O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:2-4
The late Dr. Harrell Beck (Blessed be his name!) liked to speak of the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk as a place where the writer stands on tiptoes to see what is coming. He noted that although Habakkuk was commonly referred to as one of the minor prophets, that was a reference to the length of the book, not to its meaning.
As I watch the nightly news from Baltimore and listen to the commentary, I wonder with the Prophet, “How long?” How long will this dark night of racism consume us?
As commentary on the Baltimore situation, Senator Cory Booker posted a quotation from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his Facebook page. I think it is taken from an interview with Mike Wallace in 1966:
“Now I wanted to say something about the fact that we have lived over these last two or three summers with agony and we have seen our cities going up in flames. And I would be the first to say that I am still committed to militant, powerful, massive, non-violence as the most potent weapon in grappling with the problem from a direct action point of view. I’m absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt. And I feel that we must always work with an effective, powerful weapon and method that brings about tangible results. But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”
When I read that paragraph, and then read it again, I am struck by how greatly we underestimated Dr. King as a thinker and a social philosopher. He makes the current commentary on television seem shallow and superficial. Every sentence deserves analysis and reflection.
I want to lift up just one theme found in two places. “I’m absolutely convinced,” he says, “that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt.” Can I get an “Amen?”
Over and over I have heard pundits and ordinary white people speak as if the riots (I am using that word as Dr. King did, but with the awareness that the word itself is racially charged) absolved the larger white culture of any responsibility for the underlying problems.
And in the last sentence of the paragraph he observes that, “large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.” Once again, can I get an “Amen?”
Habakkuk begins with a lament, a complaint against God. In the face of injustice and strife and violence, God has not acted to liberate his people from oppression. How long, he demands, how long will this continue. The answer comes to him, but not in the way that he expected. He is the one who must act. The prophet must proclaim the vision and “make it plain,” so that “a runner may read it” as he goes by.
And I remember Dr. Beck raising up his considerable bulk, standing on tiptoes as he read the last verse of the book,
The Lord is my strength,
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.
Of course, we know that we will find our way through this. Peace will return. But will there be justice? Will this be a turning point? Will we work toward real solutions, or just continue to be “more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity?”
So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:2-4
The late Dr. Harrell Beck (Blessed be his name!) liked to speak of the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk as a place where the writer stands on tiptoes to see what is coming. He noted that although Habakkuk was commonly referred to as one of the minor prophets, that was a reference to the length of the book, not to its meaning.
As I watch the nightly news from Baltimore and listen to the commentary, I wonder with the Prophet, “How long?” How long will this dark night of racism consume us?
As commentary on the Baltimore situation, Senator Cory Booker posted a quotation from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his Facebook page. I think it is taken from an interview with Mike Wallace in 1966:
“Now I wanted to say something about the fact that we have lived over these last two or three summers with agony and we have seen our cities going up in flames. And I would be the first to say that I am still committed to militant, powerful, massive, non-violence as the most potent weapon in grappling with the problem from a direct action point of view. I’m absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt. And I feel that we must always work with an effective, powerful weapon and method that brings about tangible results. But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”
When I read that paragraph, and then read it again, I am struck by how greatly we underestimated Dr. King as a thinker and a social philosopher. He makes the current commentary on television seem shallow and superficial. Every sentence deserves analysis and reflection.
I want to lift up just one theme found in two places. “I’m absolutely convinced,” he says, “that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt.” Can I get an “Amen?”
Over and over I have heard pundits and ordinary white people speak as if the riots (I am using that word as Dr. King did, but with the awareness that the word itself is racially charged) absolved the larger white culture of any responsibility for the underlying problems.
And in the last sentence of the paragraph he observes that, “large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.” Once again, can I get an “Amen?”
Habakkuk begins with a lament, a complaint against God. In the face of injustice and strife and violence, God has not acted to liberate his people from oppression. How long, he demands, how long will this continue. The answer comes to him, but not in the way that he expected. He is the one who must act. The prophet must proclaim the vision and “make it plain,” so that “a runner may read it” as he goes by.
And I remember Dr. Beck raising up his considerable bulk, standing on tiptoes as he read the last verse of the book,
The Lord is my strength,
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.
Of course, we know that we will find our way through this. Peace will return. But will there be justice? Will this be a turning point? Will we work toward real solutions, or just continue to be “more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity?”
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