The prophet Amos shines light on the ideals of an important historical figure.
Transcript
[Darris McNeely] Let me read you a quote and see if you know who said it. “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.”
Give up? Dr. Martin Luther King said that the night before he was actually shot in Memphis in 1968. I read that to my class this morning and asked how many knew who said it – not too many did. As with so many of our national holidays – we’re coming up on the national holiday in America for the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, the three-day weekend – we don’t always know why we do these big three-day weekends or remember the backstory. In Dr. King’s case, it can be instructive because of what we are facing now.
Dr. King was a civil rights activist in the 1960s. He was a very controversial figure, as he stood up for the racial inequalities in America during that time. He was also controversial in my own home, and I understand that he was not a perfect individual; he was flawed in many ways. But Dr. King did have the courage, the moral courage, to stand up against the racial injustices of the period, and he, along with others, moved that cause a great way down the road.
Now, today, 2016, we still have some racial problems in the United States of America. They’ve not been completely solved. And all the more, perhaps, to look back and to remember what he stood for, what he worked against, and certainly what we all need to be working for. Dr. King said in this particular quote that he’s “seen the Promised Land”. It was a biblical allusion. When we look into that biblical future of God’s kingdom, that really is what he was talking about, perhaps, we recognize and should recognize that that’s when we will ultimately see the full justice in every way, shape, and form that we all look for.
The prophet Amos in chapter 5 and verse 24 said this: “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24). The prophet looked into the kingdom of God and saw that that’s when justice will prevail and roll on like a river completely. And so on the memorial to Dr. King, his birthday, a three-day national weekend in America, think about that. Think about what he stood for. Think about what certainly our country needs. And think about what God’s kingdom promises – true justice, true equality for all peoples in every way. God speed that day.
