Dr. King Week Conclusion

 

Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely rational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this 'hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

 

In the musical Rent (I know SO MANY musical references in the same week!), there is a hauntingly holy number that is simply a repeated refrain sung over and over.  The words are:

 

Will I lose my dignity?

Will someone care?

Will I wake tomorrow

From this nightmare?

 

These questions for me get to the heart of the human condition.  We all wonder about losing our dignity, identity, respectability, getting voted off the island and having our torch extinguished.  We lose our dignity when we say something that is immediately rejected or when a family member does something to hurt us or when a friend doesn’t call back.  We all wonder who cares and we want to wake from the nightmares individually and collectively ~ the struggle and strife stirring in your soul today.  The fact that these words were written in the early 1990s but are still as relevant and resonate within our souls today says something about the human condition.  Where and with whom do you worry about losing your dignity or don’t feel you can act with integrity (which is to say with your heart, head, soul, and body in alignment)?  Where are you wondering if anyone cares or sees you?  What do you want to wake up from?  What world do you long to wake up to?  Who rules that world where you long to live?  Money?  Fame?  Followers on social?  Or God’s vulnerable compassion and care born in a manger?  May God, who doesn’t always offer immediate answers, but helps us live the questions day-by-day continue to stir and swirl in your heart as the first month of 2025 begins to wrap up and wind down.  With great love and care to you!  Amen.