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Let me know what you think. The church Email is: slumc@direcway.com, Phone: 480.895.8766
January
19, 2003
Sun Lakes United Methodist Church
Sermon: "Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares"
Scripture: Psalm 139:1-6,13-18
Reverend Larry Gerber
Martin
Luther King Jr. was forced to confront the brutality of police officers, violence
from militant groups and a near-fatal stab wound by a mentally deranged woman.
But in the midst of external tension, God gave him inner peace and helped him
to understand that he was here for a reason.
The year is 1964. I am a sophomore attending Arkansas College, Batesville, Arkansas.
I have the opportunity to join 4,000 other United Methodists from around the
world, in Lincoln, Ne. The featured speaker is The Reverend Martin Luther King.
The topic is overcoming racism and poverty. Along with 4,000 others of like
mind, I am mesmerized at the power, energy, witness, and belief of this man.
His speech almost overpowers me, as he cries for justice and peace for all people.
I do not see a black man, I see a modern day prophet. I see one who believes
in the power and grace of a God of all people. We stand and lock hands as we
sing "We Shall Overcome Someday, Someday......" Tears stream down
our faces as we realize the shortcomings of this world as a whole, but as Christians
in particular. We are in our early 20's. We have heard the war stories of fighting
for freedom. We are afraid of yet another war. And here is a man of peace and
justice, calling us to arms for peace and justice without war.
The speech ended, the song rang out from our lips: We shall overcome someday; overcome hatred and prejudice. Our generation had what it would take to change the course of history, and bring peace and justice without further violence or bloodshed.....We would overcome someday.........in our lifetime.
I go home with a renewed spirit, and with a new hope of peace and harmony. I would be a part of the generation who would teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.........
I would live the rest of my life remembering the man, the speech, the tears, the connecting of 4,000 people as we sang. I would leave Lincoln, NE. a changed youth, and I would help to change the world. I would listen to other speeches. I would hear the threats against this man of peace. I would see the demonstrations in America: some peaceful and some riotous.
I
would follow "the dream" in 1964,65,66,67, and 196..........
The year is 1968. The place: Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis Presley is living at
Graceland with his wife Pricilla and newborn daughter Lisa Marie, and is enjoying
the Grammy he has just won for his second gospel album, "How Great Thou
Art." In the minds of many, he is "The King." But in March of
that year, another King comes to town. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther KingJr.,
travels to Memphis to lead a march in support of city sanitation workers. These
1,300 workers, most of whom are black, have been on strike for safer working
conditions, higher wages and equal treatment. Unfortunately, several militant
groups turn the march violent, and King announces over a bullhorn to the crowd,
"I will never lead a violent march, so please, call it off." He promises
to come back to Memphis in early April to lead a march that is nonviolent. King
returns to Memphis on April 3, 1968. Several death threats have been directed
at King, and tension is high, but he feels that it is important to press ahead
and speak at a rally on behalf of the sanitation workers. In the course of this
address, which turns out to be the last speech he will ever give, he tells the
story of an earlier attempt on his life, one that brought him perilously close
to death. According to Ralph Abernathy, his friend and successor, Martin Luther
King stood up that night and just "preached out" his fear. [NOTE:
Here the reader/actor offers a dramatic reading of this section of the speech.]
You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book
that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black
woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin
Luther King?" And I was looking down writing, and I said yes. And the next
minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed
by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday
afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the
tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's
punctured, you drown in your own blood, that's the end of you. It came out in
The New York Times the next morning, that if I had sneezed, I would have died.
[Some time] after the operation, after my chest had been opened and the blade
taken out, they allowed me to move around ... and to read the mail that had
come in from all over the states and the world. Kind letters had come in. I
read a few, but one I will never forget. I had received telegrams from the president
and vice president, but I have forgotten what those messages said. I received
a visit and a letter from the governor of New York, but I forgot what was said.
But there was another letter, that came from a ... young girl at the White Plains
High School. And I looked at that letter, and I will never forget it. It said
simply, "Dear Dr. King: I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains
High School." She said, "While it should not matter, I would like
to mention that I am a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and
of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died.
And I'm simply writing to you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze."
And I want to say tonight, I want to say that I [too] am happy that I didn't
sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960,
when students all over the South started sitting in at lunch counters. And I
knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best
in the American Dream ....If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around in 1962,
when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever
men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a
man can't ride your back unless it is bent .... If I had sneezed, I wouldn't
have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused
the conscience of this nation and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill.
