I am writing this article during the week before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January of 2019. In the midst of all the deceit and demagoguery coming from the White House and the President’s flunkies, the blatant racist words and deeds in so many arenas, and the cowardice of so many of our politicians, we desperately need the wisdom of the King legacy. I never thought I would live to see the regression currently prevalent in our nation today. It appears that many people in our culture haven’t learned anything from the struggles of the past to make this a just and compassionate society.
I’ve been reading some of the speeches and sermons of Dr. King this week, and I had forgotten what a gifted and brilliant speaker he was. His words are like poetry, and in my mind I could hear his deep voice speaking the words as I read. One aspect I noticed in his writings which I had also forgotten was a development in his thought over the years. Toward the end of his life King realized the connection between racism and greed, between racism and violence, between racism and the way the war in Viet Nam was being fought, and between racism and the policies of many of this country’s institutions. King’s speeches and sermons began to cast a larger net as they spoke against economic inequities, the avarice of the military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned the nation about, and the polarization of our country as scapegoating and stigmatizing became so prominent. Although toward the end of his life Dr. King often spoke with a broken heart as he saw so many people reject the way of the “beloved community” intended by God, he never abandoned his commitment to love, nonviolence, and truth.
I am convinced that what brought about King’s death was the connection made regarding the social sins of our day. Once he spoke against the war in Viet Nam (a war that even Barry Goldwater later saw as a mistake) and the economic policies which impoverished millions within this nation and hundreds of millions abroad, he was deserted by many of his followers, including white liberals who realized their own complicity in the evils King denounced. Some Blacks turned on King because of his broader vision of justice and peace. It should come as no surprise that once King exposed the true extent and nature of social evils, he would become a sitting target for the “principalities and powers” who could not abide his message.
There are religious leaders who could perhaps assume the mantle of King in our day. The Rev. Dr. William Barber is such a person, but I fear for his life, especially in our current racist and insane environment. We certainly have no one within the political sphere worthy to touch the hem of King’s garment. But maybe the time has come for us to stop waiting for another King and collectively to become that vital spiritual force needed to address the abhorrent political and social culture we inhabit in our day. “Deep in my heart I do believe” that one day this nation will realize that God offered a way out of the violence, greed, hatred and meaninglessness which currently threaten to destroy us as a people. Because King’s message was rooted in the Living Word of God, his way will prove to be the only path we can travel and remain human. I only hope and pray that we shall realize what a gift his life and message truly were before it is too late, for as Dr. King said in one of his last sermons, “God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap.” What is true of individuals is also true of nations. Right now we are reaping a bitter harvest from seeds of racism, hatred, and greed sown for many decades. If we really want to honor MLK, let us join hands, hearts, and voices as we expose the evil in our midst, speak truth to power, and live in every way possible the alternative King (and more importantly Jesus) presented. We are at the point in our history that the choice we make could bless or curse our nation and the world for generations to come.
