Sermon given on January 15, 2012, Martin Luther King’s birthday, at Wooddale Lutheran Church by Pastor Tim Rauk. “Renewing Our Society”
Today is the 83rd anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As indicated in the description of the day, Martin Luther King is one of the people identified in the calendar of the church year as a “Renewer of society”, the title given to individuals who have “contributed dramatically to the development and vitality of society.” So, as a “Renewer of Society”, Dr. King Jr., is described as “an American prophet of justice among races and nations, an eloquent preacher, a leader of the nonviolent resistance to a race-segregated society, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.”
For a number of years after January 15, became a legal holiday, not all the states embraced the idea, but today it is an accepted national holiday, and has become a time for Americans to remember and contemplate the dream that Martin Luther King so eloquently articulated, a dream of equality where all people are treated as the equals God created them to be. His dream was most dramatically articulated in a speech made on August 28, 1963, that has become a powerful statement of the American dream which I believe history will rank up there with words of the Gettysburg address, where Lincoln famously said, “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” and the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all are created equal.”
To a crowd of 250,000 people in Washington D.C., King gave his “I have a dream” speech. And here’s how King articulated his dream.
“In spite of the difficulties and frustration of the moment I still have a dream. “It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream. … I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all are created equal.’ … I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the children of slaves and the children of slave owners will be able to sit down together as sisters and brothers. … I have a dream, that my 4 little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
We have not arrived yet, at realizing this dream, but I’m thankful for the part Dr. King played in bringing our nation closer to realizing this dream than we were when segregation was accepted as inevitable. Several questions that came to my mind on a day that commemorates a “Renewer of Society.” Most specifically, “Who will be the new ‘Renewer of Society’? How will they achieve that title? What does a ‘Renewer of Society’ look like today?
We are now in a political cycle where every candidate for president of the United States, whether the incumbent democrat or one of the Republicans now contending for their party’s endorsement, make every effort to lift themselves up as the best candidate to be a “Renewer of our society.” It’s a title that they would all love to wear. “Vote for me, and this is how I will renew our society,” is the promise. And I actually believe, that they believe that they can accomplish that. “All you have to do is vote for me, and I will renew the society. All you have to do is vote for me, and I’ll fix everything.”
But renewal comes, not from passive spectators enlisting someone else to do the work. Renewal comes when people join together to commit themselves to create something new. So when an African American woman, Rosa Parks, refused to move to the back of a bus and was arrested in Montgomery, Dr. King led a non-violent boycott of the bus company that lasted over a year before the policy was successfully changed by the bus company itself. And when the parsonage in which he lived was bombed, Dr. King stood on the splintered porch of his home and said to his gathered neighbors and followers:
“If you have weapons, take them home. If you do not have them please do not seek to get them. In our protest there will be no cross burnings. No white person will be taken from his home by a hooded Negro mob and brutally murdered. There will be no threats and intimidations. We will be guided by the highest principles of law and order.”
Renewal of society comes when the people embrace the highest of principles. And those high principles are beautifully articulated in one way or another in the lessons that were read this morning. So I’d like to look at those passages again in two ways. First of all, it’s interesting to recognize how these passages might apply to the non-violent protests of the civil rights movement. Certainly, I invite you to look for that as well.
But more importantly, what if all of us, what if everyone who identifies themselves as a follower of Jesus, began every day consciously contemplating the truths we find in Micah, Romans, and in Jesus’ teaching we heard this morning. What if we all started our day, spending 15 minutes meditating on these truths.
How would our society be renewed if we all committed ourselves to Micah’s call, where he says, “What the LORD desires of you is: to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” How might I, today, live “doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly with God.”? That simple statement carries immense implication, not by asking others to do it, but if we embrace it ourselves.
And then in Paul’s reading from Romans. This is one of my favorite passages from Paul that lists what being a follower of Jesus will look like. What if every day, as a follower of Jesus, I challenged myself to: “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil.” Racism is evil. So how do I “hate what is evil” and then, “hold fast to what is good?” How do we “love one another with mutual affection and outdo one another in showing honor?”
Paul then goes on to say, “Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit.” The Good News Bible says simply, “Work Hard.” How might I make the sacrifices that need to be made to “serve the Lord.” Continuing on, how might I “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of others, extend hospitality to strangers.” How might I “Bless those who persecute me, bless and not curse them? Rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep.”
It’s not easy to “16Live in harmony with one another; to give ones selves to humble tasks; to do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble. And 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Peaceful living doesn’t always happen, but as far as it depends on me, can I foster peaceable relationships.
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. … Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
And then in the reading from Luke, we find Jesus’ teachings to be at least as challenging. What if every follower of Jesus started every day asking themselves, how might I “Love my enemies and do good to those who hate me,” How might I “bless those who curse me, and pray for those who abuse me.” And then, what we know of as The Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
But if we wish to Renew our Society following Jesus, we “love our enemies.” We “do good, expecting nothing in return.” What does it look like to seek to “Be merciful, just as God is merciful.”?
Renewal of society is something that is never fully accomplished, because renewal is dependent on everyone discovering anew, again and again, how to make sacrifices for the good of all. It something that doesn’t come naturally to us. It must be renewed every day. I am thankful for the vision the Bible gives us that guides us to renewal, and I am thankful for all the people like Dr. Martin Luther King who lived out their faith.
I hope you keep your bulletin, and spend time tomorrow, the day of our national observance of “Martin Luther King Day” meditating on the wisdom, the art of being a true Renewer of Society through the teachings of Micah, Paul, and of course, Jesus.
