Waking Jonah

Here’s one more clip from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence“, delivered on April 4th, 1967.

I also came across a separate MLK, Jr. quote that I found quite remarkable… and quite biblical. It’s from the book “Strength to Love“, which is a collection of classic sermons preached by Dr. King:

“To our most bitter opponents we say: ‘We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you.’…. Jesus is eternally right. History is replete with the bleached bones of nations that refused to listen to him. May we in the twentieth century hear and follow his words before it is too late. May we solemnly realize that we shall never be true sons of the heavenly Father until we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr., “Loving your Enemies”

[Part 3 of a 3-Part series]

Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech: Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence
Date: April 4, 1967
Location: Riverside Church, New York City
Excerpt: “This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances, but even if it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ. To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I’m speaking against the war. Could it be that they do not know that the good news was meant for all men — for Communist and capitalist, for their children and ours, for black and for white, for revolutionary and conservative? Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the One who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? What then can I say to the Vietcong or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful minister of this One? Can I threaten them with death or must I not share with them my life?”

Related Audio:
Martin Luther King, “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam”

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Martin Luther King, Jr.