Repost: Some Thoughts on Martin Luther King...
My 6-year-old daughter was recently mentioning to me that they had been learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. in her 1st grade social studies class. I was curious about how a teacher could communicate the greatness of someone like Dr. King to a group of 6-7 year olds, so I asked her, "So who was Martin Luther King?" She responded, simply, "He was a man who changed the rules." I was expecting to hear a response that I would need to add to, clarify, to get more in-depth upon, to explain to my unusually bright daughter the details. But when I heard her answer, I could only say "That's right, honey."
He was a man who changed the rules. Kind of sums up Jesus, too, don't you think?
When my daughter grows a bit older, I might get into the details of how and in what sense Dr. King "changed the rules." I might explain that he didn't literally change the rules, but lived by a model, one taught to him by his Lord, that has a natural tendency to change rules that need to be changed.
A little later, I might get into it with her about the Social Gospel and my takes on its strengths and weaknesses, a thought that comes to mind every time I think about Dr. King. I read an interview with Brian McLaren today where he touches on this. What he said convicted me, because I realized I had always tended to think about the issue in isolation, in black-and-white terms, if you will. Is the social gospel the right or wrong way to go? One part of the interview went as follows:
Q. This week, we marked the birthday of Martin Luther King. He was clearly a religious person who went out there and tried to deal with the hurts and injustices of the world. Are there models -- saints even -- that we can follow? King, Mother Teresa -- people who went out there?
A. Catholics talk about saints, but I don't hear much about them from evangelical Christians.
To me, this is one of the great resources that Roman Catholics bring to all other Christians -- this awareness that, by elevating certain people as heroes, we have some great examples to follow.
It's interesting that you mention both Mother Teresa and Dr. King because they represent to me two very important but very different models. Mother Teresa represents the model of caring for the poor, being with them as they die and, in a very personal and compassionate way, showing the love of God to poor people. Dr. King represents a very different approach, which says that we also have to deal with the unjust systems that keep causing people to suffer.
So I would hate to have Dr. King without Mother Teresa or Mother Teresa without Dr. King. But when we have the two of them, that's a great balance. It's the balance of mercy and justice.
Brian's answer reminded me of what Paul says in Ephesians about "the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things," and that plan is this: so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. In its rich variety. Polupoíkilos. I was reminded that we need both the social gospel and the gospel of personal salvation, each in its context, each where it is needed, and each carried forward by those called by God to carry it forward.
I really look forward to discussing these things with my daughter. But for now, I like the little doctrine she has embedded in her little brain. It's a good seed.
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
