I was talking with a young friend of mine who is a Martin Luther King, Jr. enthusiast. He has read many of King's writings and listened to recordings of several speeches. In that conversation, I was reminded that the core of King's message is sometimes overlooked in the rush to honor him. We hear recitations of "I Have a Dream" on MLK Day, but too easily forget that his substantive passion extended to a desire to eradicate poverty and end U. S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and that his method was radical non-violent resistance.

I was reading an Associated Press article recently that reminded me: "King was working on anti-poverty and anti-war issues at the time of his death." These efforts caused him to offend some people and cost him a great deal of support. At the time of his death, there were a lot of people who did not like King at all! For we who want to follow the vision he articulated, need to remember that it is a great thing to honor Dr. King as long as we don't let that blind us to his message.

Author Scott Peck, in his book A Different Drum, said that we tend to do something similar with Jesus. One of the dangers in Christianity is that "we are allowed to worship him in name without the obligation of following in his footsteps." I agree with Peck to the extent that we memorialize Jesus, sing songs of praise to him, and then excuse ourselves from following his way.

An honest reading of Jesus' teachings in the Gospel challenges us to act on behalf of the poor, the victims of the violence of oppression, and those on the margins of life. Jesus calls us to live by the values of the Kingdom of God especially when they are in tension with the values of the world around us. It is not an easy way to live, but according to Jesus in the Gospels, it is the only way to abundant life! The narrow gate that leads to life demands that we become peacemakers, that we challenge power structures when they victimize people, and that we commit ourselves to resist oppression with active non-violence. This is the way Jesus walked. This is the direction we need to go to follow him.

How we follow Jesus will look different for each of us. One of the paradoxical truths of faith is that we follow the way of Jesus while, at the same time, we blaze a new trail with our lives in partnership with the Spirit. One of the most important things church can do is support, encourage, and challenge us to deepen our spiritual connectedness and seek to hear the invitations of the Spirit for our own lives. We are individuals. We are also communities of faith. We share a common humanity. How we respond to the injustice we see will be a hallmark of our individual and communal journeys.

The promise of Shalom is that we are all One in God. Life is interconnected. This is why the cause of those who live on the margins of life is wrapped up with our own. In his 'Letter from the Birmingham Jail', King wrote: "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." Our capacity to find abundance in life is intimately bound with our willingness to reach out and act with justice, mercy, and love.

Thanks for blessing me on the journey.

--Jack Price

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