Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

I came home from the streets a little unsettled. The day had seemed fruitful. I had some good conversations with Daniel. Unfortunately, he was using a certain kind of inhalant drug which has caused the deaths of many teens. Obviously, it disturbed me. I asked him to go for a walk with me but without the drug. He threw it away immediately and we went to get something to eat. The effects of the drug wore off fast. We had a good talk but I was still disturbed that Daniel was using something which could kill him.

I went on to meet the other kids. Sabrina was sitting on her own and she told me that the others were around. I left her there and when to look for them. Eventually Bruno come back and so did Jean and a new boy whose name I did not have the chance to find out. A fight broke out between the two younger boys. Bruno made a feeble effort to break it up. Usually, we do not get involved unless someone’s life is in danger. They were fighting over something trivial like two silly boys. Nevertheless, it was a little unnerving. Eventually, they got tired and stopped. I talked with Bruno for a while. We had a good conversation but I was still feeling little uneasy over the whole scene. One might think that I would be used to this. Thankfully, I am not. I do not want to treat violence as something normal. On the way home, I met Felipe. He was nearby because of his work. I haven’t had any quality time with him since he moved. We talked for a while. By the time, I got home it was late. It had been a full day.

I should have been happy with the day. I had many fruitful contacts despite some unpleasant things. However, I still had this troubling thought that I missed something valuable. It only came to me much later, after a night’s sleep. I completely overlooked Sabrina. She was there in her usual quiet manner doing something special. I allowed my mind to be distracted by the fight and the drugs. This is the problem when our minds do not know what to seek for, we allow secondary things to dominate our thoughts. We miss out on the important details, in my case, it was Sabrina.

I have read this gospel story many times. More often than not, I tend to focus on the obvious; the difference in attitude between the wealthy contributors and the widow. My present “congregation” has no wealthy people, well at least not in the material sense of the word. However, it does not mean that this story is not applicable. The attitude of the wealthy is present and alive among the homeless youth. In the streets, there are some teens who engage in criminal activities, not all, but the majority unfortunately. Most of them will admit that is not necessary. However, it gives the attention that they crave, albeit not positive. They would rather have this than be completely invisible. The wealthy in the gospel story used their wealth to assert their presence and some of the teens use crime. Then, there are those who remain invisible to the world. They too desire to be part of something greater than themselves but are unsure if they have a place. In this reality, you have to promote yourself in order to make something of yourself. However, the Kingdom of God is not of this world. The Good Shepherd sat in a strategic location in the temple. He was in an excellent place to observe everything. The usual suspects were there asserting their presence. He waited for the widow. His mind was not fashioned by this world. He sought the invisible ones first. Unfortunately, I can not say the same for myself. I was distracted by the things of the world. My attention went to the ones who made the loudest noise. It is not easy. We live in this world and we cannot resist thinking like this world.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

When I saw Sabrina alone, she was tearing a blank page out of Bruno’s notebook. While the boys were busy fighting, she was drawing a flower and then proceeded to shade it with her pencil because she did not have any color pencils. She was so involved in her art that she hardly looked up when the boys were physically going at each other. She wanted some peace and quiet and she wasn’t going to allow the chaos around her to distract her. We met her for the first time a couple years ago. She had just arrived to the streets then. I remembered her innocence. It almost made her look vulnerable and lost in the streets. It made us feel concerned that she might be dreadfully exploited in the streets. She quietly sat next to us and started coloring. She introduced herself to us as Sabrina. Immediately, the image of Sabrina the Teenage witch from the Archie comics came to my mind. Sounds a little banal. The name is not common here. After this, we never saw her again. We hoped that perhaps she went home.

She reappeared about a month ago. She ran up and gave me a hug. She was genuinely happy to see me. Her first question was whether I remembered her name. It took me a few seconds and then I said, “Sabrina!” It brought a smile to her face. It was sheer luck really. I am ashamed to say that the only reason why I remembered her name because of the comic book character. I was never into comics! Anyway, she looked different now. She tried going back to her family and something brought her back to the streets. Her arms were now covered with tattoos. However, she still maintained her childlikeness. Obviously she liked art. Some of the children and teens have a special relationship with art. Something that someone pragmatic like myself might find it hard to fully comprehend. However, for these young people, it helps them to connect with something greater than themselves. Sabrina was involved in drawing when there was chaos around her. She was like the widow. In the midst of those people depositing large amount of money in the treasury, the widow was determined to contribute her humble gift so that she too could participate something greater than herself. No one noticed her except Jesus. Jesus noticed Sabrina too. On the other hand, I was too busy being distracted but thankfully, it is not too late.

The next day we put together some coloring books and a bag of colored pencils for her. I was going to give them to her. I went to the streets excited but she wasn’t around. I waited for her a while but she did not show up. I wasn’t disappointed. I felt like my eyes were opened. Jesus sat in a position to observe the people whom the world overlooks. He did not allow the values and drama of this world to distract him. He searched for the widows and orphans. I eventually went around looking for the other children and a young boy, Gabriel, came up to me. He never interacted with me before. He wanted to tell me about his fear of bees. Of course, it wasn’t about bees. A new door was being opened for me. Unknowingly, Sabrina was the key. There are tons like her around. They are always unnoticed. However, Jesus always notices them. He does not let his mind get distracted. It is good for us to renew our minds and see things the way He sees them.