22 Jan Fresh Peace
Sheila Arnold, Inspirational Speaking and Storytelling
Calvary Presbyterian Church
Sun., Jan. 19, 2020
“Fresh Peace”
“I Have a Dream” read by Gabriel
Applause and what do those words make you think**
Newspaper headlines the day after “I have a dream”
WP: 200,000 Jam Mall in Mammoth Rally In Solemn, Orderly Plea for Equality: Largest Demonstration on Civil Rights Urges Passage of Legislation
NYT: “200,000 March for Civil Rights in Orderly Washington Rally; President Sees Gain for Negro” – all else spectacle until MLK, Jr. spoke
p. 1 – “Demonstrators Press for Train Ride Home”; p. 2 – The Tennessean – “A Sea of Placards…and Some Talk on Policy”; “King Dream Stirs Marchers”; “200,000 in Capital call for Equality Now”; “Kennedy Talks with Leaders”
“The Negroes in this country own more refrigerators, and more automobiles, than they do in any other country,” South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond told NBC News in the hours after the event. “They are better fed, they are better clothed, they have better houses here than in any other country in the world.” “No one is deprived of freedom that I know about,” he added.
Sen. Russell Long of Louisiana claimed that the push for equality violated the rights of business owners. “Now what I as a Southerner plan to fight for is the right of a man to choose the neighbors among whom he will live, the right to decide who he’s going to trade with, who he’s going to do business with, who he’s going to associate with,” Long said. “You see a lot of white folks out there in that demonstration,” he added. “If they want to mix with that mob, that’s fine. If somebody wants to be left alone by those people, I think he’s entitled to be left alone too.”
By 1966, a nationwide Gallup poll found only 33% of Americans had positive feelings about Dr. King…“Between ‘63 and ‘68, the dream speech is barely mentioned,” he said. “It’s only after King’s assassination when America thinks, ‘How can we remember this man?’”
one of the things the speech did was to create more hostility toward minorities. Not only did it create anxiety and anger from whites – Dallas, TX man reflection
Didn’t stop MLK, Jr. from speaking up and now consider a peacemaker.
Jesus was a peacemaker, which we can see in
Ephesians 2:14 – For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, , and he was a peace giver.
Scripture – John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
What was Jesus’ kind of peace?
Story: “The Persistent Woman” – Luke 18:1-8
Persistent Agitator of Peace – Those who love peace must organize as effectively as those who love war. – MLK, Jr.
Didn’t let others views of him get in the way
An outside agitator
Satan – Beelzebub – Matt. 12:24 & 25 – Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
John the Baptist and Him – Matt. 11:18,19 – For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Spoke truth
Standing on the sideline – The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
You brood of vipers – Matthew 3, 12; 23
There will be obstacles, it will look impossible – don’t stop
4 girls killed in Birmingham, AL; 16th St. Baptist; Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11)
Praying with bloody sweat – Luke 22:44
^^Don’t let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful – Scripture
Determined to love no matter
Hate too hard to bear – “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”’ – MLK, Jr. – “Inspiring Martin Luther…”, https://www.martinlutherkingjrdayeveryday.com/martin-luther-king-jr-quotes-peace/
Forgive them Lord. – Luke 23:34; John 21
All are children of God
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” UDHR art. 1… Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his life for the poor of the world, the garbage workers of Memphis and the peasants of Vietnam. The day that Negro people and others in bondage are truly free, on the day want is abolished, on the day wars are no more, on that day I know my husband will rest in a long-deserved peace. —Coretta King – “Martin Luther King, Jr…”, https://beyondforeignness.org/2130
God so loved the world – John 3:16
John 16:33 – These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his palace, enjoying his shows and parties. One day a great dispute broke out between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.
The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become renowned throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when they arrived, the first battle had already taken place, and the sword got to see the results of war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, triumphant, with their weapons gleaming in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and hordes of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and shrouded in a disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds…
At this, the sword realised it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate. First it gave out a low buzz, but this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour of the other soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war”.
One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”
“Make yourself vibrate, just like I’m doing”, said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise no one will sleep.”
So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, who were equally sick of the war, joined the protest.
The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the Kings or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle for the next day.
However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were furious from their previous dispute, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldier’s faces, the confusion of day with night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories.
Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with the double joy of not having had to fight, and having regained a friend. And from then on, from time to time the Kings would meet up to talk about their experiences as Kings. They now understood that the things which united them were much more numerous than anything that set them apart from each other.
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