The Cost of Discipleship

I spent much of the day on January 21 watching dual events. The primary event that held my interest was the celebration and recognition of the ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. Though I had seen many of the scenes, and heard most of the stories of the Civil Rights movement in America, for several decades, I was moved again by the willingness of those at the head of the movement to step so far out against segregation. Certainly, they knew that what they were doing was dangerous. Certainly, they understood that their involvement was likely to cost them their lives.

 

I saw in many of the historical documentation, whether print or film, names like Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson. I saw Harry Bellefonte and white clergy leaders who marched alongside their brothers. Each of them had something meaningful to lose. Each had compelling reason to remain silent in the face of considerable social pressure.

 

I was moved again by the power of the movement, by the nearly intuitive right of all humans to live with equal rights. I was astounded again by the ignorance of those who were deeply convinced that it was right to restrict civil rights to particular types.

 

I changed the channel to watch coverage of the Presidential inauguration. There, standing before tens of thousands of supporters and interested onlookers, was an African-American man, Barack Obama, who was sworn into his second term as this nation's President.

 

The juxtaposition was providential. The cost of discipleship, paid by King and others in the civil rights movement of the 60's, was repaid, some fifty years hence, with an American President who just happens to be of color. King's assassination gave birth to genuine social change. King's ministry made possible the inauguration of Barack Obama.

 

Whether or not we agree wholeheartedly or in part with Barack Obama's policies, we must see his Presidency as the result of half-a-century's worth of struggle for equal rights. Obama is product of   the maturation of our culture. He is a sign that America has approached the will of God, that all humans are seen as equal, despite the insignificance of their skin color.

 

Therefore, I make a simple request. Whether or not you believe in the policies of this Presidency, whether or not you embrace Obama's social and economic policies, I would very much appreciate if you were to extend to him the respect of his office and his historical significance. Please refrain from calling names and using political epithets. I am offended by them. In the centuries to come, I am convinced that this Presidency will be seen as a turning point in American history.

 

I hope that this Presidency leads us nearer to God's kingdom. I pray for it. Whether or not you like the party or the politics, I hope that you join me in that prayer.