spread the civil rights crusade to other cities. He helped lead local campaigns in Selma, Birmingham and other cities, and sought to keep the fractious civil rights movement together, including the NAACP, Urban League, (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) SNCC, (Congress of Organizations for Racial Equality) CORE and SCLC. Between 1957 and 1968 King traveled more than 6 million miles, spoke more than 2,500 times and was arrested at least twenty times while preaching the gospel of nonviolence. Today we view King as something of a saint; his birthday is a national holiday and his name adorns schools and street signs. But in his day the establishment considered King a dangerous troublemaker. He was harassed by the FBI and vilified in the media. The struggle for civil rights radicalized him into a fighter for economic and social justice. During the 1960s King became increasingly committed to building bridges between the civil rights and labor movements. He was in Memphis in 1968 to support striking sanitation workers when he was assassinated. In 1964, at 35, King was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. Some civil rights activists worried that his opposition to the Vietnam War, announced in 1967, would create a backlash against civil rights, but instead it helped turned the tide of public opinion against the war.

From: The Fifty Most Influential Progressives of the Twentieth Century by Peter Dreier, The Nation Magazine, September 2010

USE peace, don't just have it

"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." -MLK

Call me crazy, but I don't think Dr. King is just talking about accomplishing civil rights with civil disobedience. I tend to think that it's applicable to parenting, teaching, coaching, and any interactions which we have with others- even driving!

Think about it, getting defensive, getting even, getting your own way- these all escalate tension and cause stress.

Calm and warm is more likely to set others at ease, even calm them down so that people on both sides of any disagreement can see more clearly and move forward without crashing into one another.

Something to keep in mind next week when we all spend an inordinate amount of time with our dysfunctional extended families, right?

Before you think he's just some bleeding heart liberal, or that he was some kind of new-ager, under the influence of Hindu gurus like Ghandi- be sure to see what Jesus says in Matthew 5:38-48.

Right makes might, not vice versa

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
~ Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Love our enemies

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. " ~Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Jesus,
Please create and nurture in me an attitude of gratitude
and a lifestyle of forgiveness.
In Your name I pray,
Amen

Prophet, Priest, and Martin Luther King

A Prophet- is one who speaks for God to the people, sometimes it's inspirational or encouraging, other times it's an admonishment, meant to bring contrition and repentance. Always it brings wisdom and insight for our time.

That was Martin, a writer, a speaker, a pundit and political activist.

A Priest- is an advocate and and intercessor on behalf of the people to God. They counsel, they represent us like a defense attorney before God who requires justice. The ancient priests presented the animal sacrifice and the offerings, since Jesus fulfills any and all sacrifice or penitence, we now as a "priesthood of all believers" ( 1 Peter 2:5-9) pray for others and ask God to help others.

That was Martin, a pastor, a theologian, a community organizer, a spiritual leader

Was MLK kind of a Pirate?- Insofar as he broke with tradition and convention. Insofar as he broke unjust laws and stood against the establishment and entrenched and corrupt institutions. Moses, a prince of Egypt, demanded an end to slavery. Jesus exposed the hypocrisies of the religious and political leaders of His time. Martin Luther stood against the corruption, political power and arrogance of the church of the Renaissance. And Martin Luther King Jr. followed suite, using love, logic and nonviolence to resist the passionate anger and ignorance of American Apartheid. A rogues' gallery of pirates, for sure.

Americans tend to think of Kings as figureheads or tyrants, but the Biblical model of a godly King is someone who leads by example and executes God's plans. Someone who is willing to be God's hands and feet, ministering and protecting, shepherding and watching over- all the while walking a walk that others ought to follow. Barack Obama is encouraging Americans to emulate Dr. King's example by volunteering to serve others today, helping the poor and the oppressed. And Dr. King was only emulating Jesus' example, of feeding the hungry, offering drink to the thirsty, healing and comforting the sick, visiting the prisoners, caring for the widows the orphans and the aliens.

