To live a Christian life means to live in the world without being of it.  – Henri Nouwen

   His days of straining, struggling, and suffering on our behalf ended suddenly on an April night in Memphis. I am always stunned when I remember he was only thirty-nine.
   Martin Luther King, Jr. must have experienced many days when he resented his calling. He was living in this world, as Nouwen says, but, like all saintly people, he periodically transcended it. Being a part of this world, for KIng, meant enduring prison, hot summers of doubt, and the agonizing rejection of many of his peers – some because they thought he was too radical, some because they thought he was not radical enough…

   To transcend these forces, King needed to keep his eyes on the stars and his heart aligned with Love. At the same time, he needed to do the hard work of marching with demonstrators, returning, at the end of long days, to a home where his family faced the constant risk of bombings.
   How did King ever find rest? How did he find the kind of solitude Jesus sought?
   In brief research, I found no evidence that he ever took a vacation. How did he sustain the energy to lead an entire movement? We know that he did it. And we know that, now, he has found his rest.
  I remember the ’60s so well. It was a difficult decade in so many ways. It began with a segregated south and ended with America still embroiled in a terrible war in Vietnam.
   I recall how angry some people were at Dr. King when he announced his opposition to America’s involvement in southeast Asia. What business did he have speaking out on something other than Civil Rights, many complained.
   The answer is that, above all, King stood for justice and fairness. Whenever he saw injustice, he spoke out, and he backed his words, where he could, with action.
   That is what was good about the ’60s. It brought to the fore several great leaders. Standing highest of all, and reigning to this day, is the transcendent life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

-Erie Chapman