My Sunday School group is reading this group study book called "Interrupted," which is written not from the perspective of one who has all the answers, but a "bumbling, fumbling, searching, questioning sojourner." In the first chapter I ran across a quote (note: I refuse to use the word quotation) that I had been lingering in the back of my mind since a few weeks earlier when I encountered it in Birmingham. On the way back from Florida, the fam and I went to the Birmingham museum on civil rights, which was situation directly across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church that was bombed in 1963 (killing 4 girls). It was both a harrowing and inspiring experience, as the exhibit asked you to confront both the demons of prejudice and the courage of the few who stood up for justice.
The quote in question was made by Martin Luther King, Jr. on the night before he was killed. The speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop," was given in Memphis in support of a group of striking sanitation workers. Before getting to the quote I want to focus on, I want to share with you all his closing, which is sadly prophetic considering the events of the following day, but resonates with the tenor of MLK's philosophy:
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up 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. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
What really arrests my attention from the speech, however, is the following quote. It speaks of a desire that I yearn for:
Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somehow the preacher must have a kind of fire shut up in his bones and whenever injustice is around, he must tell it. Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and say, "When God speaks, who can but prophesy?" Again, with Amos, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Somehow, the preacher must say with Jesus, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor."
More than 2,000 Bible verses convey God's demand that we champion the poor and oppressed. Jesus' last words to Peter were, "If you love me, feed my sheep" (which, I would argue, includes the fullest sense of the phrase, feeding both spiritually and physically). These facts indicate that the fire that MLK speaks of should reside not solely in preachers, but in all who call themselves Christians. Faced with this, I must acknowledge the cognitive dissonance I allow myself in light of the priorities I set for my life. Although I want to make a difference in the lives of others and make this world a better place, in general I want most to remain safe and comfortable. Comfort, however, is not promised in the pages of the Bible; in fact, it is the opposite that we are assured of. If I truly evaluate myself, I am not practicing sacrificial giving, not even close.
More on this in my next post, where I reveal how I met a real-life Humbert Humbert. Stay tuned!
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