A Prayer to Saint Martin

Last updated on: May 6, 2015 at 7:44 pm by Mike Stavlund

A Prayer to Saint Martin 2015-05-06T19:44:51-05:00 Mike Stavlund

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Dr. Martin, please come back. Just for a day. It’s a mess around here, and we need you to set a few things straight. And by ‘mess’ I don’t even mean the general state of things, the wreck of relations between races (which might be as bad now as it’s ever been, in spite of the surface veneer), or the lack of justice that’s becoming more apparent to those of us who have been getting preferential treatment for generations.

No, sir, I am talking about your work, your words, your passion. I’m talking about the way you’ve been condensed into something smaller than a sound bite, just a slogan really that folks put in their front pocket. Here’s what happens: a situation opens up, something complex and multi-faceted and important and with plenty of nuance and history, and then a white person– maybe a news anchor or a commentator or a regular Joe on Facebook– will refer to ‘the work and teachings of Martin Luther King’. That’s it; thus ends the conversation. This short phrase is like a punchline, or a presumptive conclusion to the matters at hand. The implication being that you were a very patient man, peaceable and cooperative and focused purely on getting black people a place at the North American table. And that’s the last word on the matter: “we agree with ‘MLK'”.

…I know, I know. It frustrates me too, and I know so very little of your words and your work. But I know you wrote and spoke eloquently against patience, that you pushed hard on white moderates, that you spoke forcefully against the machine of war and the underlying systems of poverty and wealth. I know that though you were a disciplined and peaceful protestor, there was a lot of righteous anger under the surface that motivated your action. Peaceful? Yes, absolutely. Peaceable? No way.

The other week I heard Dr. William Barber preach, and he reminded us that though we love to excerpt the final few minutes of your speech on the Washington Mall where you raised your voice to talk about The Dream, we’re not even being fair with that. Dr. Barber pointed out that we like to hear about the dream, but the rest of that great speech was about ‘the nightmare’. So true.

I’m sure you’ve got better things to do, and it brings me no pleasure to tell you that your radical message has been domesticated, and your work has been condensed into what is conveniently called a ‘legacy’. Which is to say, it’s all in the past, and everything you were working for has been accomplished. You have a holiday in January now, and a monument on the Mall, and we have this tiny version of you in our pocket, ready to assuage our collective guilt and defer any action to the distant past or the distant future. We set you in stone, Dr. Martin, and I’m so sorry.

It’s not your fault, Dr. Martin– it’s all ours. And I know there are precious few exceptions to this coming-back-from-the-dead thing, but I think we could make a pretty strong case, given the current situation. Just a twenty-four hour visit… several press conferences, where you can be as clear as you always were about the height and depth of the problems in our society. Do it for yourself, and do it for us, and do it for the sake of God’s good dreams for this world. Please?

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