"Free at last, free at last -- thank God Almighty, we are free at last." These words were spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr., when he concluded his famous "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington, D.C., in August 1963. Dr. King was a man of many talents who did great things, but he will be most remembered as one who lived for his people by speaking and acting for them with prophetic authority.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in January 1929. He followed the path of his father and was ordained a Baptist minister at age 18. He was a brilliant student, graduating from Morehead College in 1948. He then attended Crozer Seminary in Philadelphia where he developed his ability as a public speaker and eventually achieved a doctorate in theology from Boston University in 1955.

The rocky road of service that King would travel began rather harmlessly. He left Boston with his new bride, Coretta Scott, and settled in Montgomery, Alabama, where he had been appointed pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. All was normal, settled, and calm until December 1, 1955. That day, Rosa Parks, returning home after a busy and tiring day at work, refused to move to the back of a Montgomery city bus as mandated by the law at that time. The event changed Martin Luther King, Jr.; it initiated a transformation in the United States. King accepted the invitation of the African-American community to lead a boycott of the Montgomery transportation system. He saw the injustice that had been perpetrated; he answered the call, met the need, and spoke and acted with boldness and authority!

The course of Dr. King's career as leader of the American Civil Rights Movement was now set in motion. For the next thirteen years he traveled about the nation on a campaign to bring justice and to feed the needs of his people through his prophetic voice. In 1960, he returned to his native city of Atlanta as pastor of his father's former parish, Ebenezer Baptist Church. Along the road of justice he was many times incarcerated. While in the Birmingham city jail in 1963, he wrote, without the aid of any outside sources, his famous "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" which is considered a masterpiece of contemporary theology. Later that same year he led the aforementioned March on Washington. In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring justice to African-Americans. He led drives for better housing in Chicago and racial justice in Selma, Alabama. In April 1968, he traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to lead a strike by the city's sanitation workers. On the evening of April 3, he attended a rally for the workers and, although not scheduled to speak, did so in a dramatic and memorable way, addressing the crowd in biblical and prophetic words, "I've been to the mountaintop and I've seen the promised land." The next day, an assassin's bullet ended Dr. King's life and his campaign for justice; he was only 39 years old. In his relatively short life he had served the African-American community specifically, and the world at large, as a prophetic voice. Undeterred by opposition, he spoke with authority in imitation of the one upon whom he patterned his whole life and work, Jesus, the Nazarean.

When we hear the word "prophet" what images and names come to mind? Possibly some think of the great evangelists, such as the character of Elmer Gantry in literature, who stands on the street corner with Bible in hand and preaches hellfire and damnation for those who refuse to reform their lives. Others may think of the door-to-door sale of religion. We many not agree with the theological perspective of many of these groups, but we certainly must respect their courage and zeal. The names that come to mind are all familiar to all: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or possibly one of the so-called minor prophets -- Amos, Zephaniah, or Jonah. What is a prophet? A prophet is one who speaks God's word. A prophet speaks with great authority, but also incurs significant responsibility.

Scripture describes the office, mission, and responsibility of the prophet and the great authority with which one speaks. While in the desert, Moses spoke with God about his successor. In response, Yahweh describes very clearly what is expected of both the prophet and his audience: "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak -- that prophet shall die" (Deuteronomy 18:18-20). Clearly, God has presented both a privilege and a significant responsibility to the prophet and his audience.

Numerous examples can be given of prophets in ancient Israel who, called by God to proclaim the message of Yahweh, were forced by their vocation to walk the privileged road as God's messenger, but a difficult path as well as it was laden with significant responsibility. Amos and Hosea were sent by God to the northern kingdom of Israel to warn the Jewish religious leaders that God was displeased with them. Amos (6:4-6) spoke principally of the complacency of the these people, who "lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on the instruments of music; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!" Hosea (4:12-13) accused the leaders of idolatry: "My people consult a piece of wood, and their divining rod gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good." Similarly Isaiah and Jeremiah proclaimed impending doom to the southern kingdom of Judah unless the nation once again turned to the Lord. Many of us recall Isaiah's famous "Song of the Unfaithful Vineyard" (5:1-7), where God asks what more could have been done for Judah yet the nation yielded "wild grapes." God's justice will be complete as the prophet predicts, "I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down the wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briars and thorns; I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it" (5b-6). In each case the prophet was responsible to God to carry out the Lord's command and to faithfully and fearlessly proclaim a message that was not popular or welcome, yet one that needed to be heard. This responsibility has always been an integral part of the prophetic vocation and continues to be so today.

