As the country honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the week of Jan. 15, the world strives to bring his message of peace to our broken world. In this new year, war continues to rage in Ukraine, Israel, parts of Africa and more. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, and innocent children are displaced and experiencing the horror of hatred and evil.
In December 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In his acceptance speech, Dr. King stated that “nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.” In that same acceptance speech, Dr. King said that “all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was known as a civil rights activist, but in his heart, he never forgot his calling as a minister. As a man of God, he was a man of hope. As a man of hope, he proudly sang, “We Shall Overcome,” and his hope was built upon his profound knowledge of God’s love for him and his calling to share God’s love with others.
In a sermon delivered in 1957 at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King spoke about the command of Jesus to love our enemies. He said that when Jesus commanded this, “He was not playing. … Far from being the pious injunction of a utopian dreamer, this command is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. Yes, it is love that will save our world and our civilization, love even for enemies.” With the proliferation of nuclear weapons, how true those words ring today.
Although from different decades, I have no doubt that Pope Francis and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been great friends. In fact, Pope Francis has often quoted Dr. King in his remarks and writings.
Several years ago, Pope Francis said that Dr. King’s dream “of harmony and equality for all people” is still relevant today. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2021, Pope Francis said, “In today’s world, which increasingly faces the challenges of social injustice, division and conflict that hinder the realization of the common good, Dr. King’s dream of harmony and equality for all people, attained through nonviolent and peaceful means, remains ever timely. Only by striving daily to put Dr. King’s vision into practice can we work together to create a community built upon justice and fraternal love.”
As we honor Dr. King, we continue to pray that his dream of racial justice and world peace can come true. We honor his legacy of peace, and we pray for all war to end.
Father Vincent Guest is pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Camden, and coordinator of the Black Catholic Ministry Commission and the diocesan Racial Justice Commission.
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