As a youth pastor I would always distribute a copy of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech on our youth gathering the week of MLK day. Some years I would even take time during our gathering to show the video of this historic speech followed by a group discussion on it. What prompted this was that every year as this holiday approached our students would usually display their excitement simply because of the extended weekend it awarded them. In fact on one occasion I asked one of our African-American students what MLK was famous for and his response was, "getting me a day off of school."The sad truth is that for many this day has become nothing more than an extra day off. My attempt at an annual emphasis on MLK's historic speech on the steps of the Lincoln memorial was to help a diverse group of young people realize that in the midst of a lot of wrong in our nation, MLK was a man who represented what was right and his legacy matters. Here are a few reflections I have on this MLK day:
1. The relentless pursuit of justice is better than the apathetic acceptance of injustice. MLK was a champion for justice. For him it wasn't that one race was superior to another or more deserving of a quality life than another. MLK believed that everyone is created in the image of God and to oppress or prop oneself up above another is to harm that image. Unfortunately we live in a world where injustice is a sad ongoing reality (human trafficking, ethnic genocide, extreme poverty, HIV AIDS) and if we're not careful we can just accept that the world is broken and sit idly by while the injustice continues. MLK was not content sitting on the sidelines of justice. In his Dream speech he remarked, "We refuse to believe the bank of justice is bankrupt." I'm inspired to believe the same today. Where is the injustice in our communities and in our world and how might God be positioning us to stand up against it? It may seem futile, it may seem dangerous, it may seem like an endless pursuit...but it is necessary, it is heroic, and it is worth it.
2. Peace is a better strategy than violence. Often times injustice expresses itself through hatred and violence. Those who oppose such violence typically resort to taking on violence with violence, thus launching a viscous cycle in which no one wins in the end. The great heroes throughout world history responded to violence, hatred, and oppression with peace, love, and grace. Think about the life and teaching of Jesus: "If one strikes you on your cheek, give him the other as well." "Blessed are the peacemakers." "Have I come to lead a rebellion, put your sword away." MLK embodied Jesus' teachings and led a movement (not unlike Ghandi or Nelson Mandella) that fought violence with peace, and in the end are winning the battle. MLK challenges me to love first, to treat others with grace and dignity in all things, to work towards being a peacemaker in my relationships.
3. A big dream for the future is better than a complacent today. MLK shared his dream in the midst of a nation soiled with racial injustice. He shared a dream where "little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers." His dream must have seemed unrealistic to many, perhaps more like a delusion but, even though we have a long way to go, MLK's crazy dream has come true. I'll never forget when I was in fifth grade when my mother drove my brother and I to the other side of Milwaukee to pick up our friend Stanley Smith. We headed back to our house where not a couple little white boys and a black boy sat and watched the Super Bowl, but where three friends enjoyed life together, the way things ought to be. What is your "crazy dream" for how things ought to be? Keep dreaming big, even in the darkest of places. God promises that he is making all things new, and he uses ordinary people like MLK, you, and I to accomplish it.
Let's keep dreaming Dr. King's dream because it's more than the dream of one heroic man; it's God's dream for humanity.
