[Meeting Martin Luther King Jr. in Boston]

Having lived in Boston for several years, I'm very used to a conversation with questions like "where are you from", "what do you do", etc at social events or church. Now, let's imagine that I lived in the year of 1953, just a few years after world war II. On an ordinary weekday morning, when I was on the Green Line B branch (which then was numbered "route #62") along Commonwealth Avenue toward downtown, I started a conversation with an African American guy who got up at the BU central stop. I quickly got into the typical Bostonian conversation:

"Hi, what's your name?"

"Martin." He said.

"I'm Jerome. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Are you a student at BU?"

"Ya. I go to the divinity school."

"That's cool. What do you study there?"

"I'm a doctoral student in systematic theology."

"Wow, that sounds very hard-core. So did you come to Boston to attend this program?"

"Ya. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I moved here two years ago after getting my bachelor of divinity."

"So are you a pastor?"

"Yes, I am."

"Cool. So where are you heading right now?"

"I'm going to downtown to meet my finacee. She's a music student at New England Conservatory. We're going to get married in Alabama next month."

"Wow, congratulations!"

That's true. I met the civil right activist-to-be Martin Luther King Jr. in the city of Boston, where it's never a surprise to randomly run into a doctor or a professor on the street. In a few minutes, I heard more about his story. While living in the south most of his life, he did spent 4 years in Boston, where he attended Boston University and got his PhD in systematic theology. While racial segregation (which came to existence after the civil war) was still prevalent in the south, Boston was the first city where I felt he was free to do everything without discrimination. He really enjoyed this city. And instead of living in the dorm of BU, he rented an apartment at 397 Mass Ave, right next to today's Orange Line Mass Ave station.

Boston was also the city where he met his wife Coretta Scott. They got married in June 1953. And he was incredibly young as a doctoral student -- he skipped two grades in high school and completed college at the age of 19. By the time he started doctoral study in Boston (at the age of 22), he already obtained his first seminary degree. By the way, he was also the assistant pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church, an African-American congregation near Dudley Square.

--------

Now the conversation continued. Martin and I started talking about Christian church and theology.

"Which church do you go to?" He asked.

"The XXX church. It's an evangelical church."

"Ah, Christian evangelism." From his eyes, you could tell there was probably something in his head.

"What do you think about it?"

"Well, I'm a pastor, and I do build my ministry on the teaching of Jesus. But I hope your church is not like one of the typical American churches today. I think really miss the point of the gospel."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they've been focusing too much on individuals being saved and ignoring the injustice in this society. They miss their mission to liberate the oppressed."

"Well, isn't a Christian church supposed to share the gospel and convert sinners to God?"

"Yup, but doesn't the gospel free us? How can you say you're sharing the gospel while so many people in this country are oppressed and suffering from inequality?"

"You're right, but this should be the outcome of salvation, instead of the salvation itself..."

"(Sigh.) I think the some churches really need to shift focus." He breathed before continuing. "Old faiths like the bodily resurrection, virgin birth and miracles that contradict the science may not be necessary for Christianity today. Churches are called to realize the Kingdom of God on earth by exercising justice and mercy..."

Now I could sense where on the "church spectrum" he was. He was vastly influenced by Walter Rauschenbusch's social gospel, a theological thought popular in the early 20th century that called for a return to the "Kingdom of God" doctrine. Church's primary calling, in social gospel's perspective, is to bring God's kingdom on earth by applying Jesus' teaching to solve social issues and rescue the oppressed. Along with Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent approach, it shaped King's theology and fueled the later movements he led.

And It was also interesting to see theologically how liberal his was. He casted his doubt on some essential doctrines that most Christian denominations held true back then. If you are from an evangelical background, this may get on your nerves. (But keep in mind that he lived before the age of neo-orthodoxy, and people often abandoned traditional views when running into doctrines that contradict scientific knowledge.) And this is probably why while many pastors today would say King's accomplishment was fueled by the Christian faith, but avoid talking too much about his view on doctrines.

