Preached at St. Thomas Parish, DuPont Circle: Martin Luther King Sunday
Today we celebrate the life and ministry of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr whom I have admired all my life. As a young boy I saw him on TV as he led marches and spoke to the world – advocating for a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love for one another – his vision of a Beloved Community that was inclusive of all people.
I was too young to fully comprehend his actions and the impact he was having on American society and politics. I only knew about him as I watched the evening news and what I gleaned from the newspapers. I grew up in Texas in a small community outside of Houston where our local movie theater was segregated, as were our schools. Yet we did not discuss these injustices in the classroom nor among classmates. We all accepted the status quo – even if in our hearts we felt that treatment to those of African Descent was wrong.
At the Palms Theater in Sugarland Texas, Blacks had to use a separate exterior stairway to access a walled off balcony at the very back of the theater, without access to restroom facilities or to the lobby where one could buy refreshments. As a young boy I would join others who would go up to the wall where we would receive money and a person’s order then run down to purchase them and bring them back before the movie began. It was the only thing I could do as a young 10-year-old and I knew that I was being scorned by some who saw me. But I knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do. The separate balcony was eliminated sometime after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, but I don’t think it was that same year because I have it in my mind that the practice continued through junior high. At some point the Whites Only sign at the front door also came down.
I was a toddler when Martin Luther King helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott and wasn’t aware of that until much later in life. Though I am pretty sure I witnessed on the evening news the Birmingham Campaign in 1963 where the peaceful protest was met with brutal police violence and heard his famous “I have a dream” speech in Washington and the Selma March. And I remember clearly how our family cried when he was assassinated in 1968.
Growing up in Texas, I also experienced first-hand, a state law enacted in 1918 mandating that only English could be used for instruction in public schools. In 1958 when I began first grade, that law was still in effect and the practice had gone beyond instruction in the classroom. We were told that we could not even speak Spanish on the playground. I was spanked in front of my classmates for yelling out AYYYY when a boy fell on me as I did not know the word ouch. That pivotal moment changed my life and for about half of my life I never spoke Spanish again and hated being Mexican American as I continuously experienced disdain, acts of racism and being discounted for the color of my skin.
At about the same time as Martin Luther King, two other persons of note who were calling attention to injustices suffered by minorities was Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta with the formation of the National Farm Workers Association and the subsequent grape boycott which my parents fully supported.
I give thanks for the valiant leadership of Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, but I ask – who is taking their leadership today? Where is our Moses?
But my experiences are insignificant compared to the injustices and suffering that my siblings of African Descent have experienced in this country as well as Asians and the horrific experience of the Indigenous. And today not just Latinos but immigrants of every color, race and nationality are being targeted as the enemy and the cause of our economic struggles. However, the upcoming deportations are clearly targeting Latinos. It is so hard for me to fathom what the next few days and months will be like. I just can’t. What I do know is that there will be a lot of tears and fear. Families will be torn apart. Incomes lost. Violence. Lawsuits. Suffering. Suffering like we have not experienced since the Civil Rights marches but on a wider scale. No city, community or state will be exempt.
In our reading this morning from Exodus I am comforted and encouraged as I hear these words:
The Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them…”. And I believe that God has indeed heard our cries and that God will hear the cries of God’s people in the days to come. God hears and God feels our pain. God heard the cries of the Israelites and God called Moses to do something about it. That was the way that God responded then and the way I believe that God responds today. God told Moses: “So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” And today God speaks to us with the same words: “So come, I will send you to bring my people – out of this distress”.
We know Moses’ response: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? And isn’t that ours as well? “Who am I?” “What can I do?” “I can’t make a difference.”
And God’s response is so simple and constant: “I will go with you.” Jesus said, “Do not be afraid. I am with you.” And he goes on to say: Be merciful. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.
Okay maybe we are not called to be Moseses but we are called to be merciful.
Vale, quizá no estamos llamados a ser Moisés, pero sí a ser misericordiosos.
To those of us who don’t know what to do or are afraid of getting involved – Jesus reminds us that he is with us. God will go with us as we protect and shelter; as we organize; as we act compassionately; as we speak out; and in whatever way we take care of our siblings in our midst. And to those who are being rounded up and deported the message is the same. To those who are being left behind the message is the same: “I will go with you”. God. I AM. Jesus – the Way, the Truth and the Life is with us. With everyone.
So come. Go. I am with you. Be not afraid.
