remembering MLK Day

I just finished rereading The Cross &The Lynching Tree by Cone and on the snowy MLK Day I will not attempt to share any wisdom. I will only reflect as I continue this journey of listening and learning and getting #woke (which even this is an indication of my privilege) I am profoundly grateful for the refusal of moderation or silence in the seeking of justice. I am also grateful for the continued work of many who refuse to remain silent when others doubt their humanity or experience. 

MLK knew the cost of pursuing freedom most likely would cost him his life, just as Jesus knew it when he went to Jerusalem. God spoke to Martin Luther King Jr as he recorded at his kitchen table one night. He said hard things. He said he had to go to Memphis under the threat of death to proclaim what was so out of reach of the time, “ I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter to me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. I just want to do God’s will. And he has allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. I am not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” 

“It is an unhappy truth that racism is a way of life for the vast majority of white Americans, spoken and unspoken, acknowledged and denied, subtle and sometimes not so subtle—the disease of racism permeates and poisons a whole body politic. Something positive must be done. Everyone must share in the guilt as individuals and as institutions. The government must certainly share the guilt; individuals must share the guilt; even the church must share the guilt.”  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today we will listen to his letter from a Birmingham jail with the kids and reflect on all still to be done. May we listen & look ahead at the difficult days still ahead to get there.