Mlk_5
I would like to think that I am a courageous individual. That I would brook no indignity visited
upon me or my family.
That I would not remain silent at the lack of justice so rampant in an unjust world.
That I would rail against those who seek to suppress others and strip them of their voice.
That I would stare down any assailant.
That I would spit in the face of danger.
Scoff at the countenance of harassment.

But no, in the truest sense of the word, I’m not courageous.
It’s not that I can’t be. It’s that I’ve never had the need, nor the opportunity to be.
I’m American. Not much persecution there.
White. Nor there.
Middle class.
White collar.
Not much in my life has prepared me for doing something extra-ordinary.
And so I opt for the safe. The secure.
I typically don’t say anything at the restaurant if my order is wrong.
I walk on eggshells around people lest I say anything to offend.
I ask for little out of the fear of putting people out.

And that’s one reason that I am so intrigued by the lives of those who have done with their lives that which could be defined as courageous, even heroic.

In 1955 when E.D. Nixon suggested a young preacher to organize and lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott there was little reason to suspect that this man was anything more than a fiery and skilled homiletician.
Yet there was more, much more to Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a man of courage.
A man of conviction.
A man of peace.

He agreed to lead that boycott on one condition: that it be completely non-violent.
That, in itself, has to be seen as courageous. The human inclination would be to strike back physically.
But King went against the trend. He bucked the system.
He turned the other cheek.
For 381 days blacks in Montgomery boycotted the buses and Jim Crow itself. And they did it without violence.
Even when his house was bombed while his wife and child were inside. And even when the crowd that assembled outside his home that same night vowed retaliation he insisted on being peaceful.
At the risk of his own life he knew that true courage was found not in violence.
True courage was found not in retaliation or in raising the hand.
True courage, true greatness, was found in service.
In love and in peace.
That is what prompted him to make such statements as:
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so
tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the
bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.”

Such courage in the face of danger. Love in the midst of hatred.
Greatness in such a time as that.

I am fully aware of the documented moral failures that plagued King during his life. Save for Jesus Christ, the same can be said for each of us.
Yet there is much we can learn from Martin Luther King, inasmuch as he points us to Jesus.
Years later, reflecting back on those uncertain days of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, King said:

And I sat at that table thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me any minute. And I started thinking about a dedicated, devoted and loyal wife, who was over there asleep. . .And I got to the point that I couldn’t take it anymore. I was weak. . .
And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me, and I had to know God for myself. And I bowed down over that cup of coffee. I never will forget it. . .I prayed a prayer, and I prayed out loud that night. I said, “Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I’m right. I think the cause that we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now. I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage.”
…And it seemed at that moment that I could hear an inner voice say to me, “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo I will be with you, even until the end of the world.”. . .I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No never alone. No never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.

No, Martin Luther King was not perfect. But I am convinced that his mission was that of Christ: “…to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18:19)

This Monday, I will teach my children something of Martin Luther King. But more importantly I will teach them the lessons that he stood for.
Of peace.
Of loving your neighbors even when they hate you.
Of looking beyond skin color and seeing the child of God.
Of fighting against a world riddled by racism and bigotry.
Of living a courageous life.

Now, that I think about it. That is pretty courageous.