Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," asked Senator Charles Sumner to come to the aid of a needy citizen. When Sumner turned her down with the excuse that he had grown too busy to concern himself with individuals, Howe replied, "Charles, that's remarkable. Even God hasn't reached that stage yet."

The problem with our sense of “where the problem is” is that we are like the people of Gadara. When you ask, “Where is evil?” they would point to “that man over there.” We’re pretty sure the problem is “out there” somewhere—bad people, bad institutions, bad laws, bad luck. But Jesus in the gospels knew the truth—if evil lives out through our social structures, it is birthed in the human heart.

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The problem with our sense of “where the problem is” is that we are like the people of Gadara. When you ask, “Where is evil?” they would point to “that man over there.” We’re pretty sure the problem is “out there” somewhere—bad people, bad institutions, bad laws, bad luck. But Jesus in the gospels knew the truth—if evil lives out through our social structures, it is birthed in the human heart. Evil, as Walter Wink puts it, has no existence apart from dwelling within and among us humans.

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It is rather peculiar that a holiday so connected with abundance and the numbering of blessings would have begun as gratitude for bare survival, but fitting. Thanksgiving is the recognition of our dependence on God, not the congratulating of ourselves. We are blessed, but not deservedly. Life is a gift from Someone, not something to which we are entitled. It is a time to stop, take stock, and celebrate in the spirit of those early survivors.

Transcript can be found at https://garyfurr.me/2025/11/28/squantos-kindness/

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