On this Martin Luther King Day in which we remember the great civil rights leader, I thought about some of the great words he shared during his short lifetime. I could not help but think how we could lift ourselves up and place ourselves on a better path if we remembered and acted on more of his words.
This past year was a difficult year to say the least. It was a year of inflammatory rhetoric that only served to divide us more. It was a year of us versus them. The year of Trump supporters versus the NoTrumpers. It was the year of folks who refused to wear masks and those of us who felt it was our responsibility to wear them to keep a pandemic from spreading even faster. Finally, it was a year of those who fought to “Stop the Steal” versus those who condemned the “Big Lie.”
Martin Luther King knew something about divisiveness. He also lived in times that were ablaze with hatred between races and factions. 1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in our country’s history. Both King and Presidential candidate, Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. The war raged in Vietnam and back home young men burned their draft cards. American cities burned as riots erupted over racial inequality and police and protesters clashed in Chicago at the Democratic convention.
In April of 1968, King gave his last sermon the night before he was shot at a Memphis hotel. He talked about the story of the Good Samaritan and who is my neighbor. King said the priest and the Levite passed by the man who had been beaten and left for dead because they asked the wrong question. They said, “What will happen to me if I help him?” The question King said we need to ask is, “What will happen to the man bleeding on the ground if I do nothing?” Too often we refuse to love our neighbor and help them because of our own self-interest.
King also realized that despite our differences, we needed to somehow come together. In another sermon, King would say, “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” How true is that statement. We come from different races, different cultures and vastly different viewpoints and yet we all live here together in America. Our problems will never get solved as long as we refuse to tear down some of the walls that divide us.
Finally, in a time when loving our enemies seems almost impossible, Dr. King explains why we have to try… “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” On this day we must decide whether we want to add to the darkness or bear light and love our neighbors – no exceptions.
– Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
