There are efforts underway to get rid of this coming weekend’s federal holiday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  I think that would be catastrophic for our country’s moral health.  Far from being irrelevant or outdated, MLK Jr. Day is needed now more than ever.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is rightly remembered for his courageous leadership in the struggle for racial equality.  Yet Dr. King’s vision, deeply rooted in his Christian faith, reached far beyond one issue or one moment in history.  He believed that God’s justice is expansive and touches every part of human life.  He believed that God’s presence calls people of faith to examine how love, dignity, and fairness are practiced in the world.

Guided by Jesus’ command to love our neighbors, Dr. King spoke out against poverty, economic exploitation, and violence.  He challenged systems that kept people trapped in cycles of poverty and injustice while reminding the church that silence in the face of suffering is not neutrality, but complicity.  For him, faith was never meant to stay safely inside sanctuaries.  It was meant to shape public life, personal choices, and communal responsibility.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day invites us to reflect on that same calling today. In a world still marked by division, inequality, and fear, his message urges us to ask faithful questions:  Who is being overlooked?  Where is dignity denied?  How can we live out God’s love more boldly through our words, our votes, our generosity, and our daily interactions?

Honoring Dr. King means more than remembering his dream; it means continuing the work.  As people of faith, we are invited to carry forward his vision of a “beloved community”; trusting that God’s justice is still unfolding and that we are called to participate in it.

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic