January 28, 2025 // Diocese
Deacon Shares MLK’s ‘Courage to Love’
On Monday, January 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Deacon Mel Tardy delivered a powerful message at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne about love and compassion, reemphasizing the impactful, peaceful movement for civil equality led by King.
In his presentation, entitled “At Times of Challenge and Controversy: MLK and the Courage to Love Today,” Deacon Tardy immediately captured the audience’s attention with a beautiful, soulful rendition of “Balm in Gilead,” a song that illustrates the biblical passage found in Jeremiah 8:22: “There is a balm in Gilead / To make the wounded whole / There is a balm in Gilead / To heal the sin-sick soul.”
Deacon Tardy told the audience that during these present times of political tension, civil unrest, and an overall feeling of unsettledness, we need a proverbial healing balm to restore our souls. He encouraged the people of America to remain steadfast in their love and compassion for others – just as King would have done. As racism is unfortunately still very much alive today, he said, we as Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ, as united Americans undivided, are called to love one another as Jesus loved.
King is quoted as saying, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.”
Deacon Tardy reiterated that it is easy to be loving Christians when we are in a state of peacefulness and comfort, but what about when we experience hurt, oppression, unjust treatment, and inhumanity? Those are the times that Jesus says we need to truly dig deep into our faith and extend the forgiveness and love that is required to bring the world together and not push it further apart. King’s quote mirrors the teaching of Jesus in that it challenges us to exit our comfort zones and have a deep, Godly love for those whom we find it hardest to love. That is where our true selves are exposed and vulnerable – an important state of being for spiritual growth and real, positive change, he added.
Deacon Tardy continued his discussion to bridge the historical gap between the Jim Crow era and segregation through the 1960s, to current events such as the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, drawing comparisons and reevaluating perspectives. Was the January 6, 2021, march on the U.S. Capitol insurrection or was it peaceful protest, asked Deacon Tardy. Is climate change to blame for the deadly wildfires and extreme weather patterns, a theory supported by Pope Francis, or is it a political hoax? Other issues that need prayer examination, Deacon Tardy said, include the war in Gaza, college students fighting to protect the rights of free speech and speaking out against antisemitism and Islamophobia, not to mention controversial issues such as immigration, human trafficking, mass incarceration, capital punishment, and much more.
“All of these things point to the fact that we are living in challenging and controversial times,” said Deacon Tardy. “We cannot get away from any of these issues.”
Throughout his public career, much of King’s public focus was on racism, as it was an issue that impacted him in a very personal way. Nearly everyone with African heritage during King’s era experienced the sin of racism, yet brave individuals such as Rosa Parks stood against the injustice with the hope that times would change. While it is true that racism may not seem as prevalent in 2025 as it was in the past, many would argue that it is indeed very much alive.
“Racism is a radical evil,” explained Deacon Tardy. “It is not like any other evil; it is an insult to the dignity of the person, stamped on their being by God. It denies them the human dignity that reflects the Creator. Racism implies that one person is better because of their race, and another is inferior and thus treated with contempt because of their race.”
When people are racist, Deacon Tardy said, they not only trample on the spirit of an individual, but they degrade the very creation of that individual who was made by God. And if the racist person in question considers himself or herself a Christian, therein lies a much deeper problem. He asked: How can we as followers of Christ look at another human being with disdain because of their race? It is a direct insult to our very Creator and goes against everything taught to us by Jesus Christ. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven you.”
Deacon Tardy noted that there is a difference between tolerance and compassion, between like and love for another. Being tolerant does not mean we are compassionate for the soul of another; we must go above simply tolerating others and reach the height of the greatest love – that of our Lord. That kind of love, explained Deacon Tardy, transcends all other kinds of love. “I may not like a certain person,” he said, “but Jesus teaches us to love that person. There is a difference.”
And in our current challenging times of discord and controversy, Deacon Tardy told the audience that there is no better way to unite our nation than by loving one another – the most powerful balm to heal our wounded souls.
King spoke about the importance of being courageous during times of strife, to be brave in the face of adversity, and above all, to love one another as Christians are taught to love. Deacon Tardy’s message offers each of us a reminder to embrace the timeless and timely message of King, who was undoubtedly fueled by the Holy Spirit when he said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
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