Did you listen to or read the “I Have a Dream speech” on MLK’s holiday?
I admit I’ve not truly honored MLK’s holiday. We all are happy to have a day off, but do we honor him and his life for what he contributed?
I just returned from chairing my first annual Network of Biblical Storytellers Board meeting as President. Every morning, we started with worship. I chose two themes:
New Beginnings:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:7
One Body, Many Members:
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of work, but in all of them, and everyone, it is the same God at work. 1 Corinthians: 12
One of the members, Jim, an ordained minister, chose to tell the story behind the I Have a Dream speech. I’ve shared a link to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s
When Martin Luther King began, the audience was excited and listening. He saw he was not connecting with them about two minutes into his speech. A woman on the stage told him, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” He left his prepared notes and delivered his iconic speech.
He connected us together as we heard what we could be. He quoted from familiar passages that spoke to us then, and it still resonates today.
He referred to parts of the Declaration of Independence:
“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
And the Bible:
“I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”’ (Isaiah 40:4-5)
“We will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”’ Amos 5:24
He quoted a national song “My Country Tis of Thee.”
My country ’tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
Of thee I sing
Land where my fathers died
Land of the pilgrim’s pride
From every mountainside
Let freedom ring
After a decade of NAACP lobbying for equal rights, his speech was the spark that helped President Johnson sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and, the following year, the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This speech was given on August 28, 1963, sixty-one years ago. Have we made progress in loving our neighbor?
I’m thankful to Jim for reminding us of King’s inspiring speech. What are some ways we can honor his life and message in our daily lives? Can we commit to reading it yearly to measure our progress and what we personally did to aid it? Can we listen as he did to the Holy Spirit in turning away from his prepared speech. We may not have his gift of iconic speeches, but what gifts do we have to share?
After Jesus had washed the feet of his disciples, he said,
A new commandment I give to you is that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35.
