Martin Luther King, Jr Day and Today's Gospel Reading

Here is today's Gospel Reading:


And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. - Luke 6.17-23, RSV


We read this passage today because we commemorate a Father of the Church, St. Anthony the Great. But it is also an appropriate reading since today we honor in America the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today's gospel proclaims the blessedness of the oppressed- the poor and hungry. Dr. King was a prophet of social justice. He spoke out for the civil rights of African-Americans and for the poor. Today's gospel proclaims the blessedness of the poor, and likewise, Dr. King, inspired by the gospel, proclaimed the human dignity of all God's children.

But as John Fugelsang pointed out on his Facebook page today, King was also an advocate of labor unions, non-violence, and the end of war. Typically, we remember his advocacy of civil rights, but not his stances on poverty, the Vietnam War, non-violence, and labor unions. When King died, he was supporting a labor strike by garbage workers.

Dr. King insisted on non-violence. He was influenced by Ghandi, and by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels. When one is committed to non-violent social action, one must be ready for persecution. The nonviolent person will rather suffer abuse than inflict harm on others. Jesus teaches us non-violent resistance (Matthew 5.38-41). Today's Gospel says:

"Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil (defame you- NRSV), on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. - Luke 6.22,23, RSV


We often forget that Dr. King was spied on, maligned, and called a traitor and a communist while he was alive.

As we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, let us remember everything he stood for- civil rights for African-Americans, minorities and people of color; social justice for the poor and oppressed; non-violent social protest; an end to war; and the right for labor unions to organize and seek justice for their members.

Let us as Christians, like our late Archbishop Iakovos of Blessed Memory, be willing to walk with Dr. Martin  Luther King Jr. in the pursuit of peace and justice, in solidarity with the poor and the oppressed and the workers, and in the light of the Gospel of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.