Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 72 this year. It�s hard to picture him as an old man, an elder. Would he have remained erect in his bearing? Would he have grown gray or bald? Would his waistline have grown from eating his favorite soul foods through the years? But most of all, I wonder what wisdom this Nobel laureate would have to share with us in these difficult days as a nation.

The word "terrorist" did exist during his lifetime. It was used to describe South Africans who were members of the African National Congress and the Pan African Congress, usually along with the word "Communist." But it was not an everyday word in the vocabulary of Dr. King or most people of the world. The concept of killing innocent people for a political cause would have been unthinkable for him. As one of the 20th century�s two most outstanding spokespersons for non-violence and as one who dedicated his adult life to the principles of non-violence, Dr. King undoubtedly would have been deeply saddened by the events of Sept. ll.

But, somehow, I don�t think he would have been surprised. He was, after all, a man of God, who understood the many levels in the never-ending struggle between good and evil in the world. In his sermons he sometimes preached about this struggle, reminding his listeners that evil is a stark, grim and colossal reality.

He had seen that struggle first hand as little Black children were attacked by water hoses and dogs set upon them by Alabama sheriffs. He had seen that struggle first hand in the ghettoes of the nation, where Blacks were crowded into poor housing with poor schools and few jobs, and in the rural areas, where Blacks lived in shacks with no electricity or running water, and where sharecropping jobs forced them into lifetimes of poverty and oppression. He had seen that struggle between good and evil in India, where he had visited and seen the extreme poverty of millions of Indians while our nation paid our farmers to store unused food in silos full of grain.

He was, after all, a prophet who warned our nation that our tendency toward materialistic narcissism would come to haunt us. He cautioned that we live in a great world house and asked how we could live richly while our neighbors around the world starved. In his final book, "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?", Dr. King wrote, "When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered." And he called upon our nation, the richest in the world and perhaps the richest ever in history, to make qualitative and quantitative sacrifices so that all in the world might live in fullness and peace. He spoke out against the war in Vietnam, despite the condemnation of many in the Black community and by some of his supporters and funders in white America.

As we pause once again to remember this remarkable man, let us remember more than just his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. Let us remember also the speeches and sermons and writings and actions of his final five years�years when he challenged this nation not only to end its racism, but to end its economic injustices and its militarism. Let us remember that he died having had the courage to speak out for what he believed, no matter what the winds of public opinion or the powers that be said.

May a new generation of drum majors for justice be born. May they become the consciences of their generation and those to come. That is my prayer on the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.