Among the most influential American figures stands Martin Luther King Jr. His courage and conviction continues to speak volumes for our current cultural moment. And every year when we celebrate MLK Day I make sure to spend time reading through sermons, writings, speeches, delivered by King and each year I am inspired by his ability to stand for nonviolence in the midst of violence, justice in the midst of injustice, and love in the midst of unthinkable hate. Below are 5 links to sermons written by Martin Luther King that I believe offer an enduring prophetic voice for our day.
The Ethical Demands for Integration - Keynote Address - December 27th, 1962
In a speech addressed before a church conference in defense of his philosophy of integration delivered on December 27th, 1962…
“The universe is so structured that things do not quite work out rightly if men are not diligent in their concern for others. The self cannot be self without other selves. I cannot reach fulfillment without thou. Social psychologists tell us that we cannot truly be persons unless we interact with other persons. All life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
The Death of Evil Upon the Seashore - Sermon
In a sermon delivered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision of the desegregation of schools (Brown v. Board of Education), twelve thousand people heard King deliver this sermon reflecting on the Exodus narrative. More specifically, King reflects on the moment the Israelites cross the Red Sea and look back to see the Egyptians having been swept away by the waters from the text in Exodus 14.30 “And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.”
“All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem. The Kingdom of God as a universal reality is not yet. Because sin exists on every level of man’s existence, the death of one tyranny is followed by the emergence of another tyranny. But just as we must avoid a superficial optimism, we must also avoid a crippling pessimism.”
“Above all, we must be reminded anew that God is at work in his universe. He is not outside the world looking on with a sort of cold indifference. Here on all the roads of life, he is striving in our striving. Like an ever-loving Father, he is working through history for the salvation of his children. As we struggle to defeat the forces of evil, the God of the universe struggles with us. Evil dies on the seashore, not merely because of man’s endless struggle against it, but because of God’s power to defeat it."
Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution - Sermon - March 31st, 1968
The following quotes comes from King’s last Sunday morning sermon delivered on passion Sunday March 31st, 1968, entitled, Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.
“Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be coworkers with God. And without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. So we must help time and realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”
“…the destiny of the United States is tied up with the destiny of India and every other nation. And I started thinking of the fact that we spend in America millions of dollars a day to store surplus food, and I said to myself, ‘I know where we can story that food free of charge - in the wrinkled stomachs of millions of God’s children all over the world who go to bed hungry at night.’ Maybe we spend far too much on our national budget establishing military bases around the world rather than bases of genuine concern and understanding.”
On Being a Good Neighbor - Sermon - 1962-63
Delivered sometime between July 1962 and March 1963, King explores the implications of the parable of the Good Samaritan, extolling the Samaritan’s altruism as that which enabled him to see beyond the divisive racial, social, and cultural barriers to help his fellow man.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others. In dangerous valleys and hazardous pathways, he will lift some bruised and beaten brother to a higher and more noble life.”
“We cannot long survive spiritually separated in a world that is geographically together. In the final analysis, I must not ignore the wounded man on life’s Jericho Road, because he is a part of me and I am a part of him. His agony diminishes me, and his salvation enlarges me.”
Love in Action - Sermon - July 1962
Using Jesus’ words from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” King preaches radical forgiveness in the face of human ignorance, particularly in the ignorance of war, slavery, and segregation.
“Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete. There may have been a time when war served as a negative good by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force, but the destructive power of modern weapons eliminates even the possibility that war may serve as a negative good. If we assume that life is worth living and that man has a right to survival, then we must find an alternative to war. In a day when vehicles hurtle through outer space and guided ballistic missiles carve highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can claim victory in war. A so-called limited war will leave little more than a calamitous legacy of human suffering, political turmoil, and spiritual disillusionment."