First Friday of Advent

"Hate evil and love good, 

    and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
   will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."  Amos 5:15

why do we find it

so easy to execrate 

our rivals in sports but

seem to be willing to let

evil get more than a second chance?

why do we believe justice

belongs in gated communities

but not in neighborhoods

defeated by blight and filled

with the rubble of disappointment?

why do we see our selves

as being part of your 

Beloved Community, but

would exclude the remnant

called vulnerable and forgotten?

(c) 2023 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman