In 1934, Rev. Michael King’s church sent him to the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Berlin. He got to see the Holy Land on the way. When he arrived in Germany, he traced the steps of Martin Luther – the pastor-monk who launched the Protestant Reformation. Michael was a 34-year-old African-American man who found himself in Hitler’s Germany. It was only a matter of weeks after some mass assassinations, what they called “the Night of Long Knives” when about 200 people were killed by Nazis, including some Nazi officials!
If Germany wasn’t even safe for Germans in the Nazi party, what was Michael walking into? There was no right to freedom of speech or assembly or freedom of the press. From the moment Michael arrived in Germany, he saw signs warning that it was illegal for Jews to sit on park benches, to go to certain restaurants and shops. He saw his own life’s suffering mirrored in the oppression of Nazi Germany. Here, again, deeply entrenched injustice was backed by government power. What could he do?
Michael was one of only 29 Black ministers at this meeting, but there were thousands of Baptists from different countries and races united in faith. Despite the danger, they unanimously approved resolutions that denounced racial animosity, oppression, and discrimination toward Jews, people of color, and anyone else who was persecuted around world. They called it “a violation of the law of God the Heavenly Father,” affirming that spreading the gospel meant “respect for human[s]… regardless of race.” And yet… no one was arrested or killed. The delegates simply went home.
Michael was profoundly impacted. He had walked where Jesus walked, connected with the fire of the Reformation, and been part of an international body with the audacity to stand up to evil state power and embrace God’s love. Michael heard the Spirit confirm his calling and redoubled his commitment to work for justice and equality. When he came home, he marked the moment by changing his name. No longer would he be known as Rev. Michael King, but as Rev. Martin Luther King, which made his five-year-old son Martin Luther King, Jr.
Some words may be empty, but they all have power. Words have a way of revealing who we are even when we don’t mean for them to. In the Bible, we gain insight about people by their names, by what their names mean. When people are transformed, sometimes their names are changed, too: Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter… As a preacher, Rev. King, Sr. knew that well.
However powerful words may be, we know that we can’t bring down the great evils of the world in the blink of an eye or make a wicked leader good by force of will. Whoever has power, whoever tears into a community with violence, our calling is the same. Looking back at that meeting in Berlin, when those Baptists called antisemitism a sin in 1934, they didn’t stop Nazi Germany from all the horrors it would enact. But they wouldn’t keep silent about what was right and what was wrong. At least one man was inspired to continue the fight for justice, to share that with his son, to move the needle towards what is right – bit by bit. And what a difference Revs. Martin Luther King Sr. & Jr. made! Their passion and perseverance remind us to be watchful of our leaders, of what’s happening in our communities. They were a little light dispelling the darkness. Living as children of the light no matter what tragedy we face… that’s a holy thing, indeed.
References:
–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Sr.
–https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/parallels-between-nazis-jim-crow-explored/
–https://www.baptistholocauststudies.org/baptist-world-alliance
–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany
–https://thewitnessinc.com/blog/protestant-reformation-led-martin-luther-king-jr
–https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/african-americans-in-nazi-germany
–https://www.livinglutheran.org/voices-of-faith/from-michael-to-martin-rebranding-life-in-the-spirit/
