{"id":130,"date":"2010-01-17T12:32:42","date_gmt":"2010-01-17T19:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/genevievecritel.com\/gathering\/?p=130"},"modified":"2010-01-17T12:32:42","modified_gmt":"2010-01-17T19:32:42","slug":"january-17-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/2010\/01\/17\/january-17-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"January 17, 2010, Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

Message Eight, 1-17-10\"\"<\/a>
\nBy Pastor Doug Slagle, The Gathering UCC
\n\u00a9Doug Slagle, 2010; all rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Almost two-thousand years after Jesus\u2019 crucifixion, one-hundred years after Abraham Lincoln\u2019s assassination and twenty years after Mahatmas Gandhi’s death, Martin Luther King realized the apotheosis of his life and his work as he lay bleeding to death on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee, \u00a0shot by a lone assassin.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It is not an exaggeration to claim that Martin Luther King was heir<\/span><\/strong> to the legacy, leadership and martyrdom of Jesus, \u00a0Lincoln and Gandhi. \u00a0The arc of human <\/strong>progress<\/strong>, as King once said, moves onward towards justice and equality<\/strong>. \u00a0In that regard, King was a spiritual<\/span><\/strong> prophet and, in many respects, he was a messiah<\/span><\/strong> to his people.\u00a0 Sadly, as so often is the case, the terrible swift sword of hatred exacts its revenge on those who champion social justice.<\/p>\n

Jesus was, I believe, killed not as a supernatural Savior but because he was a threat to the Roman and Jewish elites of the time.\u00a0 His popularity amongst the poor and marginalized was a danger<\/span><\/strong> to the ruling powers of Palestine.\u00a0 Lincoln was assassinated in revenge for his tireless leadership in the civil war against the South, which clung to an outmoded and immoral economic system based on the enslavement of another race<\/strong>. Gandhi was killed because he championed religious and ethnic reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims.\u00a0 As a Hindu himself, those of Gandhi\u2019s faith could not abide his efforts to seek peace and understanding with India\u2019s Islamic minorities. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Compatriots in the cause of peace, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lincoln, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gandhi and King are brothers in martyrdom – slain by hatred, <\/strong> <\/strong>bigotry, <\/strong> <\/strong>violence and intolerance<\/strong>.\u00a0 It is as if the gates of hell<\/strong>, in each their killings, were temporarily thrown open, loosening upon history the base and vile passions of humankind<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Martin Luther King was a third generation Pastor.\u00a0 His father and grandfather had both been Baptist Preachers.\u00a0 King was a preacher of the social gospel<\/strong> – the idea that the good news of personal salvation comes through being freed from poverty, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 disease and inequality. \u00a0He was thoroughly conversant with the Bible but he was not a literalist.\u00a0 Theological fundamentalism, for King, gets in the way of the Bible\u2019s predominant message that the earthly well-being of humankind is of primary concern to the Holy One.<\/strong><\/p>\n

His was a vision of, in his words, a “beloved community”<\/strong> where all people<\/strong> work together for peace and justice. \u00a0In this regard, King identified with the suffering<\/strong> experiences of Jesus and other Biblical prophets like Isaiah, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amos, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Micah, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jeremiah and John the Baptist.\u00a0 As he saw it, those Biblical figures experienced their redemption and were granted prophetic status precisely because they suffered at the hands of cruel oppressors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For King, the persecution of black Americans was and is an opportunity to create good from evil<\/strong>.\u00a0 Suffering empowered<\/strong> black Americans, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 it ennobled<\/strong> them and created the climate in which deeper issues of equality, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 economic fairness and the basic rights of all people can be addressed<\/strong>.\u00a0 For Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement was fundamentally a spiritual one<\/strong> and it is for that reason that he liberally used the Bible in his speeches and called on the examples of Jesus and Gandhi to inspire others.<\/p>\n

And his spiritual concerns were not just for the oppressed of his race but for the white oppressors. \u00a0As the burdens of injustice and inequality were lifted from African-Americans,<\/strong> so too would the weight of guilt and \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 shame be taken from white Americans. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Together, he foretold, white and black will one day be not just equal<\/strong> but \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bound in the universal effort to win the rights of economic, <\/strong> <\/strong>religious and <\/strong> <\/strong>social freedom<\/strong> for all humankind<\/strong>. \u00a0His mission was not his own nor that of his people but instead of Divine<\/strong> origin.\u00a0 God alone<\/strong> had established the truth that all are created in the divine image. \u00a0All people are worthy of God’s love and God’s mercy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Throwing aside Bible verses used since ancient times which favored slavery, King called on a higher and \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 universal holy ethic. \u00a0Peace is a virtue unto itself<\/strong>. \u00a0Violence in the cause of justice brings only more hatred and injustice. \u00a0Non-violent civil disobedience refutes the idea that aggression is good but \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 it also refutes the idea that appeasement and capitulation is worthy. \u00a0The Birmingham bus boycott and the Freedom marches were perfect examples of this. Violence was not employed but the white powers understood that African-Americans would no longer<\/span><\/strong> tolerate second-class status. \u00a0Such were the methods of Jesus and Gandhi.\u00a0 Such is the standard for us today. \u00a0King and his prophetic predecessors call us to be gentle in our approach but firm<\/span><\/strong> in our determination.\u00a0 We must <\/strong> <\/strong>n<\/strong>ever<\/strong> strike<\/strong>,<\/strong> degrade or hate our enemy<\/strong>.\u00a0 To our enemies we extend a hand of peace. \u00a0To one another we extend the embrace of love.<\/p>\n

