January 21, 2019 (Monday)
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For some, it is one of those days when the banks and post office close. For others, it is a day for special worship services or rallies for various causes. It is a celebration of King’s birthday (January 15), but is placed on the third Monday of January each year, to create a 3-day weekend.
Dr. King was assassinated at the age of 38 on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, almost 51 years ago. Many people today who range in age from about 56 and younger have no memories of their own about him. They know him as a historical personality. Their knowledge about him beyond that basic fact depends upon how much information they have acquired during their lifetimes.
I heard Dr. Martin Luther King personally at a meeting of the American Baptist Convention in 1964. His sermon topic was, “Courage to Love.” It was a special gathering known as “Baptist Jubilee,” in Atlantic City, New Jersey, of all the Baptist denominations. Each group met in its own auditorium or meeting hall simultaneously with the other groups.
As one entered the front door of the old convention center, each day he passed a small group gathered around the father of Martin Luther King, Jr. He engaged those in attendance with lively conversation. His confrontational style was different from the silent protests inspired by his son.
The convention ended, and my friends and I moved on to New York City and the World’s Fair, and, like many other Americans, did not dwell on the Civil Rights movements of that era. Subsequent history has proved to most that those days were pivotal in shaping decades of events that followed, including the days in which we are living now.
A serious study of the New Testament will reveal to us that Jesus taught us, by precept and example, to love all people, regardless of their status or lack of it. The Pharisees hated Him because so many of the people were listening to Him and finding acceptance in Him. Plainly, those religious leaders hated Him and that hatred moved them to have Him crucified. The “rest of the story” is that death could not hold Him, and He has changed the world.
The sermon that Dr. King preached on the day we heard him in 1964 was based on the teachings of Jesus and was entitled, “Courage to Love.” If you were asked to give a speech on that subject, where would you start and what would you say?
