Many are excited today because it’s “MLK Day!” no school, no work, sleeping in, a day of leisure and for some a “day of service.”
I’ve been thinking about the civil rights movement and Dr. King’s dream. Is one day enough to move the dream forward? Or has the dream faded? Do we even remember what the dream is?
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be 90 years old. What would he say to us today about poverty, racial equality, class, the economy, violence and love?
It has been 51 years since he was assassinated, and it feels like we have lost our way in overcoming most of his ideas that were urgent from 1956-1968.
What would Martin say?
What would young 39-year-old Martin say to us today? Would love still be the answer to ending these ills–poverty, racial and economic inequality, hatred and violence that he spoke of in his dream? What would that love look like today?
The older I get, I am in awe of how much he accomplished as a young husband, father, pastor with a congregation, community leader, author and prophet. And, there is more to him than his “I have a dream” speech.
My answer to whether the dream has faded: No.
Brother Martin is the only American who is nationally recognized for living his faith, and as disciples, this should motivate us to use this holiday to dig deep into his speeches and books at every word that leads us back to the actions of Jesus.
After reading and studying the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37, Martin offered these words for our consideration to act:
“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But the good Samaritan reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
And this, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
Today I am planning 12 actions—one per month–as my answer to these questions. Will you join me?
Valora K Starr is director for discipleship for Women of the ELCA.
Photo: Dr. Martin Luther King giving his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington in Washington, D.C., on 28 August 1963. Photo is in the public domain.
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