Too often we hear and read of men and women who only preach<\/strong> the words of Jesus.\u00a0 Their actions, however, give lie<\/strong> to their words. \u00a0In Martin Luther King we saw a man who not only preached as Jesus preached – when a man strikes you on the cheek, turn the other <\/strong>cheek <\/strong>to him<\/strong>! \u2013 King lived this out.\u00a0 He regularly and continuously renounced violence and hatred against white power elites.<\/p>\n

He put forward six truths about non-violence:<\/p>\n

First<\/strong>, non-violent disobedience is not cowardly for it consciously and courageously<\/strong> confronts evil with a spiritual and moral good;<\/p>\n

Second<\/strong>, non-violence does not disgrace<\/strong> the opponent but encourages enlightenment and thereby understanding and friendship;<\/p>\n

Third<\/strong>, such disobedience does not attack<\/strong> a person or people.\u00a0 It confronts the evil itself \u2013 in this case, segregation and racial inequality;<\/p>\n

Fourth<\/strong>, non-violence encourages Jesus-like acceptance of suffering without retaliation<\/strong>.\u00a0 Thus, one operates on a moral high ground<\/strong> and is never forced to also feel the shame or guilt of violence.<\/p>\n

Fifth<\/strong>, King believed that the Divine forces of the universe are always on the side of those who promote Truth<\/strong> \u2013 its cause will always prevail.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And finally, sixth<\/strong>, non-violence prevents bitterness and hatred from damaging one\u2019s heart and mind.\u00a0 If one turns the other cheek, one does not act out in hatred but in love<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Martin Luther King was right in his view that human moral imagination is destined to triumph over hatred, bigotry and injustice. \u00a0The arc of human history does march\u00a0onward trampling out the vintage where grapes of wrath are stored<\/strong>! \u00a0 We\u00a0still proclaim the ethic of Jesus and King, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 we still work for <\/strong>their ideals of<\/strong> peace<\/strong>, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 we still honor their examples of compassion, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 their love of the outcast \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and<\/strong> their peaceful demand for equality<\/strong>. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Like Jesus, Martin Luther King rose above the slings and arrows of those who hated <\/strong>him, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 those who plotted<\/strong> his downfall, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 who arrested<\/strong> him, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 harassed<\/strong> his every move and who illegally taped his every conversation. \u00a0We care not for the few transgressions of King\u2019s life which make him all the more human. \u00a0We celebrate, instead, the man he aspired to be – a man for whom none are free unless all are free<\/strong>, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 for whom none are equal unless all are equal<\/strong> and for whom none are enemies <\/strong> <\/strong>and all are one<\/span><\/em><\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Walking slowly from his room at the Lorraine motel, room 308, King turned to a musician friend and reminded him to play that evening, at one of King’s speeches, the song “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.”<\/strong> “Play it real pretty” were King’s last words. \u00a0And, as he walked into the twilight of that day, a single shot rang out striking him in the throat. \u00a0A lone bullet figuratively first fired two thousand years ago cut into him – the stab that tore open Jesus, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the pistol felling Abraham Lincoln, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the fateful bursts of gunfire striking down Gandhi. \u00a0The blood of <\/strong>prophets past, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 present and \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 future <\/strong>spilled from him and<\/strong>,<\/strong> once again, earth stood still to mark the passing of a great figure. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The towering force of the man, his soaring words and the passions of his heart were silenced. \u00a0As Edwin Stanton said moments after Lincoln died, \u201cNow he now belongs<\/span> to the ages\u2026\u201d,<\/strong> the same is true of Martin Luther King.\u00a0 His spirit pushed back the veil of death. \u00a0In the work of each of us<\/span><\/strong>,<\/strong> <\/strong>who seek to be men and women of whom he dreamed, Martin Luther King lives on – ever resurrected and ever victorious<\/span><\/strong> in the Holy and Divine<\/strong> march toward human equality<\/strong>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Message Eight, 1-17-10 By Pastor Doug Slagle, The Gathering UCC \u00a9Doug Slagle, 2010; all rights reserved. Almost two-thousand years after Jesus\u2019 crucifixion, one-hundred years after Abraham Lincoln\u2019s assassination and twenty years after Mahatmas Gandhi’s death, Martin Luther King realized the apotheosis of his life and his work as he lay bleeding to death on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gnhuu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}