April 4th ~ 40 yrs later

On Friday, April 4th I attended the Vigil at the Lorraine Hotel on the 40th Anniversary of Dr. King's assassination. I was there with two other pastors from Living Hope, J.R. Rozko who serves as the young adult pastor and Greg Jackson who is the Youth Pastor. I was asked by Living Hope to write an article for the website about attending the event. Below is the article as well as two pictures. In the picture of the balcony you can see Dr. King's son, Martin King III and his daughter Bernice along with Rev. Al Sharpton.

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*Why I went to the 40th Anniversary Vigil of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. *

It’s an overcast Friday afternoon. I’m standing on a rain soaked patch of lawn. To my left is the building from which an assassin pointed his rifle and shot Martin Luther King, Jr. In front of me is the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel, the balcony where King was standing and then lay dying 40 years ago on this very day, at this very hour.

But I’m not here to mourn. I’m here to celebrate a man and a movement that began before I was born. I am here to remember something that I didn’t personally live; something outside the years of my life’s life yet something that has shaped and continues to shape who I am, who I hope to be and who I hope my sons will become.

I’m here because I want my church to be here. I am here because I long for Living Hope to be a community of faith that King would be proud of. A community that loves God, loves God’s world and follows Jesus courageously and radically. A community that recognizes the personal, corporate and systemic ways sin can destroy and righteousness can heal. A community that sees, as King saw, the links between racism, materialism and violence. A community that groans for and acts on behalf of the Kingdom of God. A community that more beautifully reflects the Beloved Community that is found in and through Christ.

I’m here, because I sense God’s Spirit is here. And I like being where the Spirit shows up. Psalm 116:14 says that the death of God’s faithful is valuable in the LORD’s sight, so in some ways, that balcony is an Ebenezer, a memorial to God’s redemptive work in a broken world, and a reminder that Satan’s tools of violence cannot overcome God’s instruments of peace.

On this holy day wherein people gather to remember the life and death of a King, I too want to gather with those affected, influenced and changed by Dr. King. And as I’m here, I reflect on the death of another King; another execution that took place on a Friday, about this hour, 2000 years ago. A King who, like Martin, came preaching a different Kingdom, proclaiming good news to the oppressed, announcing another world order, spoke truth to those in power, stood in solidarity with the poor and came seeking and saving the lost.

I’m humbled to be here, in this sacred place surrounded by these sacred people. I’m honored to be singing hymns (We Shall Overcome) with this congregation gathered at the Lorraine. And I’m thankful for the Baptist preacher who helped us imagine a world more rightly ordered around the life and teachings of Christ.

a different Maundy Thursday...

Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the day when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assissinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis. There has been a buzz of activities around the city, lots of gatherings, folks visiting the Lorraine, celebrations and vigils.

In the Christian calendar Maundy Thursday is the day when the last supper took place, before Good Friday, the day in the Easter Lenten calendar marking the Friday when Jesus was executed. So, today, Thursday, its a different kind of Maundy Thursday, the day before a King was executed.

According to wikipedia,
The word Maundy is derived from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos", "A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you". Which were among Jesus last words to his disciples on that Thursday evening prior to his death on Friday.

In so, so many ways King embodied that deep love for a people. A love so deep the he, like a King (Jesus), before him, gave his life so that a humanity might have life.

It was on this day, 40 years ago, in the Memphis Mason Lodge, headquarters of the Church of God in Christ denomination, that King delivered his, I Have Been to the Mountain Top" speech. You can read, listen and watch the speech here.

King was in the throws of planning his Poor People's Campaign when he came to Memphis in support of the Sanitation Workers' of Memphis and their strike. It was during that visit that he was killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis, TN.

Today I remember that speech, his life and the role this city has played in moving our country along the road to racial equality.

These photos were taken at the Lorraine Hotel during our last visit with the Grahams 3 weeks ago.

