Remembering MLS Jr.'s mandate

Galatians 3:28 — “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Since this week of January includes a celebration of the life and ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I thought I’d focus this clergy article on remembering his teachings, alongside that of the Apostle Paul. Nearly two millennia ago, Paul wrote these words to the churches in Galatia (modern day Turkey) which would eventually serve as the spiritual bedrock for the Civil Rights Movement.

Now at first glance, some might mistake these words for “colorblindness” —a suggestion that our differences do not exist. But Dr. King, a scholar of both the human heart and the Holy Scriptures, knew better. Paul was not suggesting that biological or cultural identities are erased. Instead, he was declaring that in the Kingdom of God, these categories no longer serve as a basis for hierarchy, exploitation, or exclusion.

Galatians 3:28 is a radical deconstruction of the “us versus them” mentality.

It asserts that any system—legal, economic, or religious—that assigns value to one person over another based on race, status or gender is an affront to the Creator. When Dr. King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he was translating this verse from into his contemporary American context.

His dream was not a passive hope for politeness; it was a demand for a society that reflected the spiritual truth of our oneness.

In our era, the “neither/nor” of Paul’s letter remains a challenge to our modern gatekeeping. We live in an era where political polarization often demands that we see our neighbors first as “red or blue,” “us or them,” before we see all as children of God.

The “neither Jew nor Gentile” of our day calls us to reject the rising tides of xenophobia and Christian nationalism. The “neither slave nor free” calls us to confront the widening chasm of economic inequality and the systems that keep our brothers and sisters in cycles of poverty. And “nor is there male or female” calls us to oppose the hateful and ignorant rhetoric expressed in the forms of homophobia and transphobia.

To celebrate MLK Day through the lens of this scripture is to recognize that justice is a form of worship. If we believe that we are truly “all one” then the suffering of the marginalized is not someone else’s problem — it is a wound in our own body.

We cannot honor Dr. King while ignoring the ongoing struggle for voting rights, the inequities in our justice system or the environmental racism that plagues the poorest among us. To do so would be to offer what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” — the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance and correction.

True discipleship in the spirit of Dr. King requires us to move beyond the ‘dream” and into the “doing.” It asks us to look at our sanctuaries, our boardrooms, and our dinner tables and ask: “Who is missing? Whose voice is being silenced? And what power are we willing to relinquish to ensure we are truly one?”

So as we continue to reflect upon this holiday and its meaning, I encourage us all to move beyond merely remembrance, and toward advocacy. Dr. King’s legacy calls for the “restructuring of the architecture of American society.” As such, we should continue to educate ourselves and others to understand the philosophy of nonviolence as a tool for social change. In addition, we may support organizations like the Poor People’s Campaign, which continues King’s work of addressing the “triplets of evil” — racism, militarism and economic exploitation.

Also, we should engage in a deeper reflection upon the life and theology of MLK by reading the full text of the letter from his Birmingham jail cell (See page 1) and ask how his critiques of the “moderate” who prefers “order” to “justice” apply to our own hearts today.

The “oneness” Paul wrote about and Dr. King died for is not a destination we have reached; it is a vision we still must embrace. In 2026, let us not just remember the man; let us embody the mandate. Let us live in such a way that the barriers of “Jew and Gentile,” “slave and free,” “male and female,” finally crumble under the weight of a love that refuses to leave anyone behind. Only then will we move from the shadow of the dream into the light of the beloved community.

Blessings,
Pastor Mark Johnsen
Brookings United Church of Christ