All things come of thee, O LORD, and of thine own have we given thee. –
1 Chronicle 29: 14.

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.-Pslam 34:8

On this special day I want to give thanks specifically for a teenage girl that I most likely won’t be writing about for the next coming months. She is not someone that we have any close ties with it at the present moment. In fact, it is hard to imagine being her friend at this present moment. This is precisely why I am writing about her. She is a symbol of the good things God has been doing in our life. I would say that this is the greatest miracle that we experienced in our ministry here. Teens and children that we thought would be least likely to become our friends end up playing a valuable role in our lives. It is not unlike the first miracle of turning water into wine. Perhaps, this would be the best way to describe it. We want to give thanks to God for turning all our water relationships into fine wine.

Her name is Angelina, at least, this is what we think. It is almost impossible to get a clear answer from her. She is always mad at someone or something. There is always a crisis. She makes sure that everyone knows it with her loud ear piercing complaints. However, we are not entirely sure if this is an attention seeking mechanism. Let’s just say that she is absolutely bonkers. This was my first reaction. Her behavior is so bizarre that all of us including the children and teens just stand there and watch her antics. She thinks that everything is crisis. Most likely, this has been a reality for her all her life. We can see her scars clearly. They are displayed before the world. In many places, she would be shunned. People would be afraid to deal with her. However, the children and teens are not like the world. They made room for her. They are sensitive to her pain. It is not easy for them because she is truly an awkward person. Nevertheless, they share an affinity with her pain. It is clear that her life has been a life of abuse and neglect so much so that she is unable to have a decent conversation with anyone. The children have accepted her for who she is. On the other hand, we are still learning to do this. Mary asked me what I thought about her. I don’t have an opinion because it is hard to say something concretely about someone I don’t understand. Regardless of this, one thing is for sure. It is possible that one day she will become very dear to us. For this, I want to give thanks.

It is not wishful thinking. It has happened before. When we first Alex, he was a strange and awkward person. He would never acknowledged our presence or even answered our questions. We used to think that he was impossible. Things have changed. He is one of our dearest teens. Nowadays, we can hear him yelling out our names a mile away. He has a habit of calling us, “Aunty Mary” collectively. He has had a hard time saying my name spontaneously. My name is not a common name in Brazil. Recently, there is another girl that we never imagined that would be our friend. Her name is Erica. She met her when we first came back to this ministry more than six years ago. She was the first child we visited in a juvenile detention center. Then, she was a closed and proud young girl. She did not believe that she needed anyone’s help. Even after she was released from the center, she would hardly speak to us. It has been five years since she had a decent conversation with us. Now, she is 19. Recently, she has been coming to us asking questions about our relationships. She is curious about our lives and wanted to know what we did when we are free and who cooks in the home. We never knew that she bothered about our existence. Today in particular, we spent the whole day with her. She wanted us to accompany her to get some documents. She did everything on her own but she just wanted some adults with her. At the end of the day, we actually confessed to each other that we never imagined a spending a day with Erica and then saying that it was a wonderful and fruitful day. It was something that we never thought would ever happen.

Angelina seems like a person that would never be able to have a friendship with us. This is why I want to give thanks for her life. I know that one day she will be someone dear to us. She is “water” to us now but Jesus is going to open our eyes and see that she is really wine. He has done these countless of times. Each time we taste the fruits of His miracle, we cannot help but we amazed that He has saved the best for last.

I give thanks for everyone that God sends to us; no matter how broken or bonkers they may appear to us, they are God’s special gifts. No matter what the circumstances are, nothing can change this fact. They are special gifts from God. Sometimes we need God to do a miracle in our hearts to see that the water is really wine.

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” – Luke 23:33-38

There was a manifestation here in support for the President. They believe that he is chosen by God to be their leader. They demanded that he institute a military dictatorship. They thought that more power was needed to bring the country back to its Christian roots. They are convinced that they are doing all this for Christ the King. However, Jesus never sought the support of the politicians or the military to impose His Kingdom. On the contrary, they were the ones who crucified him. It would be strange to think that those who hated Him enough to murder would be His allies today. Of course, there was Pontius Pilate. He was the best of the lot at Jesus’ trial. He might have made a weak attempt to save him but he was too afraid to the right thing. He could be considered the best of the politicians at that time. Even then, history tells us that he was a cruel man. Nevertheless, none of them hindered Jesus from establishing His throne. He was glorified between criminals. The politicians and religious authorities did not understand His Kingdom then and even now. His kingdom is unlike that of the world. He has no use for the authorities of this world to establish His throne. He manifests Himself in the places the rich and the powerful of this world avoid. He is exalted as King among criminals, forgotten people and rejected women. His Kingdom is truly not of this world. Therefore, it is wise for us on this Blessed Sunday dedicated to honor Christ the King to remind ourselves once again, to look for our Lord in places where He is always welcomed.

