Jesus continued, “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-13

I have mentioned that we wait at the steps of the Cathedral. It is one of the biggest churches in the city. The steps spread over a large area but we usually sit in the middle. There is no apparent reason for our choice. Perhaps, it is because of the view. We can see everyone from where we sit. We are never alone at steps. The homeless adults accompany us in our wait. There are the tourists too. However, these don’t spend too much time on the steps. They go into the church, they might say a short prayer, then snap a few photos and they are on their way. They have places to go, sites to visit, restaurants to eat at and finally a home to rest their heads. The homeless adults just sit there. This is their “home”. They have no where else to go. They have exhausted all their prayers and now they are in the streets. No one chooses to sleep on the streets. They are there because of unanswered prayers.

Wallace always carries a backpack. It contains his life possessions. He doesn’t have much but everything he has is neatly organized in his city bag. He has a simple desire. He wants a place to call his home. It doesn’t have to anything fancy. He would be happy if it was just a small one-room shack made out of plywood. He just wants a place where he can feel safe and lead a quiet life. Something he never experienced in his twenty three years, more than half of which was spent sleeping in the streets. Jesus said, “ask and it will be given to you.” Wallace asked for a simple home but he never received it.

There is a recent arrival to the streets. She is a young adult with mental problems. She spends most of her time warning people who enter the Cathedral that Jesus is coming back soon. She is also convinced that there is going to death and destruction. She claims that God told her. Yesterday, she was in tears. She kept saying that someone said that she wasn’t pretty. It really triggered something in her and she was crying for hours over it. Her conversations vacillate between rejection and punishment. She shouldn’t be in the streets. She needs to be in a group home where she can be treated for her mental illness. It is not her fault that she has a hard time holding onto reality. Unfortunately, no doors were opened for her. The only place left is the streets and here she is in a very vulnerable situation.

Felipe had been homeless since he was 10. Now, he has a job. He thought life would change for the better. It hasn’t happened yet. To the contrary, his life has gotten complicated. He decided to be responsible and be a father to his wife’s three children. He earns a salary that is only pays a week or so of groceries. He doesn’t ask for much. All he just wants a tiny place for his family. He wants it to be clean and disease free. Instead, he can only afford to stay in a place infested with scorpions and cockroaches. The water is polluted and causes his infant child break out in rashes. There is nothing Felipe can do to change the situation. Thankfully, he does not consider going back to the streets as an option. Nevertheless, it is not easy for him. He suffers for his child. Felipe prayed for an “egg” but instead he got scorpions.

These young people do not ask or need anything extravagant. They are asking for something very basic and simple. So far, they have only heard the answer, “no”. Reading the gospel passage above among these young people makes me ask some serious and tough questions. Mary and I come from privileged circumstances. We are not from wealthy families but we have received much compared to these young people. We feel a little awkward to tell them pray and ask and you shall receive. They have spent their lives praying and the answer has been homelessness and desperate struggle to have the basics. We sit in the midst of them. We have to do something different. We need to ask the tough question that they might not have to courage to ask. Therefore, I will ask it on their behalf; “Where are you, God?”

Every Sunday, we pray the Lord’s prayer. Jesus taught us to address God as our Father. Not my Father but the father of every single homeless person that sits on the steps and even the tourists who visit the Cathedral. The young woman with a mental problem, she is my sister in God’s eyes. Wallace is my little brother. Felipe’s family is our family. All those who pray the Lord’s prayer are connected with each other intimately. There are no cousins in God’s family, only brothers and sisters. The prayer is God’s gift to the world. It reveals God’s plan for the world. God has inundated it with His children to bring comfort and peace to their siblings who need it.

The Lord’s prayer tells us three basic things: God is the Father of all peoples, all we need are our basic needs, and we are to forgive as we are forgiven (Luke 11:2-4). In the world, we find the opposite to be true. There is exaggerated individualism, excessive materialism and cancerous resentment. Yet this prayer is prayed by a large part of the world’s population. It is as if people who pray this powerful prayer do it without any concern for its basic premises. Maybe the problem is not God abandoning people. People have abandoned the Father and do what they think is right in their own eyes.

Wallace believes that one day he will have a tiny space to call his home. He is willing to share it with his friends in order to achieve this dream. He is genuinely happy with the little things he has. I asked him if anyone has ever insulted him whenever he begs for his food. He said without resentment that some people are mean but most people are kind to him. He only remembers these ones. He is free from resentment. Not just Wallace but Felipe as well, he has shown himself not to be angry with the situation in which he finds himself. He just does feel sad when his infant child suffers from the rashes. Despite the unhealthy living conditions, this child who is also our godchild has the most amazing smile. He is a happy baby and like most babies, loves to be the center of attention in this tiny dark space they call home. The young girl with mental illness is adopted by a group of homeless young people. They make sure that no harm ever comes to her. She is fed and given a warm and secure spot to sleep in the streets at night.

In a way, God has answered my question. He is present but according His way. He is God and He will manifest Himself, His grace, and His compassion in the way He sees fit. However, He always uses people to comfort those who suffer and are in need. Perhaps, He has a question for all those who pray this Prayer that Jesus taught us. “Where are my children when their brothers and sisters suffer?” It is a good question to ponder. We should not feel guilty when we are asking ourselves this question. It is something we need reflect on in order for us to pray the Lord’s prayer in a genuine manner.