We were in Chicago sitting outside a Starbucks when at a table behind us we noticed this man sitting there. Reading his paper and eating his sandwich. There was no 4 dollar coffee in sight. Oblivious to the world around him I can only imagine what he was finding so enticing in that day's news. Was he homeless? I don't know. Scanning classifieds for a job that demands only skills that he can offer? Could have been. He certainly didn't notice us taking his picture and I suspect he won't stumble upon this website surfing the internet one day... Filling his stomach occupies far too much of his time. He certainly has family, only whether he knows them I don't know. I can't even tell you if he believes in God or in the makers of fresh bread.
What he reminds me of is Jesus telling us who the blessed truly are. He often seems to still be saying today-- that one won't understand what being comforted is like unless you have mourned. The humble people are the ones who get to be part of the kingdom of heaven. Only the truly meek inherit anything worth mentioning. It's those who crave justice who will be satisfied with what they get. Those who show mercy in this lifetime happen to recieve it in the next. And if you want to see God, well, may your heart be like a glass of clear water held up against the sun, allowing the light in its full glory to shine upon your face.
And if the gate is narrow and it's holding onto things too tightly in this life that make it difficult to get through to the next, than what Jesus says about this man is true, that in all his poorness, despite whatever led him to be sitting there aware of only a half-eaten sandwich and folded newspaper, he is no further away from being a very, very rich man than something very, very simple.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
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I can only wish to hear this man's story... the story of his hardships and joys (that might have been only in past years). To be homeless means so much more than to be without a physical home,though. Quoted from a reading I recently read in class by Barbara Kingsolver, "Home is place, geography, and psyche; it's a matter of survival and safety, a condition of attachment and self-definition." Home is something that extends beyond the physical. Without a home, who wouldn't be driven to alcoholism, the common stereotype of the homeless, to try and fill the void of loneliness and despair, without a home belonging ceases, without a home dignity must be fought for, for one cannot vote without out an address let alone get a job to try and support themself and without a job they must face shame, deemed lazy in the eyes of the public. If these are the blessed, what is our response? Why do we avoid, shun, and sympathize for those that Jesus places such value on. Is throwing a few nickels in a cup as we shuffle by living out our perceived, urgent schedules really measuring up to Jesus' hospitality of the outcast, the meek, the needy? What will it take to give these homeless a home? At the least, how much would it cost us to simply acknowledge these 'blessed' as people and come to understand the reality of their lives? Would it be too hard to stop and inquire as to how they are or to smile as we pass, rather than lowering our head hoping that they will not bring guilt on us by asking for some spare change? What does it take to provide a 'home' for the 'blessed'?
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