A Prophet?

I think of Martin Luther King as a modern prophet. It’s been said that if the canon of scripture wasn’t closed, his Letter from a Birmingham Jailwould deserve a place beside Isaiah and the Apostle Paul. We are in the midst of a time of mass demonstrations. King wrote that letter to explain why he came from Atlanta to Birmingham to organize the protests there. He wrote it to the clergy-persons, who believed the fake news that those in the streets were being organized by malevolent actors. He writes, “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their ‘thus says the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As I look at the photo, I am reminded that bringing about real social change is costly. King was a martyr in all the religious connotations of that word. He reminds us that to be faithful we each must be willing to go where our faith sends us.  Read more of the letter at: Letter_Birmingham