| A friend asked me this week, “Why do you
bother with the homeless? It’s too big of
a problem, it’s never going to go away, most
of them can’t change and there’s nothing you
can do about it. All those people want is to get
something for nothing.”
Sometimes these kinds of questions
are aggravating; nevertheless, they deserve
some type of response. For those who work
with the homeless, two stories are always
quick to the lips. The first story is how incredibly
talented, kind, generous, and fun homeless
folk are, which often comes as a surprise
because most of us don’t expect that to be
true. The second story is how exasperating,
crazy, and frustrating it is to be with people
you care about, who all too often make decisions
that result in their own harm.
I suppose we bother with the homeless
because we see ourselves in them. We see
that they are our neighbors, that they are
worthy of our time, talent, and treasure. We
think that way because we yearn to live in
the world as it should be, instead of living
in the world as it is. People who care for the
homeless see potential, possibility, and an
opportunity to witness miracles.
As human beings, we need the capacity
for wonder and amazement. We need to
experience awe, the grand realization that
the universe and life itself is on our side, is
rooting for us, wants us to succeed. When we
encounter the homeless we understand that
we are being asked a question: “Is this one
part of us?” At some level of consciousness
those who care for the homeless grasp that
we are indeed connected, that the welfare
of the other is intrinsically bound up in my
own welfare. To get all mystical, those who
care for the homeless see past the illusion
of our bodily separation and perceive our
spiritual unity. Within the Christian tradition,
the homeless become Christ embodied,
asking us to welcome Him with hospitality
and friendship. Or, more profoundly, Christ,
the homeless, comes to us with the gift of
His hospitality, inviting us to feast with His
abundance. It is only through relationship
that the homeless become real, rather than
objects out there.
My friend, I think, has reduced his life
into a materialistic consciousness. Such
a life can see people only through the
lens of their usefulness, particularly their
usefulness for me! When he thinks of the
homeless he can only think of solutions,
of money fixes, of recreating their lives to
look like his. He is frustrated because the
homeless refuse to fit his box. My friend
has forgotten that humanity is experienced
primarily through touch and talk. He has
forgotten that the first step is friendship.
Once contact is made we will build the
solution together, because it is together
that we are bound. |
