Living Word
From Bishop Gohl’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Reflection,,,
And now the Lord says, “I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” –Isaiah 49.6
In my study at our Synod Office, a portrait of Dr. King hangs over my desk, opposite a portrait of his namesake, Martin Luther. That portrait, a gift from the Black Student Union at Gettysburg College in 1999, reminds me of mine and our collective responsibility to embody a daring hope for justice, equality and reconciliation in every generation.
“I have a dream.”
“Let freedom ring.”
“I’ve been to the mountaintop.”
Dr. King’s legacy looms large over those of us who preach, in season and out. His prophetic fire and pastoral voice continue to challenge us to a deeper, richer understanding of God’s vision for the world; and inspires us from comfortable places of civility to courage and action for sake of God’s love for us and neighbor. It’s easy to be inspired and stirred by Dr. King’s life and witness.
Most of Dr. King’s confreres testify that he didn’t agree with all of the strategies of the civil rights movement and that he wrestled over the call to be pastor, prophet and leader in community. He wasn’t certain, he was faithful; certainly not knowing where all this would lead.
I have been especially struck by these words of Dr. King from “The Death of Evil upon the Seashore” (May 17, 1956):
“Let us not despair. Let us not lose faith in man and certainly not in God. We must believe that a prejudiced mind can be changed, and that man, by the grace of God, can be lifted from the valley of hate to the high mountain of love.
Let us remember that as we struggle against Egypt, we must have love, compassion and understanding goodwill for those against whom we struggle, helping them to realize that as we seek to defeat the evils of Egypt we are not seeking to defeat them but to help them, as well as ourselves.
God has a great plan for this world. His purpose is to achieve a world where all men will live together as brothers, and where every man recognizes the dignity and worth of all human personality.
God is seeking at every moment of His existence to lift men from the bondage of some evil Egypt, carrying them through the wilderness of discipline and finally to the promised land of personal and social integration.
May it not be that this is entirely within the realm of possibility? I prefer to live by the faith that the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
We live and die by wrestling with the same uncertainties Dr. King experienced, central to our careers and relationships, central to our search for meaning and relevance, central to our desire to live lives that make a difference. Faith invites us to carry these questions with us; faith invites us to act on these questions, for the love of God and neighbor.
As we observe the King Commemoration, similar issues and chaos surround us so many years later. Economic injustice is rampant. Violence looms large. The marginalized are still pressed in the margins. The church is feeling those tensions. I sense, perhaps, we need to wrestle with the same questions that Dr. King knew in his time and place.
Courage, friends: this is God’s church – and God’s world – may we go as God leads; stirred from comfort into action, from complacency to love.
-Bp Bill Gohl
