Recent political events have been sucking some of us into their vortexes. It seems like some of us are becoming unhinged again already. We find ourselves either checking out altogether or arguing at the TV or at every new media post when a certain someone raises a new shocking claim, makes a verifiably untrue statement, or espouses a policy that is unconstitutional or at least questionable. Yes, we probably promised ourselves that we would remain calm, engaged, rage against the proverbial “dying of the light” and hold others accountable so why are we still acting like wounded animals trapped in a corner? If we indeed believe we have truth and righteousness on our side, then shouldn’t we be on the offensive not the defensive? What I mean is, why not lead with truth rather than defending ourselves with it? Why are we only condemning those who have gingerly fled the camp to support this person they used to decry in the past? Why don’t we invest more in boldly teaching and proclaiming the truth from every available platform? Perhaps if we consistently do this, someone will dare to believe the truth like the truth that the God of the Bible demands that we protect the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the foreigners among us. Truths like whatever you sow you will reap so the unrepentant wife cheater and sexual abuser of women will ultimately reap the consequences of that behavior and the odds are that it’s only a matter of time before such a brazen liar and cheat of a leader will so degrade those he leads and honesty, justice, and fairness will become rare in the ranks of those he leads. Or truths like revenge belongs to God and forgiveness is a practice that we ought to adopt regularly.
I firmly believe this is not the time to lean into using the same tired old uninspired tactics that are being used against us. It’s not if you can’t beat them, join them. Why don’t we take a cue from MLK and lead from the opposite spirit - one that resists non-violently but ferociously demonstrates love for our neighbors, immigrants, and the poor, and marginalized? Why don’t we normalize extravagant grace, unexpected joy, and lavish love on the vulnerable instead of hate, fear, and oppression? That was the posture of Jesus. I want to do that. I am done licking my wounds and cowering in fear and anxiety, anticipating the worst. I choose to live my life out loud, leading with love, facing my fears, and using my voice to elevate what is true, just, and right in our nation and world. I choose to lead with the power of God and the good He is effecting in the world.
Speaking of leading with stories of good, a miracle happened to me yesterday. It’s not lost on me and many others that MLK Day this year happens to fall on Inauguration Day. This happens from time to time but this time many have noted that the principles that Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in are antithetical to the key policy interests of the incoming administration - like social justice, and institutionalizing racial equality. What you may not know is that January 20th is also my birthday. I am the kind of person who believes that all things happen for a reason, that’s why I think this odd convergence of events is an important opportunity. Of the three converging events, I chose to concentrate on celebrating my birthday and MLK Day and get out of the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area where we live. It was getting more heavily saturated with 24-hour news cycles on the presidential transition as Inauguration Day grew closer, so my husband and I decided to take a trip for my birthday to visit my parents and my sister.
As we exited the second leg of our flight from Atlanta we heard our pilot's voice announce that there would be a short pause before we got to the gate. It was a female voice. I was super excited! Do you realize that women make up less than 5% of all commercial airline pilots in the United States? That means out of every 100 flights I take I will encounter 5 or fewer women pilots. This is my first “sighting” in the past two years flying. Granted I don’t fly that much but I probably fly more than your average person in the U.S. That’s why when I heard we had a female pilot I secretly celebrated. I was determined to tell her how proud I was to have her at the helm and to take a quick photo with her. Unfortunately, she’d dashed off the plane right after we got to the gate. We waited for her a short distance from the gate in hopes I’d get to see her. About 20 minutes later a gate agent grabbed me and told me the pilot had finally returned. First Officer Sarah Preedy, an 18-year veteran, and I chatted for a few minutes. I was all smiles as she kindly agreed to be in my photo, me beaming proudly beside her. Here’s the snapshot.
That was one of the best birthday gifts ever. Gift #1 had taken place the night before when my kids and husband took me out for a special dinner. Meeting Officer Preedy was gift #3. As we waited for her, along came gift #2. “Isn’t that Martin Luther King’s son?” My husband asked. I was startled but took a quick look then a second take. “Hmmm. Well, why don’t you ask him?” I said in the hopes that if it wasn’t him, at least I wouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment. So my husband decided to ask the man and he nodded! It was indeed MLK’s eldest son Martin Luther King III, an American human rights activist, philanthropist, advocate, and former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We instantly became celebrity groupies. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you!” We almost said in unison. Mr. King shared memories of Nigeria, where he had been years before, he spoke briefly about former Ambassador Andrew Young and of being at former President Carter’s funeral recently. He was very engaging, asking who we were, where we were from, and what we did. Emmanuel, also a human rights practitioner, spoke more about his work supporting victims of religious extremism. We talked for a good 10+ minutes before I was called off by Delta personnel to meet the pilot. We took a series of pictures. As we were talking with Mr. King, the airline representative interrupted and asked for a picture too, and wanted to know if Martin wanted to be announced on the plane given that he was flying on the eve of his father's memorial holiday. He acquiesced. We reluctantly left him, because our ride was approaching, headed to the baggage claim, talking excitedly about what we’d just been a part of, knowing this was the highlight of our day and maybe even our entire trip.
I will forever remember this birthday encounter as if it were a personal moment with one of my favorite heroes. It brought me deep joy. It felt as if I got a big hug from God saying, "Keep on keeping on." The joy radiating from this series of events alone will energize me enough to face what lies ahead for some time to come.
Readers, supporters, friends, and listeners, let's keep on keeping on but let’s reframe our efforts in terms of being fed by what brings us joy. Let’s load up on leading with love and focus on being on the offensive. I suspect there are more who are for us than are against us. Yes, the fight for equality and Justice is far from over but we are on the right side of history if we stand with the oppressed and marginalized and we get to lend our voices and resources to this righteous fight. Let’s not fight like we’re beating the air or merely shadow boxing but let’s fight courageously employing our respective gifts, imbued with purpose and an anticipated future victory in mind. It may be a hard road ahead but a time will come when the tide will turn. I lean into faith that it will. Until then, let’s roll up our sleeves, there’s much work for us to do together.
Reflection:
“When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:22-27 NLT
Sources:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/bernice-king-mlk-day-trump-inauguration-timing-rcna188328
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_III
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