If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that [same] year to tell
America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been
in Memphis [tonight] to see a community rally around those brothers and sisters
who are suffering. I am so happy that I didn't sneeze. [End first portion of
dramatic reading.] "I am so happy that I didn't sneeze," proclaimed
Martin Luther King. If he had sneezed, he wouldn't have witnessed the lunch
counter sit-ins, the Civil Rights Bill, the March on Washington or the sanitation
workers' strike. If he had not remained very still, very calm and very peaceful
during that attempt on his life, he would not have been part of one of the greatest
movements for justice and equality that our nation has ever known. Not that
King took personal credit for his survival. He gave all the glory to God. In
his autobiography he wrote, "If I demonstrated unusual calm during the
attempt on my life, it was certainly not due to any extraordinary powers that
I possess. Rather, it was due to the power of God working through me. Throughout
this struggle for racial justice I have constantly asked God to remove all bitterness
from my heart and to give me the strength and courage to face any disaster that
came my way. This constant prayer life and feeling of dependence on God have
given me the feeling that I have divine companionship in the struggle. I know
no other way to explain it. It is the fact that in the midst of external tension,
God can give an inner peace." In the course of his life, Martin Luther
King walked through many dangers, toils and snares, but through it all he knew
that God was walking with him. The Lord was his divine companion in the Civil
Rights struggle, giving him the strength and the courage to face any disaster
that came his way. He had the very same faith as the writer of Psalm 139, the
ancient poet who said to the Lord, "You hem me in, behind and before, and
lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high
that I cannot attain it" (vv. 5-6). Although life is fragile and full of
danger, we can draw comfort from the knowledge that God is with us, in all that
we do. In the midst of external tension, God can give an inner peace. This peace
gives us courage and confidence, inspiration and insight, serenity and strength.
Most of all, this peace frees us to do God's will. This is important, because
peace doesn't necessarily protect us from pain and suffering - it doesn't shield
us from the hardship that comes from taking bold stands for the Lord in a world
that so often resists his reign. In fact, in the short life of Martin Luther
King, death by an assassin's bullet came just one day after his speech at the
rally in Memphis. God's peace didn't give King long life, but it was life long.
It never failed him. He could stand and sing: He never failed me yet, and on
that fateful night, after his death, I am sure that he was still singing that
God had not failed him. He would say to the Lord, along with Psalm 139, "I
come to the end - I am still with you" (v. 18). And it made all the difference
in his work for racial justice. If King had not felt inner peace, he would not
have been able to organize the Montgomery bus boycott. If he had not felt God's
inspiration and insight, he would not have been able to give his "I Have
a Dream" speech in Washington. If he had not felt God's courage and confidence,
he would not have been able to launch the major voter registration drive "Crusade
for Citizenship." If he had not felt God's courage and confidence, he would
not have been able to defy death threats and stand with the Memphis sanitation
workers. The Lord's peace always frees us ... frees us to do his will. It also
frees us to die for what we believe in. King knew this all too well on the night
before his own death. [NOTE: Here the reader/actor offers a concluding section
of King's speech.] It really doesn't matter what happens now. I got into Memphis
this morning, and [people] began to talk about the threats that were out on
me ... about what might happen to me from some of our sick white brothers. Well,
I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But
it really doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop.
And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity
has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's
will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And
I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to
know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy
tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes
have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. [End second portion of dramatic
reading.] God does not free us from all troubles and toils, struggles and snares,
stumbles and sneezes. He knows that we're bound to hit potholes along the road
to the promised land, and that we'll need his presence and his power to stay
on the right path. Like Martin Luther King, we're never going to be free from
adversity. But we are always free to serve God in every time and place and situation.
May our freedom be used to do the will of the one who is our King. Our heavenly
King. He never failed me yet, we are standing on the promises of God, and we
shall overcome someday.....
In 1964, (38 years ago), I, a 20 year old college student, stood with 4,0000............I
was destined to help bring peace to the world......
In 1968, (4 years later) Martin Luther King had a dream..........he was shot down......but the dream continues.......justice shall roll down like water, peace will come like a lamb.....
In 2003 (35 years later) as we reach out to others through the work of UMOM and other like organizations, we can praise God for those who work with the less fortunate; for those who risk their lives every day in order to bring peace, love, and hope to the indigents of our fair city.
We are standing on the promises of God, listening every minute to the spirits call, standing on the promises that cannot fail.............
Stephen Ministers will be at the altar to pray with you for peace in our country, strength in our church, and peace within the individual. As you come to pray.....let us stand and sing....Standing on the Promises of God
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Thanks to Phil Beauchene, elder at Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia,
for the concept behind this message. Sources: King Jr., Martin Luther. "I've
been to the mountaintop." April 3, 1968, drmartinlutherkingjr.com/promised.htm.
King Jr., Martin Luther. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., Chapter
12: "Brush with death." stanford.edu/group/king/autobiography.
Let me know what you think. The church Email is: slumc@direcway.com, Phone: 480.895.8766