America's Greatest Son

The United States Celebrates the Birth of one of her greatest sons this weekend. What citizens of the USA tend to forget is that the nation was born out of the imagination of men, and is a work in progress. When you truly learn the history, read the debates and examine what inspired people to break a governing tradition that had been in existence since the dawn of civilization, it is quite inspiring.

Americans have a sound belief in their exeptionalism. Often the exceptionalism is expressed as not having to abide by laws and traditions of other cultures. Somehow, we are above the common tedium and restrictions that dominate other nations. What ever holds us back, we have almost a religious conviction, sometimes it can be irrational, that we can change things for the better individually and collectively.

Our nation has been referred to as the New Jerusalem, the City on the Hill, and patriotism for many can have a religious fervor. We are a nation of ideas, beliefs, adherence to principles, with the current of Justice holding everything together. Each one of the groups that makes up our collective culture brings a different gift.

I have often considered the Africans of our nation to be the truest of all Americans.  They originally came here against their will but used ingenuity and resilience against terrible odds to help forge our nation. Throughout our great history, it was the African Americans that continued to inspire us to live up to our ideals of Equality, Freedom and Fraternity. Because they have not experienced freedom and equality as much as other groups have, their commitment to Justice often surpasses other communities. From the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, it is the Africans that invite us to see our shortcomings and help forge new territory in community.

In essence, the American Experience is the experience of what it means to be truly human within the Christian context of those three ideals. Christ came for all, we are free, equal people living within the community of the Christ. Our execeptionalism as a nation is that the system of government was conceived on these values, and we the people consistently strive to meet those principles.

One of our greatest sons, who embodied with dignity and grace these American, these Christian principles, his birth is being celebrated this day. The national holiday was not soundly embraced by all of our states. Arguments against the holiday ranged from; we had enough holidays, we could not afford another holiday, he was a communist agitator. The old states rights versus federalism justification for oppression was also used as an excuse not to federalize the holiday. Boycotts ensued and finally, the third Monday of January was set aside as a national day for celebrating the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King is remembered and celebrated for many reasons. One of the more striking aspects of his ministry was his dedication to the Beloved Community. The Beloved Community is the ultimate goal, the ultimate expression of the human experience within the Christ. For us to be free and equal humans with in a community, we must have love for one another. Dr. King's steadfast belief in the dignity of all people, the equality of all people was the true sign of his Christian orientation, his Christian American exceptionalism.

At the heart of the Beloved Community is a notion and recognition that the Christ is within us all. His act on Golgotha was the great equalizer, his deed transformed all of matter and made all of humanity capable of containing the Christ, of knowing the Divine. When we recognize that we all contain the Christ within, how will we behave towards one another?

In Astrosophy, the number 33 has a profound meaning. It is the number of years that Jesus walked the Earth, it is called the Christ Rhythm. When an event or a concept occurs, it plants a seed that can come to fruition 33 years later. Christ began his descent in the Etheric in 1900, and significant occurrences have happened on earth in the 33 year cycles since then. 

In 1966, Dr King began to connect the issues of war, poverty and racism. 33 years later, the WTO protests occurred in Seattle, where for the first time the wealthy, the poor and labor unions collaborated to successfully thwart the corporate take over of the global economy. A few years later, for the first time in human history the entire globe was protesting a war that had not yet begun, the American led invasion of Iraq. The biggest of all the marches with literally millions of people across the entire earth simultaneously marching for peace, happened on Martin Luther King's birthday. While so much seems hopeless in terms of resisting war, violence, racism and poverty, the seeds have been planted, and the fruit will bear out in the future. At the core of the WTO and anti-war protests was a recognition of the beloved community that King advocated. How can we have an economy based on war, aggression and racism if we recognize the Christ in all of life?

Across the nation on Martin Luther King Jr day, many communities have a call to service day, where people are encouraged to give a day of service to their local places of residence. This invitation to serve one another is the essence of the Beloved Community Dr King worked and sacrificed his life to achieve.

May we live up to this challenge, to see the Christ in one another, to serve one another on this most American of National Holidays.Thank you Dr. King for your great service to our nation. May your words continue to inspire us all to greater heights, that our American exceptionalism will be defined in terms of how we embody the Beloved Community.