As our nation prepares to celebrate the national holiday marking the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, I’ve been reflecting on the theme of forgiveness. I remember my Old Testament professor saying that the voice of the prophet is no longer with us, particularly in modern times. I’m sure I’m misquoting him because some of the most daring voices of God’s justice and forgiveness have come from the corners of the world where there has been unspeakable oppression. What is surprising about Dr. King’s voice and I will also include Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s voice is that they always called for truth-telling and forgiveness. In a recent opinion article in the UK, “The Globe,” entitled, “Archbishop Desmond Tutu was right: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission proved to be a miracle of the modern age,” Akaash Maharaj wrote of his meeting with Tutu as a student at Oxford. He invited the archbishop to visit him at Oxford, but Tutu countered with a meeting in Westminster Abbey where it seemed this holy man wished to teach him about truth, reconciliation and forgiveness a few years prior to the actual Truth and Reconciliation Commission being launched by Nelson Mandela. The author summarized his learning in this way, “Forgiveness is less about absolving those who have harmed us and more about drawing their poison from our own souls. It is an act of radical defiance of the hatred proffered by injustice. Like mercy, forgiveness is the prerogative of the strong.” I would add, “the strong in faith, hope and love.” With the same kind of strength and force, Dr. King’s prophetic voice declared often for love and forgiveness. In one of his sermons he said, “Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.”  In our own small way, St. Paul’s and the Episcopal Church offers a fresh start, a new beginning for racial justice with the Sacred Ground dialog groups. God is always calling us to a fresh start in our lives.
Today, right now, we are called to stand with these modern prophets of our faith and turn toward their truth of God’s justice and forgiveness.
“Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery and made them free at last: Grant that your church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may strive to secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.’
Your friend in Christ,
Carolyn+