I saw a simple gesture which I have seen countless of times. I never paid much attention to it. Hundreds walk by the front of the Cathedral and make the sign of the Cross. Sometimes they will stand at the main entrance and make a gesture of reverence. Hundreds do this everyday but only one young person caught my attention. He was a homeless transvestite, probably a former prostitute. He knows that he cannot enter the church without subjecting himself to scrutiny. He would be considered an outsider on many accounts. All this didn’t stop him from reverencing the One person who still accepted him. He was bowing before Christ the King. Only this King knows his struggles and loneliness. Only He knows the rejection and pain of this young person. For most of us, we only know this young person from what he shows to the world. We never know his tears and yearnings. However, this young person has a King who knows him even better than he knows himself. He knows that he is loved by this King and this is why he stopped and bowed before Him.

I saw him a few weeks ago. This was the last time we sat on the steps of the Cathedral. It has served as our waiting place for the children. Things have changed since then. We have stopped waiting for the children and teens. Now, they have invited us to be with them in their place. They beckoned us to come to where they meet with their group. It has been a year since we waited for this moment. We did not want to impose ourselves on them. We wanted them to invite us to be part of them. The tragic death of Renan opened the door for them to approach us. They came to us one by one. Now, we have new names to learn. There are some who under twelve. There are even toddlers with their young teenage mothers. Most of them have young innocent faces but unfortunately many had their innocence stripped away from them at a very young age. Now, they are weary of the world. Some of the teenage girls that started doing activities with us. The girls are always the toughest ones. They take the longest time to open up. There were so many new names that we can’t remember them all. It has been almost a year long since we had this problem. One young teen asked us what was our focus in the streets. She is a quite perceptive young woman and asks thought provoking questions. If she didn’t smile, she would look very intimidating. Her past had demanded her to put forth a tough exterior. It has helped her survive all these years. Fortunately, she wore a smile for us. It was the first thing we noticed about her. It was her way of saying that she wanted to open up to us. We did not leave her question hanging in the air. We told her that we help young people living in the streets to discover the one thing that is needful for them to find peace in their lives. We help them to ask the necessary questions and even walk with them in their search for it. She consented and added that many people don’t understand that they are in the streets not because they want to be here. It is because they are looking for something but no one really knows what. She has been coming up to us ever since this first encounter.

The one needful thing is right there in the place where they eat and sleep in the streets. At least, the symbol is present there. The Cathedral sits towering above all of us. It is the symbolic throne of Christ. However, it is hidden from them. The children and teens come to the street looking for someone who would take them seriously. Someone who would listen to their pleas and sufferings. Someone who would give them the strength to move forward in their lives. They want to meet the King of Kings in the streets. However, his symbols have been kidnapped by authorities and placed somewhere which is not accessible to the people whom He loves. They have made him a friend of corrupt and selfish leaders. Nevertheless, the gospel reading tells us that Jesus was enthroned among thieves. He was among the poorest of the poor, he was among the most despised people of society. He also warned us that only those who serve the least of his brethren can enter the Kingdom of God. Owing to the fact that he dwells among them. This is where Christ the King of the gospels sets His throne. The church and authorities can create a version of Him that fits their image. However, it cannot change the Truth that Jesus was born in a manger, He lived without a home, He died among thieves and He revealed His resurrected self to women who were considered second class citizens. He prefers to be in a place that is not tarnished with gold and silver. Christ the King is King to those who are rejected or ignored in our society. This is the gospel image of the King. If we want to bring Christianity back to the forefront, then we need to be present where the King is found.

The young teenage girl told us that she was in the streets looking for something. We are here for the same reason. In fact, we are here because we know that we will find what we are looking for. This is the difference between us. The children sometimes lose hope. They think that there might be nothing at all for them here. They need us to remind them that Christ is indeed here. We need them to remind us that Christ is enthroned among them. He is the only reason why we are all here together. He is the only reason why you are reading this too. We are looking for Christ the King ! And He is always present among the least of his brethren.