Today, throughout the United States, we recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Dr. King was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his strong Christian beliefs. On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through non-violence. King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D. C., to be called the Poor People’s Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 14, 1968 in Memphis, TN. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. And it is most appropriate that this day has been established as a national holiday to be ‘celebrated’ as a day of remembrance, education and service.
Speaking personally…in early 2015, just a little over a year ago, my wife and I saw the motion picture Selma. By all accounts, it was an accurate dramatization, using actual video footage of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery [Alabama] historical march that was arguably the watershed event that propelled the Civil Rights Movement into the forefront of our national conscience. Watching the film, I was deeply moved by both shame and admiration…shame because of the segregationist attitudes and violence by the state government in Alabama…admiration for the courage and restraint of the civil rights leaders on that day. And the catalytic leader was the venerable Martin Luther King Jr.
Pray with me…Father God, I thank You today that we are all part of a Kingdom in which there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female…for we are all one in Christ Jesus. Thank you for making us one in Him. In His Name we humbly pray, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
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