Martin Luther King JR

Snippett

In his letter from a Birmingham jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responded to fellow American clergy who were asking him to wait for a better time to pursue the cause of justice in the South.  "Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, 'Wait,'" he wrote.  "But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize and even kill with impunity your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society....when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of 'nobodiness'—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait."(1)  To call for those suffering to wait is to institutionalize our apathy.

Though at times unconsciously taken, our steps away from the center of the world's pain to a place where we can clear our heads and find perspective are invariably steps toward putting it out of our heads.  Requesting time to think, we are requesting time itself to stop.  We are asking those with urgent needs to pause for the sake of our own relief.  We ask those affected by injustice and hunger, darkness and pain, racism and religious persecution to cover their faces in nobodiness while we step away from it all.  But as Dr. King observed prophetically, "Justice too long delayed is justice denied.'"

Faces in the Crowd	Monday, January 17, 2011
Jill Carattini Todays's Slice Ravi Zacharis Web

 

Scripture

Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." Matthew 10:41,42

Song

EBONY AND IVORY,
LIVE TOGETHER IN PERFECT HARMONY,
SIDE BY SIDE ON MY PIANO KEYBOARD,
OH, LORD, WHY DON'T WE?

WE ALL KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE THE SAME WHEREVER YOU GO,
THERE IS GOOD AND BAD IN EV'RYONE.
AND WE LEARN TO LIVE, WE LEARN TO GIVE EACH OTHER
WHAT WE NEED TO SURVIVE, TOGETHER ALIVE.

EBONY AND IVORY,
LIVE TOGETHER IN PERFECT HARMONY,
SIDE BY SIDE ON MY PIANO KEYBOARD,
OH, LORD, WHY DON'T WE?

EBONY, IVORY,
LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY.
EBONY, IVORY.
OOH -
WE ALL KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE THE SAME WHEREVER YOU GO,
THERE IS GOOD AND BAD, MM-MM, IN EV'RYONE.
WE LEARN TO LIVE WHEN WE LEARN TO GIVE EACH OTHER
WHAT WE NEED TO SURVIVE, TOGETHER ALIVE.
EBONY AND IVORY,
LIVE TOGETHER IN PERFECT HARMONY,
SIDE BY SIDE ON MY PIANO KEYBOARD,
OH, LORD, WHY DON'T WE?
SIDE BY SIDE ON MY PIANO KEYBOARD,
OH, LORD, WHY DON'T WE-EE-EE-EE, WE?
EBONY, IVORY, LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY
EBONY, IVORY, ARE LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY.
(IVORY)
EBONY, IVORY,
(EBONY)
LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY.
(IVORY)
EBONY, IVORY,
(EBONY)
LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY.
(UH, UH, UH)
EBONY, IVORY,
(IVORY) (EBONY)
LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY.
(UH, UH, UH)
EBONY, IVORY,
LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY. Paul McCartney Song Writer

Sentence Prayer

To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

God, our world needs justice. We acknowledge that all true goodness must come from you. We must obey and act, but you give the convictions and courage and strength to bring about the true changes needed. Today we thank you for the life of Martin Luther King Jr. We ask for your blessing in the cause he championed, the drive for racial justice in America. We thank you for progress already achieved, and we ask you to help us finish the work. Today, bring a new spirit of peace in our nation. And may your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/prayerplainandsimple/2010/01/a-prayer-in-honor-of-rev-dr-martin-luther-king-jr.html#ixzz1BJqh5yBA