" I am happy to join you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American [ Abraham Lincoln], in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. . . . But one hundred years later, the Negro [black man] is still not free. . . . And so, we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. . . .No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream." [Amos 5:24]. I have a dream today! . . . I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of The Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." [Isaiah 40:4-5]. Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" [ From an old Negro spiritual]. ------ [ Martin Luther King, Jr.'s " I Have A Dream" speech, August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.].
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a preacher. His father was a pastor, at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was educated at Morehouse College. Then, he went on to the Theological Seminary at Boston University.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches were impassioned and seemed to flow so easily.
At the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King had carefully prepared a speech that would rely on the historical and legal roots of the Civil Rights Movement. This was the largest March to date in the nation, when there had already been riots, lynchings, cross burnings, and fire hoses used in peaceful demonstrations, throughout the South. King wanted to be on solid ground, he wanted to prove his legitimacy.
Martin Luther King recited his speech. But then, Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was participating in the March, interrupted, calling out, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" [ New York Times, August 27, 2013]. She was calling King to "preach it", not argue it.
And Martin Luther King set aside his prepared speech. He began to preach, with ready Scriptural references. The "I Have A Dream Speech" may have been improvisational: but King knew exactly what he was doing.
King was not a politician. He was a man of God. Before giving any speeches or writing any treatises to be used in the Civil Rights movement, King always spent time praying and seeking God. His advisors fully realized that King was dependent on seeking the Spirit. Before any new citizens' demonstrations, King urged his people on, with prayers and preaching.
He also knew exactly what he was doing in his last speech on April 3, 1968, at the Church of God In Christ Headquarters in Memphis, TN.
This speech is known as the "I've Been To The Mountaintop" speech. At that point, King had spent time in the Birmingham jail. He had witnessed the violence against citizens who had dared to stand up for Civil Rights. He had been stalked by the FBI; and even received death threats; and had been stabbed but had survived.
In the " Mountaintop" speech, King said, " 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. And He's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."
There is a long, resonating history of going to the mountaintop in the Bible. Moses went to the top of Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. Moses went to the top of Mt. Nebo where he could see the Promised Land, but he died before he could enter there. Jesus went to the mountaintop to give His Sermon on the Mount; and during what is called the Transfiguration, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, in a white light, as God's Son.
Martin Luther King allowed God to use him, even to the point of death. King relied on the Spirit and the counsel of the Lord to guide him. He knew fully that he was a servant of God, and that the Civil Rights movement was much greater than he was.
King knew that the fight was not just about him. He said, " Remember, if I am stopped, this movement is not stopped, because God is with the movement."
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, the day after his " Mountaintop Speech".
Like Moses, King knew that he would never make it to the Promised Land. But he had led his people there.
[ Related Postings, " Martin Luther King", January 17, 2011; " Remembering Martin Luther King", January 16, 2012; "The Need For Martin Luther King", January 16, 2013 ].
(c) Spiritual Devotional 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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