Dr. King continued

 

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."  

 

Continue to dwell with me in quotes from Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.  The process remains the same today.  I invite you to read it first to see what word or sentence jumps off the page at you?  What emotions are provoked and evoked in the reading.  Pause, sit with what is stirring in you.  Read the words a second time, this time pondering where do these words challenge you. Pause, sit with what is stirring in you.  Read the words a final time to see how God, who is still speaking, is singing to you in these words. 

 

Where is justice being denied right now, today?

Where do we shout, “wait” and really mean “never”?

Where do we drag our feet, both as a country and as a church?

Where do we dig in and pour our energy, especially as a church who has three covenants with God and each other to live?

How might we embody our covenants individually and collectively?

 

I pray Dr. King’s words continue to spark and fan to flame the passion to be God’s people of justice, love, and especially follower of the Jesus way in these days.  Amen.