I have a dream today. Most of us here today think that is a wonderful dream, a dream that not only should be dreamt, but one that we work hard to fulfill. But 36 years ago when those words were first spoken they were incendiary words. Words that started riots, got people jailed and beaten and killed. Context is everything.
Timing is everything.
King like many of the prophets before him was killed for saying things like that. The words of the prophets are always contextual, but in many ways the words of the prophets are always the same. The prophets all have a similar message, a concern for those we would just as soon forget. Most often the prophets address their message to religious people. They pick the good folks, the ones who are already doing some good things.