Recently a coworker asked me what I thought the significance is of celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Too often those of us who get the day off from work—teachers, government employees, students and others—may tend not to think all that much about why we have the day away from our work, but instead we may treat it as just another day off.
I believe it’s a mistake for us not to reflect upon and consider the significance of this holiday. In fact, we really ought to find some way to celebrate it actively. We ought to find some action by which we can incorporate the meaning of the holiday into our lives. I want to offer a suggestion: we can allow Martin Luther King Jr. Day to be the occasion for a renewed commitment to making peace in our world. In the name of Martin Luther King Jr., that is, in the name of all the good that he stood for, we can commit to a daily act of peacemaking in order for the world to be a better place for everyone, a place of true freedom and mutual respect; a place of true justice and hope.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is about the dream that he had, and a dream for us to share. His was a dream of peace; a dream of cooperation and equality. Dr. King’s dream included all Americans—no, more than that. His dream is a dream for every man, woman, and child of planet earth. It is a dream that I find to be in keeping with everything that I’ve been taught about the true significance of living the life in Christ. It is a dream where I see in the faces of all people my brothers and sisters, my family, and my friends. Dr. King’s dream is a vision of a world free from oppression and hostility; free from hatred, inequality, injustice, and ignorance. How could we not make it our own? How could we not live it today?
The lesson that I take from Dr. King, and that I commit to live, is the lesson of meeting hate with love. In a conversation with a friend recently I mentioned that Dr. King taught that we must meet hate with love. I went on to say that to do so is certainly not the “natural” thing to do. Much to the contrary, it’s natural to meet hate with repulsion, and often with aggression. My friend told me that meeting hate with love is supernatural, and indeed to do so requires that we tap into God’s reservoir of grace. Something I want to emphasize here is that it’s far from impossible to meet hate with love. In fact, meeting hate with love should be the habitual Christian stance. It’s the real way that each of us will change the world one person at a time.
Take a few moments today to consider the significance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Incorporate it into your prayer life if you will. Ask God to make you a vessel of peace. Consider today the significance of this great Christian leader who asked us to share his dream. Consider the value of peacemaking and nonviolence as a way of bringing about a transformed world. Moreover, reflect on the real responsibility that each of us must take to do something to make peace a reality.
Let us go forward together and always meet hate with love. Love has the power to transform, and all who encounter true love will remain forever changed by it.
Amen. Beautiful.
Posted by: Carol | January 18, 2010 at 12:26 AM