Dear Friends,
This past week I had the pleasure of talking to some remote Sunday School children about Holy Martin Luther King, Jr. in preparation for the federal day that remembers his life. It’s an important story and one that most have at least a little background knowledge of, but when we tell the story in church, it becomes a little bit different.
As Episcopalians, we count MLK as one of many Holy Men and Women, and we celebrate him in April on the day of his death, but when we talk to children, we often divorce his life in words and in the streets from his life in the church, and this is a disservice. In the version of the story I told, created by Rev. Emily Garcia and shared on her site, A Good and Joyful Thing. Mother Emily’s work is an insightful revision and one that brings children closer to the understanding of how our work for justice stems from our love of God.
While talking about this story before our work time, I asked my remote attendees one of our usual wondering questions: “Where are you in this story?” – and, as there sometimes is, there was silence. And so, I adjusted the question and asked,
Where do you want to be in this story?
To which a child raised her hand and said, “I want to be where the people are marching” and, to which I say now, “Me too.”
And, at the same time, maybe that doesn’t mean I actually want to be in the streets. My disabilities can make that hard - standing and walking for long periods, crowds and loud noises. To say, “I want to be where the people are marching” may not really mean exactly that, but rather that my heart is called to the work of justice. And we know that this work can take many forms.
So, where might we be instead?
As a Godly Play teacher, my roots are in a program that is working hard to identify where it falls short and to do better. When I choose materials for my classrooms, the same work is at hand. What books are in our libraries? What voices are in our lessons? What allows everyone to be present in the circle, to feel welcomed and loved.
In Rev. Garcia’s telling of Martin Luther King’s life, the words that stand out to me most are when we say, “Martin became like Moses. Moses told the Pharaoh to Let my people go. And Martin said the same thing to white people in neighborhoods and in cities and in the government and in churches.”
And that can be uncomfortable.
In the lectionary this Sunday, the New Testament reading asks us to consider the varieties of gifts granted us in the Holy Spirit, and that they are different for each of us. Still, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Holy Martin Luther King Jr. had the gift of speech and, we might even say, the gift of prophecy. He had a holy gift of vision and of bravery. These may not be your gifts, but do not doubt that you have them. And that the children around you have them. But the only way to start using those gifts is to reflect upon them and acknowledge them. Do not bury them in the ground and stand idle.
Our gifts can tell us where we are and where we want to be in the great stories of our tradition and of our lives and it’s important to listen to that small voice, the one that points us in the direction God is calling us. Where will you be as the story unfolds and what will you share with the world?
Peace,
A. Bird