"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
- John 13:34
Advent Day 22
December 18, 2022
Jesus Loves Me
As a child in Brookhaven, Mississippi, my siblings and I looked forward to the Christmas parade and festivities. We would cheer and applaud the sights and sounds of the floats and performers, especially the Alexander High School band. Everyone knew that the band from our "colored" school was the best in the county. The rest of the performers and everyone on the floats were white. All the floats were designed and sponsored by white organizations or businesses, and the parade’s grand marshal was white. Of course, the baby Jesus and the other members in the nativity scenes had pale skin, although Biblical geography disputes that message.
I was 11 or 12 when I realized that the Christmas of our parades and decorations was a Christmas of segregation. It reflected the racial realities of the Jim Crow South. In our "colored" school, we read from discarded textbooks with pages missing, and we had faulty equipment in our science lab. In stores, Black folks had to wait for white patrons to finish their business before we could purchase our items. To some, we did not deserve equal resources and equal treatment, but from my family and church community, I learned something important: we are all equal in God’s eyes.
Brother Bob Smith
New Member, Gulport, Ms.
Prayer: Lord, help me to love others as you love us. Help me to do what I can to make the world a better place for all. Amen
Advent 2022
We invite you to join us during the Advent season as we reflect on the virtues of Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love; as we anticipate Christ's birth; and prepare our hearts to receive him.
Each day a new reflection with a scripture and prayer will be posted on the Metropolitan AME Church website and social media to encourage you as we prepare.
Read along with us each day or download the book to read and reflect along with us offline.