But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. John 14:26-27
Sometimes he can be charming but most of the time he tends to be annoying although not in an offensive way. I was very much like him at his age. Gabriel is not new to the streets. He showed up just before the Pandemic started. He was ten then. No one knows anything about him. We do not know if he came from a neglected home or an orphanage. He is kind of a mischievous kid who is either high from sniffing paint thinner or playing the fool. Most likely it is his way of dealing with his harsh reality. He decided to plant himself between Josiel and myself which irritated us to say the least. Josiel had a hard week and he was in the middle of sharing something important and then Gabriel disrupted the momentum of the conversation for no apparent reason except perhaps his extreme neediness.
Josiel is one of the youths who decided on his own to abandon criminality. He has been in the streets since he was a child but most of it was spent in the juvenile detention center. We always thought that he was one of the youths deeply ingrained in crime. Therefore, we were pleasantly surprised when he approached us for help to buy one of those delivery bags, to be frank, I am not sure what they are called. They look like a huge thermal box with straps. He had registered online with a food delivery company. He had a bicycle but needed the delivery bag. It was quite costly. Naturally, we offered our aid. The older teens are aware that we are here to help them even financially if they want to make good and healthy life choices. However, we were not sure how it was going to work out because it was the first time for him to do something as such. As we all know, it is not always easy to do something new. He proved us wrong. He got into his work without any problems. He showed me the amount of money he had earned. He gets paid according to the number of deliveries. He was ecstatic. He said that he was feeling so much better and happier than he did not need to resort to crime for anything.
Unfortunately, someone (not from the streets) stole his bicycle and to add insult to injury, his debit card was stolen along with all his savings. This was such a blow and we were worried that he might get discouraged and go back to crime. This was exactly what he thought about doing, he said. He felt it was pointless to walk the straight and narrow and was almost on the brink of giving up when he said “No!”. He was going to choose life.
He rented a bicycle using an app and started delivering food again. He confessed that his bicycle was bought with money from crime. Now, he is given a chance to start with a clean slate. He is going to save and buy a new bicycle with honest money and not allow anything from his criminal past to move forward with him into the future. We were quite proud of him. It showed much maturity on his part.
He was about to open up about his mother suffering domestic violence when Gabriel got in the middle of us. As if this wasn’t enough, the young boy kept staring at my ear in a bizarre manner which was extremely distracting and annoying. Finally I had to stop Josiel and ask Gabriel what he was doing. He wanted to know if my earrings were gold. In the streets, this is generally a rude question. It usually is taken as threat to steal. I asked Gabriel why this was important. He responded by saying that if it was gold, he was going to steal it from me. I asked him to leave us because he was being disrespectful. Josiel added that it wasn’t the way to speak to us. Nevertheless, Gabriel was defiant and walked away angrily, making some rude comments.
“For though I am not splenitive and rash, yet have I in me something dangerous, which let thy wisdom fear.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet
I was truly unsettled by this sudden turn of events and even Josiah noticed it. Gabriel’s disrespectfulness quickened something in me that I would rather be dormant. Witnessing people getting robbed constantly wears us emotionally and spiritually. It saddens our souls to see that we are living in such demonic times. This is not to suggest that there are strange and sinister non-material beings wandering around causing mayhem. I refer to our Lord’s definition to what I consider as demonic activity.
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Matthew 16:23
The world becomes more demonic when everyone acts according to what they deem as right in their own eyes. The new group of children believe that it is right for them to steal from unsuspecting victims. They have a way of justifying their vile actions. The police believe that hard brutal violence resolves everything. They justify their corrupt behavior. The people think that harsh prison and death penalty is the way to go. They have a means of justifying their self righteousness. Everyone operates on their own privatized moral codes without realizing that they are succumbing to the seductive charms of the devil. Peter thought he was saying a good thing to Jesus. In reality, he was just acting according to his base human desires.
It would be foolish of me to think that I am immune from this environment. There are demonic voices constantly enticing us to join in their chorus of hatred and rejection in this world. Gabriel’s actions stirred something within me. They opened a floodgates of unwholesome thoughts. They made me sad.
As I was on my way home, I met Wallace. He has begging outside a store. He has been selling mineral water for weeks to survive but we are presently experiencing unseasonal cold weather. Consequently, no one is craving icy cold mineral water in the streets. For Wallace, this is a loss of income and he decided to beg for money to buy food. I stopped and talked with him and told him what had happened. He said that Gabriel is being influenced by these new batch of children. Furthermore, he said, in the streets, you need to guard yourself from these influences if not they will lead into a path of self destruction. These are wise words. They are valid even for me. I got Wallace something to eat and we hugged and said goodbye. I pondered upon his words as I made my way home.
In this world, the demonic voices scream and shout at us, beckoning us to follow their lead. Sometimes they are very convincing in their arguments if we buy into their philosophy. To be unaware of this diabolic presence would be foolishness. On the hand, having a caricatural image of demons devised by popular and superstitious notions doesn’t help. These demons are not from without, they are present when we look into the mirror. They are pining to be released from the depth of our being. We can give in to them by feeding them with the lies which we hear and hatred that lies dormant in our hearts. Each time we dehumanize people with unflattering labels, we are strengthening this sinister presence in us. Gabriel is just a little kid lost in this world. Sometimes it is hard to see the real state of things. This is why Jesus sent us an Advocate. However, He can only help us if we listen to Him. Today He spoke to me through Wallace.
The next day when we arrived at the street, we saw Gabriel siting on a bench waiting. He ran up to us and asked us to forgive him. It brought such joy to my heart. He was trying to explain that he would never do anything to hurt us. I stopped him. I told him that it was unnecessary. Apparently, he had spent the night listening to the Advocate too. We hugged him. He wanted to color something with us. It was freezing cold. Not the best day to sit in the open and color while the strong cold winds were trying to convince us otherwise. I told him that we can play a game when it is warmer. It was enough to convince him that he was truly forgiven. It was enough to convince me that the Advocate is going to guide us as we walk into territories where angels fear to thread. There is only one voice we need to heed. He speaks quietly in this world of loud and obnoxious demons. We just need to be more attentive.
