by
Rev. Dawson B. Taylor, Cathedral of Hope UCC, Dallas, TX
Executive Minister
Scripture
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. Amos 5:24
A Word of Hope
Today we remember the birthday of one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; who would have been 83 years old yesterday, However, we know that his life was cut far too short by assassination in Memphis, TN. It is the custom of churches to honor saints at the date of their death, not their birth date, however, we cannot overlook the impact of Dr. King on this day.
One of the things that Dr. King is best remembered for his seventeen minute speech that we know as the "I Have a Dream" speech delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. The speech, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement and was delivered to over 200,000 civil rights supporters. The speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century by a 1999 poll of scholars of public address.
However, one of the lesser known events of that day is that toward the end of the speech, King departed from his prepared text for a partly improvised peroration on the theme of "I have a dream", possibly prompted by singer Mahalia Jackson's cry, "Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream."
I love that story. And I wonder, if in honor of Dr. King's birthday today, we should all say aloud a dream that we have for our world. Perhaps that is a dream of peace, or a dream of "righteousness [being] like an everflowing stream." Maybe that dream is about renewed relationships or an end to hunger. Or maybe your dream is more personal. No matter how great or small that dream is, today, let us honor Dr. King and let us honor God by dreaming bold dreams of a future filled with hope.
Prayer
Everlasting God, please hear my dream. Amen.
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