This Martin Luther King Day, we can all participate in his dream and make his dream live on, by reaching out to those who are different from us, by not being afraid of them or feeling threatened by them, by seeking to understand them and to share ourselves with them. Maybe it's reaching across gender lines, political party, or socio-economic lines, maybe it's sexual preference or identity, maybe it's nationality or culture, maybe it's race. We should find out how we are alike and try to (as Jesus taught) treat them as we would like to be treated.

But we can also fulfill the dream by, like Dr. King tried to, emulating Jesus' example and fulfill the destiny He gave us by dying for us, by His resurrection, and by sending us His Holy Spirit- to be His sons and daughters, so join Him in His ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20) by each of us being Prophets, Priests, and Kings & Queens- and Pirates, when necessary!


Painting by Br. Robert Lentz, a religious icon painter. He comes from a Russian Orthodox background and is now a Franciscan friar who serves at All Saints Church in Houston, Texas. In addition to his painting and clerical work, he writes and teaches on art and spirituality across the country.

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.
~Martin Luther King Jr.

Ask, Seek, Knock, for bread

Spiritual Bread Luke 11:1-13
from a Feb. 2008 column in the Mapleton PRESS

FYI: 'Bethlehem' is Hebrew for 'House of Bread' or 'bakery.' Ironic since Jesus himself is the 'Bread of Life.' Since this week's part of the Advent wreath is the Bethlehem candle, I thought that this old column inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be appropriate for an Advent devotion.

Last month, I started re-reading a book of sermons by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called “Strength to Love,” from 1963. Many people would be surprised by what a Biblical teacher King was because we tend to take him for granted as a cultural icon or a Black leader or a political activist.

One chapter in particular struck me as something that we could all use these days. Let’s face it, this is a time of high anxiety and stress for many of us. Governor Culver recently tried to reassure Iowans that we’re in better shape than the nation as a whole to face the coming recession. But come on, things have been getting hard for all of us for a long time.

Wars, stagnant wages, increasing costs of living especially gas, food, heating fuel and health insurance, talk of climate change, cultural change, and global competition have all left us a little frazzled. Perhaps you’re finding that just the challenges of daily life, let alone personal tragedies and crises are wearing you down.

Rev. King talked about Jesus’ parable of the man who knocks on his neighbor’s door at midnight asking for bread found in Luke 11:5-8.

“The traveler asks for three loaves of bread,” Dr. King wrote. The three things we need most are faith, hope and love.

“In a generation of so many colossal disappointments, men have lost faith in God, faith in man, and faith in the future…in the midst of staggering disillusionment, many cry for the bread of faith.”

“There is also a deep longing for the bread of hope.” Dr. King continued, “In the early years of this century many people did not hunger for this bread. The days of the first telephones, automobiles, and airplanes gave them a radiant optimism. They worshiped at the shrine of inevitable progress. They believed that every new scientific achievement lifted man to higher levels of perfection.”

But as we all know, came WWI and WWII and the Cold War. We realized that technology won’t produce a futuristic utopia. We may have more than enough food to eradicate world hunger, but greed and corruption prevent us from ever being able to get the food to who needs it. The twentieth century left mankind wounded and disillusioned.

King lamented that “the light of hope went out, and they roamed wearily in the dark chambers of pessimism. Many concluded that life has no meaning… But even in the inevitable moments when all seems hopeless, men know that without hope they cannot really live, and in agonizing desperation they cry for the bread of hope.”

If anything, we’ve learned too well that life is not fair. Some people don’t even see the point in trying anymore.

Finally, MLK pointed out what we are most starved for.

“There is the deep longing,” King wrote, “for the bread of love. Everybody wishes to love and to be loved. He who feels that he is not loved feels that he does not count. Much has happened in the modern world to make men feel that they do not belong. Living in a world which has become oppressively impersonal, many of us have come to feel that we are little more than numbers.”

We all need to find ways to get out of bed in the middle of the night and come to our neighbor’s aid. We all need to try to feed others in anyway we can but we should also remember where to turn when times get worst.

