Sometimes I feel discouraged, having to go to bed so often frustrated with the chilly winds of adversity about to stagger me. Sometimes I feel discouraged, and feel my work’s in vain.

– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A Burning House

At the end of his life Martin Luther King Jr. was greatly discouraged, and began to feel that much of his work had been in vain. Though his famous Dream was praised and receiving a wide acceptance, it was also being misunderstood and altered in unhelpful ways. Seeing this the Rev. Dr. King feared that things were going in the wrong direction, and worried that the outcome would be negative for his people. In a conversation with Harry Belafonte he expressed a hope mingled with concern, and is quoted as saying:

I’ve come upon something that disturbs me deeply. We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know we will win, but I have come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house.

A Sanitized Icon

Though progress has been made and parts of the Dream have been realised, the nightmare that King worked to end continues to this day. Racial tensions within his time have lingered into the present, and divisions seem to roll like a river with discontents like an ever-flowing stream. Simultaneously things appear to get worse while getting better, and the reason for this paradox is a misunderstanding of King.

During a MLK Holiday Breakfast in 2005, Juan Williams spoke of how people honor a sanitized icon. They come to a mythical King, altered to be more palatable. A Civil Rights leader proclaiming hope without a sharp rebuke. Williams also pointed out that one is free to believe in the King they wish, or further alter the icon to fit their tastes and leave them comfortable.

Nevertheless, behind the icon is the real non-mythical King. A Prophetic Preacher with righteous anger demanding righteous repentance. He called, and calls, for ending the nightmare that he had fought against, and this can be heard in speeches beyond, I Have A Dream.

A Shocking Exhortation

In addition to his well-known oration in Washington DC, King had a host of powerful sermons that many have not explored. One such sermon is, Why America May Go To Hell, which he planned to preach just before his assassination. While I’ve Been To The Mountaintop was his last delivered sermon, this was King’s last scheduled sermon. Despite being undelivered there is a complete text, and as one reads it they can feel his cadence and imagine his presence.

In this sermon, King is not, as Colin Grant writes, “defanged”. Instead he fully speaks his mind with a shocking exhortation. There is a call to selfless humility for those abusing power, and a call to bold action for those who are disempowered. King also shows a radical love through a harsh rebuke, and invites others to take part in bettering America and the world. This sermon is a wonderful alternative to reading I Have A Dream for MLK Day. It strips away the icon and reveals a truthful voice that has impacted and continues to impact those who hear it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REV. DR. KING!

To read the Martin Luther King Jr.’s final sermon, click on the button below.