Dangerous unselfishness – A reflection on MLK Day 2026
The Rt. Rev. Frank S. Logue
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Savannah, Georgia
January 19, 2026
Dangerous unselfishness
A Reflection on MLK Observance Day in Savannah
“All we say to America is to be true to what you said on paper.”
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said these words in a speech at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968. He was in town with other leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to support the Sanitation Workers Strike.
“All we say to America is to be true to what you said on paper.”
We know that at 6:05 the next evening, Dr. King would be martyred by an assassin’s bullet at the age of 39.
We don’t have to wonder if he knew this could happen. The first assassination attempt on Dr. King had come a decade earlier in a store in Harlem. Many death threats had followed, and on that night before he died, Dr. King told those gathered ahead of a march, “Well, I don’t know what will happen now; we’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter to me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life – longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”
His main message that night was not about the likelihood of his death, but the challenge of solidarity with the threat of violence hanging in the air for those who peacefully protested.
His message to African Americans, and any allies supporting them in that strike in Memphis, was to stand firm, stay the difficult course. He said, “We need all of you,” as he emphasized the non-violent actions of withdrawing economic support from targeted businesses while marching in favor of change effected through public policy made easier by the thousands marching in the streets for justice.
Dr. King said, “All we say to America is to be true to what you said on paper. If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they haven’t committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say we aren’t going to let any dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren’t going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on. We need all of you.”
He would add later in the speech about the next day’s march, “Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike, but either we go up together or we go down together. Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.”
Dangerous unselfishness. This is what caused Moses to leave his father-in-law’s flocks to go back to Egypt to bring the Children of Israel out of slavery into the Promised Land.
Dangerous unselfishness. This is what animated the hearts of the prophets to speak truth to power, even when it cost them their lives.
Dangerous unselfishness. This is what got Jesus nailed to a tree. For Jesus would not give up on love, even when the price was death. Jesus remained unselfish to the last, praying for those in the very act of crucifying him, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Jesus called us not just to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, but also to love our neighbors as ourselves. Then in our Gospel reading for today from Luke, Jesus raises that bar in saying, “I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.” This love of those who ate the side of hatred is what calls us to non-violent action.
This is the dangerous unselfishness that put the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the crosshairs of a rifle on that Memphis evening. Selfless acts done for those who would otherwise be lost, left out, or marginalized disrupt the status quo, and that selflessness can still get you killed.
Dangerous unselfishness comes from knowing that every person is made in the image and likeness of God. This drives our need to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, and to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
There is so much noble and good and true in this nation, so much to cause our hearts to swell with the pride of citizenship. Yet as deeply true as that rightness is, more often than we want to admit, it feels like America has not being true to what it says on paper. We continue to see immeasurable injustice and unfathomable cruelty through the abuse of power.
When we see that we are falling far short of our ideals, we are to lean harder into the love Jesus taught.
Jesus taught love in his every word.
Jesus taught love in his every action.
Jesus proclaimed and lived out the love of God, the Holy Trinity from his baptism in the River Jordan, through his death and resurrection, to his ascension to the right hand of the Father promising to be with us always, even to the end of the age.
The witness described and lived out by Dr. King reminds us again and again that none of us can be truly free until everyone is free. When we see our neighbors suffering, our faith compels us to take a stand that disrupts the powers of this present age. This comes at a cost, yes. The cost of inaction in the face of injustice is higher.
Our call as followers of Jesus is the same today as it was when Dr. King spoke in Memphis.
Our call is the same it has been since Jesus showed us God’s immense and unconditional love by becoming Incarnate among us.
Our call is to truly care for each and every child of God, loving as Jesus loves.
We must be dangerously unselfish.
Amen.