We celebrate Dr. King's birthday. We remember the day he died. Today is perhaps the third most important day in his life. The day he shared his dream with the world.
What would the fourth most important day be? There would lots of choices for that fourth day. The day he married. The day his first child was born. Maybe it was the day of his baptism, ordination, or when he got his doctorate. Maybe it was when he got his first pastorate or got his first book published. Maybe it was the day he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Yes many choices for that day.
I want to propose that the fourth most important day was the day he refused to give up on his faith. We don't know exactly when that day was but we do know it happened. There was a time at Morehouse college when Dr. King questioned his faith. I imagine a phone conversation between Dr. Benjamin Mays and Martin Luther King Sr. :
MLK Sr.- Hello.
Dr. Mays- Reverend King?
MLK Sr.- This is he.
Dr. Mays- This Dr. Mays from Morehouse college.I am sorry to bother you, but we have a problem with Martin.
MLK Sr.-Problem? Is it his grades? Is he cutting class?
Dr. Mays-No, Reverend King, it is his faith. He is starting to question the Bible. He thinks it may be a collection of fairy tales. He is thinking of leaving the Church, forgoing his ministry.
MLK Sr.- Oh no. This must never happen. My son has a gift from God. We've got to do all we can to keep him in the Church.
Dr. Mays- I have a plan. I am going to tell him that the Bible doesn't have to be taken literally. That there are other ways to interpret it. Metaphorical ways.
MLK Sr. - Do you think it will work?
Dr. Mays - I think it might.
It worked. Dr. King became even more dedicated to his faith, church, and ministry. And there were other days when he refused to give up on his faith. When the porch was blown off his house. When he was stabbed. When he was arrested. Whenever someone was injured or died for the sake of the Civil Rights movement. Throughout the tough days of his life he refused to give up on his faith. His faith in God, himself and his dream.
So what is the take away? What is the call to action? The take away is that the most important days in our lives are the day we were born, the day we die, the day we dedicate ourselves to a dream, and the days we refuse to give up our faith.
So the call to action is simply to keep the faith in your dreams, to refuse to give up. And then to do something to extend the dreams. Your personal dreams and the dream of Dr. King. May we keep the Dream all the days of our lives.
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