And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:19-21

I have to admit that I find it rather annoying when people want to know about the end times, or rather, the signs pertaining to it. I also have to admit that the Book of Revelation is my least favorite book in the Bible next to Daniel. The authors had their reasons for the lack of clarity in these books; unfortunately, today they have become the playground for inventing theories. Jesus advised us not to occupy our minds with the things of tomorrow. Today dishes out certainties which are quite unbearable. We need to talk and deal with these things. One of which is Death. There is nothing more natural and certain than this. There is no need to speculate about this. There are no hidden theories. Just harsh reality.

Almost every week now, at least two people die in the place where we minister to the children and teens. Sometimes it is because of violence. Other times drugs are involved. Some just die from all the malnutrition and exhaustion. Usually, it is a combination of all of these. Our week started with the news of death of Gabrielle. A youth commented that for a long time, hardly anyone we knew died in the streets, now all the sudden it is happening too frequently. I even wrote a reflection about how things have changed for the better. Sadly, this was short-lived. Now, things appear to be deteriorating at a rapid pace.

Gabi, as we called her, was in her mid twenties. She was one of the many who spent her infancy homeless. She was an outgoing and outspoken youth. Often times fearless to express her views or even confront the police when she knew that she was in the right. Her nickname in the streets was “Vulcano”. It suited her personality perfectly. If she had been in a different situation, she would have been a diehard feminist leader of a group of college students. Sadly, Gabi’s lot in life deprived her of education and opportunities but it did not stop her from being a presence in the streets. Now her life ended without any warning. She just collapsed and moments later she was gone. Gabi will not be coloring with us anymore. She started a picture in our coloring book and promised to complete it later. Now, it will remain half finished.

Each time someone dies in the streets especially among the youth, we tend to contemplate collectively our own imminent death. Some of the homeless youth were tempted to speculate where Gabi is right now. Most of them were gracious but there were a few who insisted that she was in hell. Of course, they came to this conclusion from hearing the countless hell and damnation preachers in the streets. It is funny how many people like to take the role of God in this matter. We do not decide on anything regarding matters of the soul. This is the sole property of God. We are told God is Love and Jesus revealed to us a compassionate and forgiving God in His ministry. Therefore, all this gives us hope. Gabi was someone who experienced rejection and abuse since she was a child. However, she always believed that God was the only One who was always with her throughout her whole life.

I did not see the point in participating in the conversation about her afterlife. Gabi is gone but we have our life here. Her death reminded us that life is short and fragile. We have to decide how to live it. After all, the parable which Jesus told in the gospel was not about life after death. It is about the here and now. He is proposing a radical shift in our mindset about acquiring treasures in this world. The rich man cast his lot with his possessions or rather, in the pursuit of material security. In a way, there is nothing obscene about the man’s attitude. By today’s standard, we can argue that he was being prudent and a good steward of his wealth. Nevertheless, Jesus thought otherwise and it is the mindset of Jesus which we seek to imitate.

This parable is not about money but it is about what we consider as valuable treasures in life. Some can claim that they have lots of money but do not treasure it. Some can have a little money but spend their lives in pursuit of it. We can say whatever we want to say about this matter. In reality, this parable is not an invitation to argue about the rightful place of money in our lives. It is a challenge for us to examine our lives in private and ask ourselves what do we truly consider as treasures in our lives.

I asked the children if Gabi died alone that night. They said that they all gathered close to her even though her heart stopped beating almost immediately. They stood around her mourning her departure from this world. She started her life in this world as an abandoned and lonely child but she was not alone when she departed it. Despite her dire situation, she still had treasures, maybe not in the eyes of the world. Her treasure was the friendship of invisible people of this society. People who the rest of the world rejected and considered as worthless were Gabi’s treasures. The man in the parable died alone or maybe he was surrounded by many. Despite the countless love songs and cliches, wealth tends to buy affection in some shape or form. Gabi had nothing to her name and yet she had friends who loved her in the best way they could. In this sense, her life was richer than many in this city although her life was never easy. She had some mental health issues and many times she found it hard to deal with reality. Her life was a tragic tale but it was not a hopeless one. The gospel was always present. Her extreme poverty did not hinder her from having treasures.

It is hard for us to read parables concerning treasures, talents and gifts in this time and age and not think about them in the material sense. Our mindset is deeply rooted in material gains in this period of our history, perhaps more so than in any other times. It requires extra effort and much reflection to understand what Jesus is saying. There is a tendency for us to just ignore these words and go on with life as usual. This is actually one of the things that the parable warns against doing. The rich man put off personal reflection and ended up losing everything. Jesus is not trying to scare us. He is reminding us of our reality. Death is a reality which is inevitable. In order to discern which treasures are worth pursuing in this world, we need to take into account our own mortality.

One day as we were getting ready to leave the streets for home, Raphael asked us if he could do some coloring with us. There were several reasons to say, “No” to him. It was late. He was not one of the youth that we work with even though he interacts quite often with the children and teens. Besides this, we know that he was involved in some criminal activities which does not disqualify him in any way. However, it does influence our attitude in some ways, to be honest. We decided to stay a little longer and color with him. He is actually a good artist. He told us that he loved art and showed us some pictures which he drew. I asked him casually what he did in the streets. I had an inkling but just wanted to hear from his understanding of himself. He looked sad and said, “Unfortunately, I steal. Today, I want to do something good before I do anything bad.” He showed us a side of him that perhaps many will never see or do not care to see. He was a person stuck in a situation which he hates. He wants us to see him as something else other than a mere thief. I am glad that we stayed and colored with him. He wanted to give us something. We received a precious gift from him. It could have been his last day on earth. It could have been our last day here. I am glad that we did not let it pass without receiving a gift which God has set apart for us.