On the day of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth…
…I’m reminded of how two groups can seem to agree, yet actually disagree on particular meanings…
…yet still, in principle, agree.
Let me explain…
Years ago, I met two German travelers who’d visited the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. pastored at this church between 1954 and 1960.
The travelers told their host that they could feel King’s spirit in the church. Their host told that them that, yes, the congregation could still feel Dr. King’s Spirit in the church.
So they were using the same word, but giving it different meanings.
However, didn’t both the congregation and these travelers experience feelings of a higher order? Didn’t they both believe that Martin Luther King lived on in this church?
Maybe Dr. King’s disembodied presence—his Spirit—still lingers in the Dexter Avenue church. Whatever the case may be, his spirit is still there—and many other places as well: in many groups, many gatherings, many books, many recordings—in many people.
Though Dr. King can be found everywhere, I suppose we need such places as the Montgomery church—we need focal points, places where we can contemplate the lives of great individuals: their strength, their courage, their wisdom, their love—in short, their spirit.
Yes, we need such places…
However, I’m not one to make pilgrimages. To my mind, it’s more important that we locate those qualities of spirit within ourselves, wherever we may be.
The German travelers showed respect and did not quibble over definitions with their host. But were their definitions really in conflict? Was the reality experienced by the travelers so different from the reality experienced by the church members?
Hopefully, our new mythology won’t mire itself in theological arguments—won’t argue over such definitions. Disagreements in belief can too easily separate us…
…whereas, our shared feelings, our shared experiences, can bring us together.
© 2012, Michael R. Patton
sky rope poetry
