December 5:  JUSTICE
     For the Lord does not reject mankind for ever and ever.  If he has punished, he has compassion, 
so great is his kindness,   since he takes no pleasure in abasing and afflicting the human race.
Lamentations 3:31-33    


Reflection by Mike Curry


As a child, I didn't see differences in people. In our small farming, manufacturing, canned food-producing, diverse community, people worked together in administration, factories, farms and stores. My older sisters lived in Chicago, one hundred miles away, and we visited them occasionally; people there too were just like us as far as I could tell. Friends I met in their neighborhood, church and school were African American, Jewish, Catholic, protestant, Greek, Polish, poor and rich folks. As a seven year old, I saw everyone the same. 

During WWII a German POW camp was placed across the street from our home. The POW's worked with locals and played catch with me across their fence; they even taught me some German words. They acted just like us! After the war the camp was made into a camp for migrant workers who were from Texas and Mexico. They worked side-by-side with locals most everywhere, too. Their children came over and we played together a lot. We sounded different from each other, but no one cared. That was my life until the end of WWII when I heard adults talk about the horror of the Japanese-American internment camps. That was my first memory of knowing about a large section of people who had their civil liberties taken from them just because of who they were. 

 I was taught in Sunday school that we are all made in the image of God: our differences were to be enjoyed. Now that I am no longer a child and am aware of the injustice that is born of difference, I wonder if I have done enough in my life to eliminate the causes of injustice that could have affected many of my friends. The work required to uproot those negative influences is huge, for to complete the mission of clearing the causes of injustice, I must become the compassion and the kindness in the mind of God.

Think Outside the Manger  is a daily Advent devotional written and produced by members of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Tifton, GA. Visit www.stannestifton.com to learn more.

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