--------

Let's get back on the train scene. At the Park Street underground station in downtown Boston, I said bye to the newly met friend Martin and saw him disappearing in the crowd. I could tell he's a brilliant and eloquent person, but might not expect two years later he'd be the person would be a key leader in the Montgomery bus boycott, nor decades later he'd deliver his famous speech in Washington. I might not agree with everything he said, but I'd definitely remember this conversation with Martin, a person that was once like me, who lived to Boston short-term to pursue a degree and was shaped by the personality of this city.

--------

[Afterthought] As a member of an American evangelical church (and also a foreigner of a minority group), the story of Martin Luther King Jr. continues to puzzle me. His view on certain doctrines are likely to be condemned as unorthodox by evangelical churches, but meanwhile, as the "saved" people, do we eager to live out and advocate the biblical justice in daily life as he did? Or we're always being "gospel-centered" while ignoring the all-inclusive nature of the biblical gospel?

(In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr.'s school, apartment and church in Boston.)

📢聽方方姐姐說故事

#謝謝方方姐姐分享

📝引文如下📝

👵👵圖畫書中，我也特別喜歡「阿嬤」這個角色，因為歲月的歷練，阿嬤懷揣人生智慧；因為女性特質，阿嬤散發溫潤柔軟的香氣。聽有智慧而溫暖的人說話，就像神仙教母在灰姑娘頭上點那麼一下，霎時間，煥然一新，不過能不能持續美麗，那就要靠自己努力。

👍《林桃奶奶的桃子樹》https://goo.gl/AI0Wbu
圖像以大量粉紅色為基礎，領人置身粉嫩桃花林中，俐落的線條與簡約的形體是作者雕塑魂注入畫面的生命；文字清淡、規律，以「花開了！」為始，以「花開了！」作結，簡簡單單地看見自然生生不息的循環。

👍《市場街最後一站》https://goo.gl/vbquAM
奶奶有智慧的回應提供小杰觀看世界的角度，因為奶奶擁有「在意想不到之處，發現美好事物的魔法」，這樣的魔法正是「絕對幸福之道」啊！

我有三個阿嬤，三個阿嬤三種人生風景。
一個愛美、時髦還會說故事，我人生中看的第一位女性化妝、聽的第一個床邊故事，都是來自時髦嬤；一個獨立、自我還很腳勤，常常自己上山泡湯、趴趴走，因為屬虎，所以都叫老虎嬤；一個嬌小、靈活還會醃醬瓜，因為是大家庭裡的女主人，掌杓持家的功力深厚，也因以農事為業，我們都喊山頂嬤。
小時，都和時髦嬤一起睡，阿嬤會講桃太郎故事、唱桃太郎的歌，還說要帶我們去惡魔島打鬼，現在想來，原來是阿嬤開啟我喜愛奇幻文學的源頭。

圖畫書中，我也特別喜歡「阿嬤」這個角色，因為歲月的歷練，阿嬤懷揣人生智慧；因為女性特質，阿嬤散發溫潤柔軟的香氣。聽有智慧而溫暖的人說話，就像神仙教母在灰姑娘頭上點那麼一下，霎時間，煥然一新，不過能不能持續美麗，那就要靠自己努力。

月初，介紹兩位阿嬤給孩子們，兩位阿嬤，一中一西，一少言一多語，同樣都有神仙教母的魔法，這股魔法使我們領受分享、感恩的美好，導航我們觀看世界方向，更陪伴我們在自然恆常的規律裡甜蜜。

《林桃奶奶的桃子樹》林桃奶奶真有其人，作者湯姆牛說：故事來自林桃奶奶孫女的敘述，林桃奶奶住的地方、做的事情都讓作者心神嚮往，遂仿桃花源之漁人，追尋「落英繽紛」、「雞犬相聞」之林。(讀完作者的話，會更愛上這故事： http://gkids.com.tw/newbook/BKI150/index.asp)

圖像以大量粉紅色為基礎，領人置身粉嫩桃花林中，俐落的線條與簡約的形體是作者雕塑魂注入畫面的生命；文字清淡、規律，以「花開了！」為始，以「花開了！」作結，簡簡單單地看見自然生生不息的循環。

我們從種花手指謠開始這個故事：
大大地，種大花，灑灑水，開大花，啵！(大聲，大動作)
中中地，種中花，灑灑水，開中花，啵！(中聲，中動作)
小小地，種小花，灑灑水，開小花，啵！(小聲，小動作)

