Martin Luther King Jr. - Reflection
In the months leading up to his assassination 52 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made some of his most searing pronouncements against white supremacy, the Vietnam War, and U.S. imperialism. But more than at any other time in his life, King’s final focus was on poverty and economic injustice.
By the winter of 1968, Dr. King and his organization were embarking on one of their boldest projects yet, a Poor People’s Campaign that would bring a multiracial coalition to the nation’s capital to demand federal funding for full employment, a guaranteed annual income, anti-poverty programs, and housing for the poor. Announcing their new initiative, King said, “The Southern Christian Leadership Conference [SCLC] will lead waves of the nation’s poor and disinherited to Washington, D.C., next spring to demand redress of their grievances by the United States government and to secure at least jobs or income for all.”
One of the Poor People's Campaign Fundamental Principles states
"We believe that people should not live in or die from poverty in the richest nation ever to exist. Blaming the poor and claiming that the United States does not have an abundance of resources to overcome poverty are false narratives used to perpetuate economic exploitation, exclusion, and deep inequality."
1 Corinthians 11
20 Now when you come together at the same place, you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper. 21 For when it is time to eat, everyone proceeds with his own supper. One is hungry and another becomes drunk. 22 Do you not have houses so that you can eat and drink? Or are you trying to show contempt for the church of God by shaming those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for this!
“We should cast-off the chains of guilt, unworthiness, and despair which so often cloud the joyous feast we call the Eucharist and begin dinning with the Lord who delights to sit next to sinners. On the other, as we approach the open Table our concerns should be that our needy, helpless, and marginalized brothers and sisters are provided for and honored as the greatest among us. It is when this is accomplished that Jesus will say to us, ‘For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you gave Me clothing, I was sick and you took care of Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’”
This tearing of bread and dipping in the cup is not merely a privatized “getting right with Jesus” or “cleaning up your act,” but it is a communal invitation to live with radical love in a world that needs it. Here, we say “all means all” so every person is welcome at the Table. So when you’re ready, you’re invited to the Table to tear a piece of the bread and dip it in the cup.
