On this day of remembrance for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all he stood for, the readings invite me to more questions than answers.

In the first reading, Samuel says, “Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.” The sin for which he reprimands Saul is not the violence done in this quite violent passage. It is the failure to obey a pretty cut-and-dry command from God, as given to Saul through his prophet.

What does God communicate to us through the prophets of our day? Perhaps especially the ones we’d rather not hear from?

The psalmist sings, “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you? When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes. He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

The quote, “Perhaps the worst sin in life is knowing right and not doing it,” is attributed to Dr. King, although I couldn’t find a citation for it. He seems to agree with the psalmist. In the same vein, he said, “The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”

What has God “drawn up before our eyes” to correct us, to allow us to see how we have acted out of step with what we profess to believe, how we have acted unjustly?

The Gospel Acclamation verse reads, “The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”

How do I allow the word of God to be living and effective in my life, through my actions, in my heart?

In the Gospel reading Jesus tells us, “As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”

How do we treat the prophets among us?
Do we celebrate with our brothers and sisters with joy, or do we allow our time to be spent in judgment of each other’s practices?

But of course, Jesus was the Messiah. He turned the old rules upside-down. “New wine is poured into fresh wineskins,” he said. He came to bring a new order.

What new order does Christ invite us to this year?
How is Christ inviting me to re-order my life and priorities?

Lift Every Voice and Sing (Johnson & Johnson)