MLK Day

Heard something interesting from my boss today...he said that giving kids the day off of school for Martin Luther King Day was dumb and that we'd be better off having school, but orienting programs/teaching around who MLK was. I have to agree with the heart behind this argument. Beyond race, MLK offers us a great example of the power of non-violent resistance. The idea that someone can stand up against injustice without participating unjustly against the unjust (is this clear?), is exactly what this revolution a la mustard seems to be centered on.

Where have the prophets gone who stand up against injustice in Afghanistan, Iraq or Cuba and say...'This is wrong...I love you...and will pursue peace at all costs...but this is wrong."? Where is the church, absent of political stances, void of subtitles or surnames that incorporate 'republican' or 'democrat' allegiance? Where are the peacemakers, who ache as God aches at the sight of injustice? MLK was NOT a black rights advocate first and foremost. He was a prophetic agent of peace and change.

I'll leave you with this. I read a book a couple years ago that you simply must read. It is called "Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. He challenges us to rethink 'church' in so many ways. At the outset of the war in Iraq, when the U.S. began bombing, Claiborne and others travelled to Iraq and dwelled with some Iraqi Christians. He tells of a birthday party for one of the kids when planes flew overhead and began bombing. The message Claiborne and his fellow travelers sent is "We are God's church...we will stay here and be bombed with you." This is the way of the mustard seed...little acts of revolutionary love, that defy injustice, that make peace, and that change the status quo.

May we, like King, Claiborne and so many others ask God to allow us to be agents of kingdom change in this world. And when God opens the door, may we bolt through without hesitation.