Faith Means Less Theory and More Practice

REFLECTIONS
January 17, 2010

January 18th is a National holiday so designated in honor and memory of civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The debate prior to the naming of this holiday was loud and long. It centered around the worthiness of Dr. King having a day named for him. His behavior as a man, an academic, a minister of the gospel and as a social force were all held up to public scrutiny. Even though, for some, questions of character remain; a day was named in honor of Dr. King with each state given the right to designate how to observe the day. Some states have chosen to ignore the day, citing crowded calendars, yet a case could be made for other issues at play.

The message of Dr. King was simple and powerful yet at its heart quiet. God is loving and just, and we are called to live toward those ideals. Dr. King lived and taught that we are to stand together in the name of love on matters of justice, care, and peace. For him, fair wages, voting rights, along with the right to ride, eat, drink, or sleep in a non-segregated environment were not matters of color, but matters of justice rooted in faith. God had called Martin as God had tapped his father before him. His message carried political implications, but was at its base Biblical and faithful to his Christian calling. While it is true he had a political profile, he remained throughout his life a pastor.

It was April 4th of 1968 when an assassin’s bullet killed Dr. King. He would be the first to remind us that the greatest Purveyor of Peace died at the hands of violence. That how Jesus lived is more significant than His death, because He live fully toward the will and reign of God. Our focus must be the will, the wonder, the work, and the way of Christ and not His death alone.

It seems to me that we will be doing well this January 21st, not merely remembering Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, but remembering the aim and ideals of his life. He lived fully toward the gospel of Jesus Christ and paid with his life for proclaiming what God called him to say and do. In memory of Dr. King and in honor of his faith and recognition of our commonness in Christ might we dare to dream; of more peaceable cities, states, and nations. Of standing up for what is right, just, loving, and holy, lest we fall for something less. Do we make the day just another day off, or do we pause and remember that it, and we count for something?

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601