For Christians the preeminent prophet was obviously Jesus of Nazareth, for he had personal knowledge of the Father, and through word and action spoke with the absolute authority granted him by God. Today's Gospel Reading presents Saint Mark's version of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in Capernaum, a town Jesus obviously chose as the center for his prophetic mission due to its strategic location as a crossroads for trade and center of activity in Galilee. Mark (1:22) reports that Jesus went to the local synagogue and taught the people who "were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Not only were Jesus' words impressive, but his actions as well. He casts the unclean spirit out of the man and again the people are amazed with the authority of his actions that even unclean spirits obey his commands. Jesus' words and actions were so powerful, unique, and done with such authority, that his fame began to spread throughout the region of Galilee. Jesus was obviously impressive, but it was not only what he did and said, but how he did so and the impression that he made. As with the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus fulfilled his mission by taking seriously his responsibility to proclaim God's message in word and deed.

Jesus' missive was challenging, yet he proclaimed it when it was convenient and inconvenient. He was courageous because he spoke God's word not when it seemed to be acceptable or appropriate in the ears of the hearers or when he would receive a favorable hearing. Rather, often Jesus' message raised conflict; it shook people up. His message was challenging to the people's sensibilities; their zone of comfortableness was rocked severely. Some heeded Jesus' missive and became his followers. Others disregarded or were indifferent to the message and others still were violently opposed to what they heard and saw. Thus, they orchestrated his death.

Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah were some of the great prophets of the Old Testament. They spoke God's word as it was presented to them; they acted with authority and did what God asked of them. Jesus was the preeminent prophet for, as the Son of God, he spoke with special and personal knowledge of the Father and, thus, the highest authority possible. Lest, however, we think that prophecy ended with Jesus, we can look at people like Martin Luther King, Jr.; Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, who was assassinated by a military death squad in 1980 because of his support for the poor and marginalized in his country; Mother Teresa of Calcutta; or the retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, who along with F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela worked tirelessly to smash Apartheid in South Africa, to see that contemporary prophets are in our midst.

In the church there are courageous people today who challenge us and serve as prophets. Some speak out on behalf of the unborn, some speak for the rights of the elderly. Some are advocates for the rights of prisoners and others speak for the poor, the destitute, and others who have no little or no voice in our society. Are we listening to these voices, or is the message we hear too harsh? Do we feel it is not applicable to us? Do we refuse to listen when people speak the truth? Would we rather run from the message and its challenge than face it squarely?

There are many others in our contemporary society who serve as prophets and probably don't even realize it. Parents, you have been given special authority by God to proclaim the Lord's word, in speech and action to your children. You are prophets to them in a real way. Do you take this responsibility to proclaim God's word, whether it is a word of discipline, praise, or love to your children seriously? Children, are you listening to the voice of God that comes to you from advice or challenge from a teacher in the classroom or a coach on the athletic field? Do you listen to your parents and other relatives, and believe that God is speaking to you through them?

Contemporary prophets abound in our society. Some may be archbishops, some may be pastors, but most are everyday people we know, love, and encounter. Let us, therefore, consider our call to speak God's word; let us be prophets. May we be Christ to one another. Martin Luther King, Jr., took seriously the challenge presented by Teresa of Avila and used his role as a prophet to boldly and with conviction proclaim a message of nonviolent change. Let us be inspired by his actions and those of Jesus of Nazareth. May we, my friends, believe, act, and proclaim the same!