Honoring Rev. Dr. Luther King Jr. - Remembering the Prophetic in the Prophet

01-27-2016 by Wayne Meisel

Photo: "Out of the Mountain of Despair A Stone of Hope" by F Delventhal via Creative Commons.

One of my sons recently asked me who the defining public figure in my life has been. I answered him without hesitation: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My response is a common one, but as I reflect on my vague memories of when he was alive, and the powerful legacy he left behind, I'm reminded of how poignant his message was and remains. It's his legacy that I call upon and seek to live out every day.

During a time of great concern and unrest in our communities, country, and world, celebrating Rev. King's birthday brings me joy and hope. The fact that his birthday is a nationally recognized holiday makes me both proud and optimistic.

Thanks to the efforts of the Corporation of National Service and the King Family, millions of Americans will recognize King's birthday by participating in a day of service, making the day "a day on, not just a day off." As a result, a great deal of good work will be done - parks will be cleaned, enrichment activities will be held, celebrations will be organized and perhaps most important of all, people will come together.

Service is a great thing to do. As King said, "everybody can be great, because everybody can serve." (http://www.nationalservice.gov/mlkday) But Dr. King didn't just talk about service. While many of us remember King as a drum major for justice, a leader for racial freedom, King was more than that. Reverend King was a reverend, and a prophet: one who spoke out against injustice, fought for the right to vote for African Americans, stood with those who sought to unionize, and demanded that all people be treated with dignity and respect. He didn't just talk about service - he talked about faith. He sought to reconcile more than just people with one another, he sought to reconcile the world as it was with the world as it ought to be. He sought to live out his faith through service and justice, and encouraged others to do the same.

Unfortunately, for many organizations born out of the Civil Rights Movement, the connection between service, justice, and faith, has been lost. Take AmeriCorps as an example. AmeriCorps is the largest program run by the Corporation of National Service. Each year, it offers more than 77,000 Americans an opportunity to serve and to receive educational benefits. But because AmeriCorps is a federal program, there is a list of prohibited activities. This is understandable, especially given the political climate of today, but it is important to note that many of the activities prohibited as part of AmeriCorps are the very activities that Rev. Dr. King used to bring about the change that he sought, and to live out his faith authentically. The list of prohibited activities includes:

a. Attempting to influence legislation;
b. Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes;
c. Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing;
d. Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements;
e. Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office;
f. Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials;
g. Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization;

These prohibited activities are exactly what Rev. Dr. King did! I can only imagine how perplexed he might be if he saw a group honoring him with a day of service but prohibiting the very things he did and stood for in the processes.

The point here is not to be critical or organizations like AmeriCorps. Nor do I intend to diminish the great work done by people of secular or religious faiths on MLK day. The point is to honor what it is, and wonder what it could be. What would it look like for those of us of faith to not only live out the service he called for, but live out the prophetic call for justice and freedom, and, like King, to call on our faith and faith stories as we do so?

Led by his commitment to his faith, his family, and his sense of patriotism, Rev. Dr. King was a man who embodied this prophetic call for justice. As we move forward, let us tell the whole story of Rev. Dr. King, and live out all that he said and did.

• Charity must be directed by a commitment to justice;
• Prophetic witness and action call for systemic change,
• Changing the world requires political action to shape public policy,
• Diversity is the cornerstone to effective, fulfilling and lasting engagement in the world.

At the King Historical Center, which hosts the King Center for Non-Violent Social Justice, there is a reflecting pool. In the middle of the reflection pool, there is a tomb where both Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King lie. On the wall at the center, engraved in stone, there is a quote from King which reads, "We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream." In that sentence, King quotes the Prophet Amos. At the heart of many of his speeches and sermons were quotes from the Hebrew Prophets and African-American Spirituals. While King's quotes remain powerful and inspirational to the world, it is important to remember how his faith - how the prophets before him - inspired him and impacted his mission and life.

So let us all serve, and when we celebrate Rev. King's birthday through service, let us remember. Let us remember that:

King was inspired, sustained and strengthened by his faith. May we be also.

King inserted himself into the political debates of the day, at great personal and professional risk and criticism. May we also seek to bring about change by participating fully in the political process.

King stood, walked, marched and was jailed with and for those who were most vulnerable. Let us be prepared to do likewise.

King prayed for peace, fought for peace and sought to live a committed life. May we also.

This Monday, I encourage you to find a site where people are volunteering. Join them, and make sure to bring your family along! of my most memorable moments come from the MLK Days of service where my family painted walls in Trenton High School and when my father lead reflections of marching with Rev. King in Selma at the end of the day of service at Rider University. I plan to attend the day of service in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Amanda of City Year has organized a day of service by bringing a number of different service based organizations in the community to work together for the community. If you're in the Milwaukee area, I welcome you to join us.

Photo: "Out of the Mountain of Despair A Stone of Hope" by F Delventhal via Creative Commons