The eCrozier

A Reflection on Martin Luther King, Jr.

We have race running right down the middle of us. As hard as we might try to get beyond the issues of race and racism, they are a congenital part of our culture, present from the beginning. As one thoughtful person has said: Racism is America’s original sin. Dr. King held up that truth for all of us. In a sense, he held a mirror up to our society and forced all of us to look into it truthfully. That was and is not painless. It is never easy for us to look at ourselves and see things that make us uncomfortable, or even ashamed. Dr. King spoke the truth.

And truthfulness is at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like Jeremiah, if I ever tried to suppress that truth within me, it would well up inside me and burst forth. I can do nothing other than witness to the truth of Jesus as the Christ, the Lord & Savior of the world. Part of that truth is that I have failed at times to commend the faith that is in me. I have not fully lived into my baptismal covenant to “respect the dignity of all people.” So, while I am product of the saving Gospel of Jesus, I am also a product of the culture in which I was raised and formed as an adult. My grandfather was a member of the Klan and he tried to influence me from my earliest memories.

I am by no means unique. Each one of us, I imagine, can tell a somewhat similar story of formation. Since we are a people grounded in memory (Jesus commands us in the Eucharist to offer the “sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving” in “remembrance” of him), we must not forget those things. Anamesis is the antithesis of amnesia. People with amnesia have lost their identity and purpose because they do not know who they are, whom they belong to, or where they are headed. To know the Good News, we must be able to remember.

As a Church, we are people who know who we are and whose we are. We have identity and purpose. We know by the grace and mercy of God where we are headed. We have been re-membered by God, literally, we have had a members put back together by God in Christ. Dr. King served well that remembering process. And for his witness we are all truly thankful.

+Scott