Devin Strong
Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church
Martin Luther King Jr.’s father, born Michael King and himself a Baptist minister, was so moved by the story of the founder the “Lutheran” Church that he changed his name to Martin Luther King and also named his son in honor of the fifteenth century Protestant monk. Luther’s courage and faith in the face of nearly overwhelming institutional opposition became a foundational story in the life of the King family.
As our nation prepares to celebrate what would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 97th birthday, we are deeply aware of his contributions to Civil Rights in this country, but perhaps we are less aware of the extent to which King’s work for justice grew out of his faith. Dr.
King was, first and foremost, a disciple of the Gospel of Jesus. For him, this meant not just preaching heaven but also working tirelessly to make God’s kingdom come alive here and now. It was his convictions about justice and grace that compelled him to work for equal rights for African Americans and the working poor. Late in his life he also spoke out in opposition to the war in Vietnam and learned from the tactics of Ghandi. Rooted in the teachings of Jesus, King’s movement was committed to what he called Nonviolent Direct Action. He adamantly insisted that nothing about the Civil Rights Movement was “passive.”
Of course, not everyone at the time thought that MLK was a hero. In addition to political types and most of the white, middle-class society who opposed him, some of the white clergy that supported King’s movement in principle also felt that he was moving for change much too quickly. On the other end of the spectrum, Muslim leader and Black Activist Malcom X criticized MLK for being far too gentle. Malcom X championed Black Power.
Dr. King came to believe real change in the racial divide would happen only when white people were forced to confront their horrific brutality toward blacks.
At times King deliberately sought to provoke a violent response from police toward protesters, like when police turned fire houses and dogs on peaceful protesters or on Bloody Sunday, or when police clashed violently with marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. While effective in turning the conscience of America, this tactic also resulted in injury to many and the death of some innocent people.
To this day we still struggle for equality of all people before the law. Moreover, serious Christians wrestle with what is the appropriate role of faith in politics. On the one hand, we learn from Martin Luther King that believers cannot be passionately concerned about the souls of people without also caring for their bodies and their rights. On the other hand, history has shown that we sinful mortals are experts at convincing ourselves that what we want in the world is also what God wants for us. You and I must be very careful about invoking the name of the Almighty over our personal projects.
Martin Luther King was not a perfect leader or a perfect man. He sinned as much as any of us. Still, most would agree that he was part of changing American society for the better, and he did so out of his love for Jesus.
That is as much as any of us can hope for. Happy heavenly birthday, Martin!