Prayer changes people who change things. Anon.
* * *
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. The rest is history.
No need to retell that history except to remind us that King prayed. He uttered many prayers. But I’m pretty sure the “Serenity Prayer” (God, help me to accept the things I cannot change…) wasn’t one.
I don’t know, but I can guess the closest he came to that was something like this:
I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.
King was assassinated in Memphis, where he had gone to join sanitation workers marching for higher wages. He could not accept the exploitation of workers. He advocated collective bargaining.
All labor has dignity. It is a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages.
There was much about our nation King could not accept. He could not accept Jim Crow laws, White supremacy, poverty, inequality, injustice, imperialistic wars. Against strong disapproval, he publicly condemned the Vietnam war.
Millions of dollars can be spent every day to hold troops in South Vietnam and our country cannot protect the rights of Negroes in Selma.
King put his life and reputation on the line. Time and time again.
I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.
I don’t know whether King ever prayed the “Serenity Prayer,” but I know he prayed the Lord’s Prayer. Often.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
King was not waiting for heaven. He worked to bring heaven to earth.
O God, grant that we will be able to establish here a kingdom of understanding, where men and women will live together as brothers and sisters and respect the dignity and worth of every human being. Give us strength of body to keep walking for freedom. Give us strength to remain nonviolent even though we may face death. In the name and spirit of Jesus. Amen.
King prayed. But he also said:
Never make prayer a substitute for work and intelligence.
King’s favorite hymn was “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.” He didn’t follow Jesus, he walked with Jesus. Hand in hand.
He made good trouble.
I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.
What are some things you cannot accept?
* * *
Take My Hand, Precious Lord by Mahalia Jackson
Loved the ending quote. “I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.”
Very creative to put the serenity prayer and King’s prayers together, contrasting them.
Good morning,
Just before reading THE DEVIL’S GIFT this morning, I read this poem. This poem was composed two years before MLK was born. Dr. King did not keep the roots of the wounds and scars of prejudice concelled. He exposed them for the world to see
Confession
By Countee Cullen
If for a day joy masters me,
Think not my wounds are healed;
Far deeper than the scars you see,
I keep the roots concealed.
They shall bear blossoms with the fall;
I have their word for this,
Who tend my roots with rains of gall,
And suns of prejudice.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on January 15, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.
I cannot accept many more actions and states of being than I have the energy, influence, and means to change, but I have a voice. There is both comfort and encouragement in Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s declaration,
To be
Is
To stand for.
In Martin’s book “Stride Toward Freedom”, he recounted a specific time when he received a threatening phone call at midnight. Exhausted and unable to sleep, he sat down at the kitchen table, his “courage all but gone” and prayed: “I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid”…His “serenity” eventually came as he leaned into his fears, admitting in this prayer that he was at the end of his powers and couldn’t “face it alone.” It was “at that moment” he “experienced the presence of the Divine” as he had never experienced it before.
Prayer is not always sweet and light; it is heavy-duty honest sweating and seeking. That kind of prayer enabled Martin to be a living testament of courage and justice. As he said in a sermon: “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. There was no one there.”
I’ve never cared much for The Serenity Prayer. I much prefer Joe Hill’s reported defiant statement prior to execution on bogus murder charges by the state of Utah, “Don’t mourn me. Organize!” (Keep on marching to the freedom land!) My response back in the day to “America! Love Or Leave It!” was always, “Or Change It!” I have to admit to revising a few bumper stickers in parking lots at the time To this day, I wonder if anybody ever noticed.
It is in these moments, in those times we celebrate notable people and their lives for something we admire, strive to be or regret we are not, we stand both in the past and the now of today, and look through a rearview mirror while moving forward. Even my Subaru reminds me to keep my eyes on the road. I cannot accept another round of the “arc of history” saving our lives and planet. I do appreciate the opportunity to reflect on the words of MLK this day, including, “Never make prayer a substitute for work and intelligence.” Along with those of Jackson Browne:
“I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening?”
The Pretender
Thanks so much for this refreshing breath contradicting the corporate PR machine that would co-opt Dr. King’s dream and bury his incessant, insistent demand for justice from oppressors and love from everyone. Though he was a scholar with a towering intellect, a profound preacher and orator, a consummate communicator, like an organizer he put the street first. Dr. King was a prophet of the street where he knew change is made. Dr. King was a dreamer, but he was also a Warrior of Love. Our greatest American!!! Great piece. Thank you!!
Amen. You’ve got us thinking & feeling again – challenging us to look deeply at what is going on in & around us; reflecting on a mighty warrior for justice with a dream & a vision who walked his talk.
I cannot accept the notion that I am powerless in the face of ugly forces of hate & division – prayer & action, focus & integrity… yes I can do my part to keep my Spirit’s light burning, & support the light wherever & whomever shares that light. Thank you once again, dear friends, for shining your light, and providing a forum for light, truth & deep reflection.
My Missouri Synod Lutheran minister grandfather taught: Pray like everything depends on God; act like everything depends on you.
I think he was absolutely correct. I think the good Dr. King would have agreed with him.
Thank you for a terrific reflection this weekend. I remember when I was in the women’s movement in the late 60s and 70s, Wilma Scott Heidi, the national President of the National Organization for Women, said to me, “Very few people know that what they are doing is changing the course of history. We do”. I feel blessed to have been able to work for change and to see enormous strides over the years. And to know so clearly that we changed things we simply couldn’t accept.