The dedication of the memorial statue to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to occur in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 2011, is a milestone in American history.  As the first person of color to have a memorial on the National Mall, many were asked what the significance of this event meant to them.  More than a few responded, “He brought us hope”.

 

    That God, through Martin Luther King, ‘brought us hope’, cannot be denied.  I personally recall the fires and devastation of the ’67 riots in Detroit; the anger at the hosing of protesters in Birmingham, Alabama; the sadness at the deaths of 4 little girls at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, and the hopelessness at the lynchings of countless African Americans, whose only crime was LWB, “Living While Black”.  Somehow, Dr. King was able to “hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope”. (August 28, 1963, ‘I have a dream’ speech, Dr. MLK, Jr.).

 

     Many would suggest that we no longer have a hope.  Those civil rights icons have faded and our President cannot confine himself to the interests of Black America.  But to those of us who know Jesus, we still have hope, a Hope in Christ. Jesus Christ, our Hope and our Help.  Our Strength and our Savior. “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.  Colossians 1.27.  Jesus.