Monday, January 18, 2016

Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Samuel 15:16-23; Mark 2:18-22)

Martin Luther King, Jr., was by background, training, and profession a Christian preacher.  But he did more than preach about Jesus Christ.  Like the master himself in today’s gospel, Rev. King radicalized the message.  He made it a catalyst to bring peoples of all races closer together.  If Washington is the father of the country and Lincoln, its savior, then Martin Luther King is its spirit of justice, peace and self-sacrificing love.

In the gospel Jesus reveals radical intention.  He has not come to promote pious traditions like fasting.  Rather he intends to usher a whole new way of living.  He will form his followers into a community of mutual love.  He will even allow himself to be martyred to put this love in motion. 


We give Martin Luther King fitting honor by remembering him here at this Eucharist.  We know that he was not Messiah.  But we also recognize in him a man like Jesus.  We heard King’s words and witnessed his actions that redirected the nation to freedom.  We are grateful to God for him.