Walking in Memphis

The Watsons 3 have arrived!  We have been in Memphis just over 2 weeks now (sorry for the delay in blogging).  Its still settling in that we're in Memphis, in Tennessee and in the South. We pulled into Memphis along with our traveling partners James & Felicia Graham (God bless them) and it was like the scene from The 10 Commandments.  I was looking for Heston and his staff...the music...the parted waters...seriously.  I had that feeling.  Not the leaving Egypt part...just the entering. 

We made our way out of Texas after an amazing visit with the family and showing the Grahams around Dallas and East Texas.  Rolled into Rocky Branch, Louisiana for a visit with the Chapman family.  Laughed our tails off, fished in their pond and left refreshed.  Pointed ourselves northward out of Jackson, MS and got into Memphis around 8pm on a Wednesday. 

 The last couple of weeks have been great.  Living Hope has really loved and recieved us well; stopped by to visit, brought us meals, invited us into their homes.  Good stuff.  Obviously we're still learning our way around Memphis, but so far we're really enjoying our new city. 

 Thanks for praying us thorugh the travel.  We had some fun stories which I'll post later this week.

 Here is a picture of James Graham and Nathan at the historic Arcade Restaurant in downtown Memphis.

 

Dallas, Tx.

i (matthew) grew up here. its my hometown. so much is familiar. i know the streets, the freeways, neighborhoods, the people. the way the skyline looks approaching the city from any direction.

but for the past 10 years i've only flown here. i've only seen the approach from the air and ridden around in borrowed cars, noting the changes and seeing the familiar.

the thing is, this time, i'm driving in, in my own car. and there's a different feel about it. i'm in the Element with California plates. a car that i've driven from Fresno to San Francisco to Los Angeles. Its seen the California coast and the Sierra Nevadas. Driven by countless rivers. Yet here it is, on I-30 headed east crossing the Trinity River. Driving through downtown Dallas. on a freeway i've been on hundreds of times as a younger man. this time, nathan is in the backseat. lisa is next to me. although all of the sites out my windshield and inside the car are familiar. yet somehow, this time, in this way, in this combonation there is a newness, as though i'm seeing it all for the first time.

Like a Band of Gypsies

This isn't the first road trip the 3 Watsons have taken, this isn't the farthest, or the most exotic. But this one is different. We're not leaving things behind in a storage unit. We're not keeping a mailing address in the place we're leaving. Everything is coming with us. In many ways, this trip is the most extreme as it marks a new season in our lives.

On new seasons...
As we began our journey eastward, it was fitting that the first stretch of highway we found ourselves on was the HWY 99 that cuts through the San Joaquin Valley and slices through orchard after orchard of farm land. This is an amazing time of year in California's Central Valley. For a few weeks, a few days really, the almond & citrus trees begin to bloom and the site is amazing. It's as though pink and bright white snow has fallen over the Valley. There's a newness and excitement in the air. Along with massive amounts of pollen. But the new season is a beauty. We drove thanking God for the beautiful send off He provided us and the reminders of new seasons.

I've been to Barstow, Ca. a few times now, and every time I leave thinking, "this is a weird town". I don't know what it is, but that's my general sense.

A place that doesn't dissappoint...
We've mentioned that for the past two months we've been staying with Randy & Tina White; an experience that requires its own blog one day. Randy and his son Jameson are fans of the TV Show West Wing which is apparently off the air now. One night while watching one of the episodes with them on DVD one of the characters, Toby I believe, says, "you should go to the Grand Canyon. It's one of the few places left in the world that, when you get there, it doesn't dissappoint you".

Yesterday the 3 Watsons plus one on the way did just that. And Toby is right you know. It doesn't dissappoint. The last time Lisa or I were at that Great Canyon was 10 years ago when both of us, independently of each other, we're heading west towards San Francisco for Seminary. She stopped there with her dad. I with my mom, brother and cousin Teresa. Magnificent. It moves you. I stood at the edge and nearly cried. The only thing keeping me from it were the tourists that surrounded me. Snow was on the canyon. It was bitter cold. And clear. Very, clear. One could see for miles. And i wanted to.

We took as much time as we possibly could before heading on. But even leaving the canyon, we took the long way around. Hwy 64. If you're up there, take the extra hour and a half and enjoy 64. None of it dissapoints. None of it.