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One day Branch Rickey, the general manager...

Illustration
Third Sunday of Advent - B
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Richard A. Hasler
One day Branch Rickey, the general manager of the then Brooklyn Dodgers major league baseball team, decided to take a great risk. It was the mid-1940s and Rickey decided he was going to sign the first black man to a major league baseball contract. He called Jackie Robinson into his office. Robinson had been a superb athlete at UCLA in several sports, especially in baseball. He was known for his sense of pride and his fierce temper. He also had a strong family background with an intense Christian faith. But Rickey wondered if Robinson had the humility to go with his pride.

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I'm sure you've heard it many times, just as I have. Grieving friends and family members at the funeral, comforting themselves and one another with phrases like "the Lord took him."

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