Week 3: King's Letter to the American Christians

A message from the Author: As a means of paying homage to the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I have decided to dedicate this week’s Motivating Christian Moment to reflect what he might say if he could speak to us. This letter is hypothetical and imaginative, based upon my study of King’s works.

Scripture: Luke 10:29-37

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

King’s Letter to the American Christians

I have had the privilege to travel and see various places of this beautiful country. We have beautiful arboretums, beaches, and tranquil places. I have sat by its peaceful streams and have tasted the brisk air of your warm weather. I only dreamt of being able to enjoy all of its beauty, as many of you have had the privilege. My brothers and sisters, it has been pleasure is to see that you have prospered just as your souls have prospered. I have seen that there are students of all ethnicities in different schools. I see that little black boys and little black girls can go to school with little white boys and little white girls. And I must say that we have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord. In 1963, when I announced that I had a dream, I had not realized that I would not be able to see the Promised Land that I dreamed of. But if I am honest with you, it is a dream that is far greater than I. The dream is beautiful as it is wrapped in the identity of this beautiful country. The beauty of this country is so astounding that Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel Ward thought to describe it as America, the Beautiful. The Song says:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

While I agree with their creative descriptions of the beauty of our great Country’s looks, I would be speaking to you without good conscious if I didn’t tell you that this beautiful country has some ugly sins. The ugly sins of our nation are rooted in the lack of love for the other. As the recipients of my dream, you also had the responsibility of the dream, and it seems that the dream keepers have lost their sights on the dream. It seems as if America was so busy honoring the dreamer, that we forgot to keep the dream alive. Believe me, I am eternally grateful that you have chosen to honor me throughout history of America by making my birthday a national holiday. I have been told that some even describe it as the day of service. But if you truly desire to honor me, do not just take a day off of school or work, but rather stand up against Injustice. Because I remind you that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere.” If you desire to honor me, take on the mantle of service every day. Service is not limited to a group of individuals, as I remind you that: “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

            But America, what has happened to your love? If you have no love for each other, what about your love for God? Your love should call into question some of the actions (or even the lack of actions) that you have committed. It seems that you have remained comfortable with racism and bigotry. How could this be? How could it be that people can sit behind their phones and makes such racist and bigoted comments? This might be because America has not been delivered from its original sin. America still does not believe in the words of its very own Constitution. Doesn’t our constitution still say: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?” But where is the happiness of the Negro, Latino or Immigrant?

I remember the day that Emmett Till died. Knowing that there had to be someone who heard the cries and wails of this young man; that did absolutely nothing to save him.  Seeing the strength of Mamie Till, as she exposed the body of her son in an open casket after being brutally beaten and murdered. It saddens me to admit that Emmett Till, wasn’t the last Emmett Till. There was another Emmet Till by the name of Jordan Smith was killed for playing music too loud in the gas station. There was another Emmet Till named Trayvon Martin, who was murdered after walking home from getting Skittles and an iced tea. There was an Emmett Till by the name of Michael Brown, who was gunned down by a Ferguson police officer. And the list will go on and on. Why couldn’t they pursue happiness? Why couldn’t they have their life? Most importantly, where were the Samaritans?  Where are the Samaritans?

I, too, have found myself and others beaten brutally along America’s Jericho Road. Are you familiar with this road? This road is the transitional road that travels from the mountaintop to the valley. It is the road that causes division between groups of people. On one end of this road, you will find the elite and on the other end you will find the underdog. On one end of this road, you will find the educated and on the other end you will find the undereducated. On one end of this road, you will find the privileged and on the other end you will find the underprivileged. As you see, this road is the separation between the “Good” and the “Bad”. The separation will always remain unless we are able to look passed where we are coming from to help the other; no matter who the other is. No matter who we are, we are the other in the eyes of someone else.

Being a Samaritan, is about going out of your way to help someone else. Out of your love for God, your nation, and the lives of its people; you help someone without the selfish thought of yourself. While I may be one of the few who received ample amounts of recognition for our efforts, there were many who supported our efforts towards equality. We boycotted buses so that we could be seen as fair patrons in all venues that we spend our money. We fought for Voter Rights, so that all would be able to vote. We marched for equality throughout the United States with hopes that generations to come would be able to live into this equality. It wasn’t about us, but rather the generations that were to come. On this Jericho road we call America, People are robbed, cheated, disenfranchised, marginalized, and every day. People are left half-dead in the street, while people walk idly by. People are searching for a better in life, but those who could help them won’t help them. After years of fighting to overcome, it seems that you have become complacent with the places in which you have come over. Family you can’t be complacent, because have much further to go.

Let us not be so entangled or bound by our thinking, that we forget our responsibility to others. But tell me, how could this be the land of the free? our ancestors were brought to this land over 300 years ago as slaves. When slavery was over, new means of bondage were established such as Jim Crow, or Mass Incarceration. How could this be the home of the brave? This is not the home of the brave, but rather it has become the country of selfish and scared people. Do you remember the Good Samaritan? The one who would go out of their way to make sure that even their enemy is taken care of. That is a sign of Bravery, and we are not brave if we are afraid of the other. We can’t be brave if out of fear we are spending too much time trying to get rid of those who are not like us. We can’t be brave if we are arguing that they are stealing our jobs, and taking our children’s opportunities. This is cowardice! Let us not remain in our fear, because there is the capability to be the Good Samaritan in all of us. Do not be afraid of men and their faces, for God will be with you. We saw much that caused us to fear, but the future ahead of us was much brighter than our past. This is why we can stand with the hymn-writer as he wrote:

I’ve seen the lightning flashing,

And heard the thunder roll;

I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing,

Trying to conquer my soul;

I’ve heard the voice of Jesus,

Telling me still to fight on;

He promised never to leave me,

Never to leave me alone.