On January 19, 2009, we formally celebrate our national observance of the the birth date of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He would be 80 years old today, had he not been assassinated. The Crapaud family ponders what position he might take on the rights struggles of gender and sexual orientation, marriage equality and other issues so critical to our family--we can only surmise. Herewith some poignant words about the role of the church in rights' struggles.“... The contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are…
....But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. I am meeting young people every day whose disappointment with the church has risen to outright disgust..”
Excerpts from Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
No comments:
Post a Comment