Later this month we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, and in doing so remember the work done by Dr. King to bring to the forefront of our nation the issue of human and civil rights for all Americans. He was both demanding and hopeful, challenging and expectant.

As part of his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963, King said “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

"It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check.”

Nearly fifty years after this renowned speech, the challenge of equality for all is still before us. The biting winds of prejudices and separatism still blow through our nation and our community. We still look forward to the day when all people ”will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

If you’d like to watch King’s “I have a dream” speech, click this link: http://www.mlkonline.net/video-i-have-a-dream-speech.html

King saw his cry for freedom as directly tied to the promises of the prophets, especially the words of Isaiah: I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together (Isaiah 40:3-5). His commitment to love his enemies was rooted in his Christian faith, which both empowered and sustained his work. His vision still inspires me, and it hope it inspires you, to take on the mantle of love for all people, of respect for all human beings, and to see in the face of the marginalized the face of Christ himself.

I still hope for the day when King’s dream can become our reality.