Luke 11: 5-8 has a man asking to borrow bread from a neighbor, but in Luke 11:1-4, Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer and in 11:9-13, He urges us to pray and ask God’s help for anything we need. If we need faith, hope, or love, all we have to do as ask, seek, or knock.

Don't be afraid to just knock

I wrote this for my Feb. 7 column in the Mapleton PRESS:
(And I painted the portrait a couple of years ago)

Last month, I started re-reading a book of sermons by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called “Strength to Love,” from 1963. Many people would be surprised by what a Biblical teacher King was because we tend to take him for granted as a cultural icon or a Black leader or a political activist.

One chapter in particular struck me as something that we could all use these days. Let’s face it, this is a time of high anxiety and stress for many of us. Governor Culver recently tried to reassure Iowans that we’re in better shape than the nation as a whole to face the coming recession. But come on, things have been getting hard for all of us for a long time.

Wars, stagnant wages, increasing costs of living especially gas, food, heating fuel and health insurance, talk of climate change, cultural change, and global competition have all left us a little frazzled. Perhaps you’re finding that just the challenges of daily life, let alone personal tragedies and crises are wearing you down.

Rev. King talked about Jesus’ parable of the man who knocks on his neighbor’s door at midnight asking for bread found in Luke 11:5-8.

“The traveler asks for three loaves of bread,” Dr. King wrote. The three things we need most are faith, hope and love.

“In a generation of so many colossal disappointments, men have lost faith in God, faith in man, and faith in the future…in the midst of staggering disillusionment, many cry for the bread of faith.”

“There is also a deep longing for the bread of hope.” Dr. King continued, “In the early years of this century many people did not hunger for this bread. The days of the first telephones, automobiles, and airplanes gave them a radiant optimism. They worshiped at the shrine of inevitable progress. They believed that every new scientific achievement lifted man to higher levels of perfection.”

But as we all know, came WWI and WWII and the Cold War. We realized that technology won’t produce a futuristic utopia. We may have more than enough food to eradicate world hunger, but greed and corruption prevent us from ever being able to get the food to who needs it. The twentieth century left mankind wounded and disillusioned.

King lamented that “the light of hope went out, and they roamed wearily in the dark chambers of pessimism. Many concluded that life has no meaning… But even in the inevitable moments when all seems hopeless, men know that without hope they cannot really live, and in agonizing desperation they cry for the bread of hope.”

If anything, we’ve learned too well that life is not fair. Some people don’t even see the point in trying anymore.

Finally, MLK pointed out what we are most starved for.

“There is the deep longing,” King wrote, “for the bread of love. Everybody wishes to love and to be loved. He who feels that he is not loved feels that he does not count. Much has happened in the modern world to make men feel that they do not belong. Living in a world which has become oppressively impersonal, many of us have come to feel that we are little more than numbers.”

We all need to find ways to get out of bed in the middle of the night and come to our neighbor’s aid. We all need to try to feed others in anyway we can but we should also remember where to turn when times get worst.

Luke 11: 5-8 has a man asking to borrow bread from a neighbor, but in Luke 11:1-4, Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer and in 11:9-13, He urges us to pray and ask God’s help for anything we need. If we need faith, hope, or love, all we have to do as ask, seek, or knock.

Luke 23:34

"Never must the church tire of reminding men that they have a moral responsibility to be intelligent."

Luke 23:34

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude."

Romans 12:2

"By opening our lives to God in Christ we become new creatures...
Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit."

~MLK,
'Strength to Love' 1963

"Faith
is taking the first step
when you don't see
the whole staircase."
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Prayer for MLKjr Day

Prayer: (adapted from Rev.Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Dream Speech')

Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.

Now it the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of
segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.

Now it the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial
injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God's
children.

Dear Lord Jesus,

let the dream of little children one day living in
a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin
but by their character come true.

Lord Jesus,

let freedom ring, let it ring from every
tenement and every hamlet,
from every state and every city,

help us to speed up that day when all of Your children,
black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,
will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual,

"Free at last,
free at last.
Thank God
Almighty,
we are free at last."

In Jesus name,
Amen