Today marks the celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday. While federal officials may be actively making changes related to the observance of this holiday we can still honor the life and legacy of the man and movement that inspired it!
Just as King was living during turbulent times, we too are living in turbulent times. So many of his messages could have been spoken today and would still be absolutely relevant to what is going on in this country.
In our gospel today from Mark 2, Jesus says that “No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If they do, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
Like Jesus, Martin Luther King knew that in this life we can’t just settle for a repackaging of old ideas and ways of engaging. We need something new, otherwise the tear in the social fabric gets worse. A change must come!
Jesus called this change the kin-dom of God. King called it the “beloved community,” and many throughout the years have tried to name and work towards this new vision for humanity.
We live in an era, however, that in real time is working to undermine this vision and bring us back to “old wineskins” that do not serve us or this world.
In the time of MLK, he was focused on a new way of engaging race and social justice. He saw that the old ways kept Black people stuck (it kept white people stuck too but in different ways) and he called for a “radical revolution of values” that would enable us to move beyond the stuck-ness and embrace the promise of this nation.
In his now famous and controversial “Beyond Vietnam” speech in 1967, he condemned war, critiqued our national proclivity towards violence and militarism, lamented our national turn towards imperialism and railed against the excesses of capitalism.
We’re in a similar time right now.
In this present moment, we’re seeing a return to the very things King condemned. As I write this blog post, we’re occupying Venezuela and making threats that we will take over Greenland and bomb Iran. We’re witnessing the Department of War blow boats out of the water with no proof of criminal activity and witnessing ICE agents enact terrible violence against people in Minneapolis (and elsewhere). And we see an economy that is ever-more geared towards funneling wealth to the wealthiest people in this country and letting the interests of corporations dictate public policy.
It is a course that takes us further and further from King’s vision and from a gospel vision for our world.
A fundamental question arises at this time. Are we OK with what is happening? And if not, what is ours to do? So many of us will likely answer, “It’s not OK!” But knowing what to do about it all becomes a little less clear.
Back in the 1960’s King proposed what “new wineskins” might look like, and this included his willingness to go to jail related to his non-cooperation with the powers that be. We’re witnessing a resurgence of this kind of energy in Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles and so many other places. It’s an energy that is inspiring many to get involved as never before. It is an energy of resistance.
Just last week Episcopal Bishop of the Manchester, NH diocese (my home state!), Rev. Rob Hirschfeld, urged clergy members to “get their affairs in order and their wills ready” in response to the ICE officer’s shooting of Renee Good. He recognized that we are in a new moment that may require a renewed commitment for us to directly (and nonviolently) engage the powers that are harming our communities. He went on to say that “Now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable.”
These are bold words, indeed, and his words are filled with echoes of Jesus’ kin-dom and King’s beloved community. And while he is clearly calling the clergy to be at the front of this revolution, it is a call to all people of faith. If I am honest, these words both inspire and scare me. Yet something deep inside me says, “Yes,” and invites me to lean into this more in whatever ways that I can right now.
For today’s reflections on this holiday, I would direct us to read (in their entirety) two of King’s most profound speeches:
King’s 1967 Beyond Vietnam speech as well as his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Taken together, these two writings form what I think are fundamental pillars for the time we’re living in. If you have read them, I invite you to read them again.
Read them slowly. Write down words or phrases that stand out. Let them sink in. Feel their weight. Feel their inspiration. Journal about what it stirs in you.
And while we may be reading the words of one individual, let’s be mindful that his words reflect the lives and experiences of so many. MLK’s words reflected a movement – not just the perspective of one person – and this movement remains alive and well in our world today. In Minneapolis. In Chicago. In Los Angeles. In Rochester. And it has the possibility of living more fully in you and me.
We know that that the new wineskins will not just appear magically. They require change – a change of heart and a change of action. Jesus, Martin Luther King and so many others throughout history showed us a road map of what the world could be like if we are willing to use our hearts, minds and bodies towards the service of the kin-dom. And while they may not have lived in the unique moment that we are in, their map can still guide us to reflect on what new and bold actions might look like now.
After reading the two speeches, just sit quietly. Ask God to speak to you about this moment in history that we find ourselves in. Ask God to show you a way to create new wineskins in your own life. Talk with others about what you are thinking. Then let go, and trust God.
Note: Many of you have heard me speak about Rev. William Barber II from the Poor People’s Campaign. I just saw that he is the 2026 MLK speaker at the U of R on Thursday, January 29th. There are in person and virtual options. If you’ve ever wished you could hear MLK speak live, you might just want to try to catch Rev. Barber. He’s one of the people I keep looking to during this time for a religious voice that embodies all that I have been writing about today.
2 Comments
George Dardess
Thank you again, Mike. MLK represents humanity at our best— not a “perfect” person (whatever that is!) but a truly human one, which is what each of us is called to be. We have him to measure ourselves by and aspire to become. (And pray for the strength fulfilling that aspiration requires.)
I think Pope Leo is showing what is possible. There’s a good essay from the NYT about Leo’s effort to become a counterweight to Trump. I’ll send it to you via email.
Sue Staropoli
Wow, Mike.
I had never heard the Beyond Vietnam speech, and was so moved and enlightened (and deeply disturbed) by his message, and the complicity of the US in destruction through so many decades in so many parts of the world. It reminds me, painfully, of John Perkin’s book Confessions of an Economic Hitman, with his personal account of such actions of the US in manipulating foreign countries for US (business) interests. Be watching for a new book he is writing – Stealing the Deal: An Economic HIt Man Presidency (or something like that). It is so important that his message is heard by so many. What Trump is doing is just a more blatant version of US policy and practice for many decades. Just as what he’s doing is bringing to light the racism and oppressions that have been there all along in our own country. So much to reflect and pray on. Thanks so much for your invitations – to deepen our own hearts and discern what is ours to do. I keep listening……….
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