Today is Martin luther king jr. day

Today is The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? You might be thinking, “Pastor, you are mistaken.

Rev. King was born on January 15th and the federal holiday this year was the 16th, but not today. Or even

if Rev. King Day was the day he died, that was April 4. Or maybe we could say Rev. King Day coincides

with one of the days of his big political actions. But surely not today.”

We observe a federal holiday in January honoring Rev. King each year, and we often include this

observance in our worship service. But if we are truly to be about following in the ways of Rev. King, or

in keeping his legacy alive, then every day must be Rev. King Day.

Like Jesus, Rev. King was assassinated because people felt threatened by his message of inclusion. He is

very well known for bus boycotts, marches, and voting rights. But we tend to forget that by the end of

his ministry, cut down too soon, his message expanded to call for an end to poverty.

In a speech in New York City, on March 10, 1968 (just three weeks before he died), he gave a speech at

an event for Local 1199. He said,

“Now, what we’ve got to do…is to attack the problem of poverty and really mobilize the forces of

our country to have an all-out war against poverty. I need not remind you that poverty, the gaps

in our society, the gulfs between inordinate superfluous wealth and abject deadening poverty

have brought about a great deal of despair, a great deal of tension, and a great deal of

bitterness.

“I [have] been fighting too long and too hard now against segregated public accommodations to

end up segregating my moral concerns. And the fact is that justice is indivisible; injustice

anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

“…we’ve got to come to see that however much we’re misunderstood or criticized for taking a

stand for justice or for peace, we must do it anyway. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it

bends toward justice…

Some of his most famous quotes came from this speech, yet we tend to forget that his launching of the

Poor People’s Campaign was very controversial. As an anti-racist church, if we are to claim to lift up Rev.

King’s legacy, don’t we have to do more than just honor him on his birthday? I think if we are to follow

Rev. King, then we need to pick up the mantel and carry on. There is still much division and controversy

regarding the war on poverty, but “we must do it anyway”.

As followers in the Way of Jesus, and in the way of King, let us consider what we can be doing as

individuals and as a congregation to eradicate poverty and call for end of war. Let us commit to

celebrating Rev. King by doing the work that he would have done.

What say you?