Building the Beloved Community: Bishop Michael Curry's Reflections on Dr. King

Dr. King with his children Yolanda & Martin Luther III
at the World's Fair August 12, 1964

Given the enormous weight of his legacy, the lasting impact of his work and the nature of his violent death in 1968, I'm not sure it's appropriate to wish someone a "Happy" Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on such a solemn occasion.

Clearly it's more important than ever to recognize, honor and celebrate Dr. King's life, and even though my office was open today and I had to work (they say real estate never sleeps), I was fortunate enough to be able to hear some uplifting words of hope and inspiration on The Brian Lehrer Show earlier this morning.

The words were recorded at WNYC's 13th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration held Sunday afternoon at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

The event, co-hosted by Brian Lehrer and All Things Considered host Jami Floyd, focused on the contributions of lesser known figures who played essential roles in the Civil Rights movement.

It featured panelists and speakers including NAACP board member Dr. Hazel Dukes and renowned photographer and author Chester Higgins, Jr.

One of the highlights of the event was a moving reflection on the spiritual meaning of Dr. King's legacy by Bishop Michael Curry, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and the first African-American to hold the office.

Now you may recall Bishop Curry as the speaker who managed to upstage the spectacle of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle back in May with a charismatic sermon on the power of love that stole the show (and raised royal eyebrows by stretching the ceremony a full eight minutes over the slotted time...) definitely worth a watch if you didn't see it.

Bishop Michael Curry delivering the royal sermon

Watch Prince Charles' wife Camilla Parker Bowles (whose affair with His Royal Highness famously wrecked his marriage to Princess Diana...) squirm and shoot sideways glances at Prince William's wife Kate Middleton as the Bishop really gets into it...worth it.

This past Sunday at the MLK Day celebration at the Apollo, Bishop Curry brought that same powerful mix of spirituality, charisma, wisdom and humor with remarks that left me laughing out loud in my office.

So for those of you who appreciate good oratory, and want to hear a genuinely funny, insightful and moving reflection on the love that lies at the root of Dr. King's mission, take a few minutes to sit down and click this link and listen to the opening of this segment from the Brian Lehrer Show earlier this morning.

When the page opens just click the blue arrow - the whole segment is 50 minutes, but Brian opens with a quick introduction and then quickly plays the lengthy excerpt of Bishop Curry's comments that are both powerful and funny - so he gets right into the clip.

Far more intelligent, learned and capable people than I have spent much of today discussing King's legacy on radio, TV and in person, but I'm not sure any of them get to the heart of Dr King's teachings more effectively than Bishop Curry does.

Again, I'm not one to wish someone a "happy" MLK Day, but Bishop Curry's remarks left me with a sense of joy on a solemn occasion at a time in our nation's history when Dr. King's message is more important than ever - and still resonates.

And I think it's important not to confuse that message in the way VP Mike Pence did on Sunday when he had the gall to use one of Dr. King's quotes to justify Trump's senseless wall of hatred.

As Georgia Democratic Congressman John Lewis observed earlier today of Dr. King:

 "We honor his legacy by celebrating this holiday as a day on, not a day off. It is a day of action, a day of love, to give of ourselves to others and begin anew the building of the beloved community." 

A community where all are welcome, and there are no walls.