For January 18, 2009

I Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
I Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51

The reading from the Hebrew Scriptures tells of the call of the prophet Samuel, as a young boy in the service of Eli. The Psalm celebrates the all-encompassing presence of God. The Epistle reading reminds us that our bodies are to be treated with reverence, as temples of God in the Spirit. And the Gospel of John speaks again in poetic, evocative images, which to the discerning reader, reveal the identify of Jesus as the messiah of God.

The Sunday Bulletin Service theme for the day comes from the psalm: "Known and Loved."

This is Martin Luther King, Jr Sunday. I am looking through his collected writings. Here's a excerpt from his last Christmas Eve sermon (1967). The nation was at war abroad and at home-- in Vietnam and the streets of Birmingham and Memphis and on college campuses. The struggle for justice and peace could at times seem endless and fruitless. And Dr. King said:

If there is to be peace on earth and good will toward men, we must finally believe in the ultimate morality of the universe, and believe that all reality hinges on moral foundations. Something must remind us of this as we once again stand in the Christmas season and think of the Easter season simultaneously, for the two somehow go together. Christ came to show us the way. Men love darkness rather than light, and they crucified him, and there on Good Friday on the cross is was still dark, but then Easter came, and Easter is an eternal reminder of the fact that the truth-crushed earth will rise again. Easter justifies Carlyle in saying, "No lie can live forever." And so this is our faith, as we continue to hope for peace on earth and good will toward men: let us know that in the process we have cosmic companionship.

Cosmic companionship. Dr. King joined that great cloud of witnesses 40 years ago. Today, the nation is at war abroad and at home-- in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the factories of Chicago (last fall) and the streets of St Paul (last summer). Take heart. No lie can live forever.

I still have a dream that with this faith we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism. With this faith we will be able to speed up the day when there will be peace on earth and good will toward men.

The boy Samuel, in the Old Testament story, became a great prophet, and to quote this odd turn of phrase, "none of his words fell to the ground." I take that to mean that the words found purchase in the ears of those who listened, who took his words to heart. I do so hope that Dr. King's words do not fall to the ground. I hope they will continue to be caught up in our ears, and inspire us to continue to "meet physical force with soul force," and continue to love as we are loved by God.

Quotes taken from A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited by James M. Washington. San Fransisco: Harper & Row, 1986.