Week of January 15, 2001
Pastor Tracie

"Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. Don't worry about anything but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Jesus Christ, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you."
     Philippians 4:4-9

On this day when we remember and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr., devotion is a litany which weaves portions of his Letter from the Birmingham City Jail (1963) with prayer petitions. This litany is taken from This Far by Faith: An African American Worship Resource by Augsburg Fortress 1999.

We remember the conviction of Martin Luther King, Jr., that "freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Therefore, let us pray for courage and determination by those who are oppressed.

We remember Martin's warning that "a negative peace which is the absence of tension" is less than "a positive peace which is the presence of justice." Therefore, let us pray that those who work for peace in our world may cry out first for justice.

We remember Martins' insight that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."

Therefore, let us pray that we may see nothing in isolation, but may know ourselves bound to one another and to all people under heaven.

We remember Martin's lament that "the contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are."

Therefore, let us pray that neither this congregation nor any congregation of Christ's people may be silent in the face of wrong, but that we may be disturbers of the status quo when that is God's call to us.

We remember Martin's hope that "dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not so distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty."

Therefore, in faith, let us commend ourselves and our work for justice to the goodness of Almighty God. Amen.

Contributed by Pastor Tracie
Published Monday January 15, 2001
Week 8 of Liturgical Year C