Second Sunday After Pentecost

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate with my family to be given a private tour of the African American Episcopal Historical Collection.

And the director of this collection of archives of historic documents and stories was, for many years, an attorney in Washington, DC.

And through that, he developed a relationship with-- through common work for civil rights, he developed a close relationship with Congressman John Lewis.

And this director of the archives of the African American story of the Episcopal Church said that near the end of Congressman Lewis's life, they had their final conversation, and that he, speaking to the congressman, the director of this archive, said, "If I'm honest, I'm starting to lose hope.

I'm feeling like so much of what we worked for in our world, in our culture, in our nation, we're losing.

We're going backwards, not forward." And he said, "I find myself puzzled time and time again after all that we have done that I see often more overt forms of racism in different pockets of our culture and society and at all levels of our government." He said, "If I'm honest, I'm starting to lose hope." And the director of the archives said that Congressman Lewis actually got him by the shirt and said, "Listen to me.

Don't ever say that again." [laughing] "You can never lose hope.

I can never lose hope.

We cannot allow those around us to lose hope.

For when we lose hope, we've lost everything.