花開了，……
等到花謝了，樹上就會結滿一顆一顆好吃的桃子。
小松鼠問：「林桃奶奶，可以給我一顆桃子嗎？」林桃奶奶給了小松鼠一顆桃子。小松鼠吃完，把橘色的果核埋起來。然後是三隻山羊、五隻老虎和好多好多動物，最後烏龜一家終於趕到，灰濛濛的背景襯著剩下一顆桃子的蕭瑟，林桃奶奶自己也還沒吃桃子啊！這顆會給烏龜一家嗎？孩子有的點頭微笑：「可以切一小塊一小塊。」有的搖頭說不會，因為奶奶自己還沒吃。

故事到這裡，林桃奶奶說了第一句話：「要吃的舉手！」
香香甜甜的蜜桃派一出場，真是天地萬物都戀愛了，粉紅泡泡不斷在書裡書外繽紛飄起。山上的天氣有時晴、有時雨，林桃奶奶家門口不一樣了，孩子說：「剛剛動物都把桃子種子丟在土裡，下雨澆水，就長樹了！」
是啊！翻開拉頁，動物們在桃樹下野餐、看書、遊戲……，漁人划船駛進桃林，這不就是遂了作者湯姆牛的心願嗎？終於買到林桃奶奶的桃子呀！孩子們也來跟林桃奶奶的孫女買桃子吧！

《市場街最後一站》(文)紐伯瑞金獎＊(圖)凱迪克銀獎 * Coretta Scott King Awards 三塊醒目的得獎貼紙毫不客氣地佔領原文版的書衣，叫人不把它帶回家也難。某種程度，我覺得這也是真實故事，繪者說自己從小就和奶奶一起搭公車，就像故事主角一樣。忍不住猜想，或許當中某個畫面就是回憶裡的一幕。

故事文字從動作開始─
小杰推開教堂的大門，跳下階梯。孩子們開始搜尋、推理圖中哪個是小杰？
奶奶和小杰準備搭公車去一個地方，小杰一路觀察、一路問問題：
「為什麼等公車時要下雨？」奶奶：「樹也會渴啊！」
「為什麼我們家沒有車？」奶奶：「我們有噴火公車，阿丹先生還會變魔術給你看。」
「為什麼那個人看不見？」奶奶：「有些人用耳朵看！」
「我也好想有那個(智慧型手機吧！)。」奶奶：「聽聽你面前這位活生生歌手的音樂。」……
我始終不覺得小杰一路上問奶奶的那些話是出於抱怨或羨慕，因為他的嘴角始終揚起。對我而言，那比較像主角在探索自己的生活，自然會有些疑問，這時，奶奶有智慧的回應提供小杰觀看世界的角度，因為奶奶擁有「在意想不到之處，發現美好事物的魔法」，這樣的魔法正是「絕對幸福之道」啊！

圖像同樣萬分精彩。鮮豔、濃郁的壓克力顏料在拼貼與壓印的技法中，創造出有層次的空間與明朗的城市氛圍。即便來到市場街最後一站，文字說：「破破爛爛的人行道、亂七八糟的窗戶……」畫面依舊以暖色為底，還有one love的塗鴉。猜想，這些美麗有盼望的風景都是小杰和奶奶心中的對鏡吧！心美，總是會往美的、清朗的方向看去。

Christian Robinson的構圖與色彩和Ezra Jack Keats頗有相似之處，若細看，前者(本書)色調較為明亮，構圖以橫向水平線營造穩定的情節氛圍；後者用色更為奔放自由，構圖營造不同作品的特殊氛圍，像是《THE SNOW DAY》裡，積雪高高低低的流動感，呈現小孩悠閒探索的自在，或是《A LETTER TO AMY》中傾斜的畫面，傳遞了小男孩不安的情緒。

☆謝謝讀書會老師分享的繪者訪談：https://www.facebook.com/newshour/videos/10154547669003675/

倘若，有一天我也成了阿嬤，不曉得我能有哪種魔法？能確定的是，我會繼續在分享、感恩和看好風景的修行路上……。

《林桃奶奶的桃子樹》 http://www.books.com.tw/products/0010724827
《市場街最後一站》 http://www.books.com.tw/products/0010712960