Milford chronicle., 1942-12-04

our standards, with hundreds o
tropical and oriental disease
abounding on every hand, is hor
rible. We, at home in America
build our Christmas gardens witt
scenes of The Nativity, as we imag
inc it. 1t all seems so sweet ant
serene. But now 1 see in that seen,
poverty far greater than you cal
conceive. see animal and human
excretia, lining the sides of tn,
narrow pebbly streets that are sci
dom blessed with rain to wasf
away the debris. / see the skie:
dotted with large scavenger birds
lowering around over a city o.
death; constantly on the watch fol
the first sign of weakness of any
living thing, for that means tC
them a meal in the offing. 1 see
droves of flies swarming about ev-
erything with their hairy legs car
rying invisible death. l see shep-
herds drinking water they have
scooped out of the river into their
earthenware pitchers-water con-
taminated by dozens of varieties OF
dysentery from human excretia,
from humans and animals bathing
and drinking in it, from clothes
washed in it, from every possible
form of eXtraneous matter being
thrown into it, see sheep that are
stained from dust and filth, with
shaggy, knotty coats of evil-smell-
ing wool. l see lean, hungry dogs
yapping at the heels of the sheep,
dogs that cringe with fear at the
sight of man, in memory of the
beatings they have received for be-
ing too long in finding a stray
sheep. 1 see beautiful starry nights
mercifully hiding the grim reality
of the city in its soft, unrevealing
light. see the sun come up in its
brazen glory unrelentlessly play
ing it's beams on the distorted dere-
licts of decadence. l see thousands
of human derelicts, too, torn by dis
ease, crippled and blind, with their
incessant cries of "Baksheesh, Bak-
sheesh."' l see all these because l
have seen them. After 1000 years
they are this way. What were they
like then. Now can you see the
love of our Father, Who, despite all
this horror, would allow His only
begotten Son to be born of earthly
parents who lived under such con-
ditions; conditions so foul that my
adherence of them is violent. What
must our, perfect Lord have thought
of them when 1, a most imperfect
human, think them vile? Yes, this
is Love that passeth all under
standing" We must sometimes find
it difficult to love our neighbors,
but to see these thieving, filthy ami
mal-like creatures who sleep in
cutters, would make any American
look like a wealthy saint by COM
parison. Then the picture of Jesus
walking, talking, eating, sleeping,
in short living with them. What in
finite Love that required. But here,
in the very cradle of the religions
of the world, we find the people in I
the same degree of poverty, the
same insanitary conditions, the |
most uneducated minds, and an eco
nomic status almost approaching
slavery. Have we failed? If we
want to build a canal through dis
ease infected country we send our
experts and our sanitary
engineers to prepare the way, and
the canal is built. Is this too much
to do to save souls? But canals
bring wealth, commerce, money.
Souls are an Improbable crop. Or
are they? The vast resources of the
oriental mind are practically un-
apped. Who knows what wonders
lie in the fertile imagination of
nen whose ancestors built most
Of the ancient wonders of the
world? Yes, even in the realm of ;
money it might be a good invest
nent! But in the domain of the
pirit what untold fortunes lie dor
nant in the men of this localei A J
'eople who produced the prophets,
nd a Simon Peter, and Paul, and
II the rest of those famous twelve
urely have qualities that only re-
uire brushing off the dirt, possibly 3
on might have to scrape, but then
he beauty of, the soul revealed
light be dazzling. The sparkling
iamond is sought in the most in !
ccessible regions of the globe, un-
scraped, polished, and then q
ne glory of its refractory proper \
es is seen. What we need is some Z
esearch to find the Diamonds" of .
cd. They may be lying on the K
Lreets of an oriental city with flies q
uzzing overhead. Or are they .
ngels? 1 don't know, but we must b
nd out. Our pretty churches are q
ne, but too comfortable. We must y
ct out into the fields and byways b
here the Diamonds" are to be q
'und. We need diggers. Too many .
us want to be polishers. Which q
re you? 4
The sun has just lowered its smil- 2
g face, so today will soon be r.
Shadows have scamp q
ed away. All things are bathed "
the soft light of the cleaning. d
ke to think of the sun as my son. &
e is running an errand for me- "
hen the end of the day is near d
nd him scampering off to his mo- e
er to tell her all is well. 1t will y
nvey the warmth and the CHEEKY W
nile that 1 have in my heart for n
II. So 1 no longer feel deserted X
hen he leaves me, but peace and &t
tisfaction envelop and crown the M
of the day. When the u
fly over the white cliffs of M
over l will again be. home. Fly, III
uebirds, fly. "
With every revolution of that VI
ring orb the day of my arrival NJ
me is that much closer. G.
All my love, "
JIM. N
Remember Pearl Harbori Re- As