Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. Mark 13:35-37

It is hard to believe that we are in the season of Advent once again. It is the beginning of the Liturgical year. The homeless youth are completely ignorant of this season. I doubt that they even know of its existence. In reality, not many evangelical Christians here, excluding the practicing Roman Catholics, know anything about this liturgical season. This is due to an uninteresting rivalry between the two traditions here. However, in general, most people seem to be fascinated with end times and the season of Advent is traditionally a time when we reflect about the Last Things.

In the streets, we have more than our share of doom and gloom preachers. I have mentioned them many times in my reflections. They are always around us and hard to ignore. To our horror, people do stop and listen to these dreadful messages. Our children, unfortunately, get most of their religious information from these preachers. They spent a lot of time and energy drawing attention to all the evil prevalent in society and how the world is falling apart. There is no Light in their message. There is no gospel in their world view. It is a perspective negating the active presence of God in this world.

We are a people awaiting for the King to return and establish His Kingdom in its plenitude. At the same time, this is a curious thing because we believe that He is still present in our midst in a real manner. Our Anglican tradition affirms this every Sunday. In our liturgy, we have a high view of the sacrament of the Holy Communion. In the liturgical organization of our church, the altar takes the center stage. As long as I can remember, we have had the practice of having weekly communion even though this was not always the case. Now it is an essential part of our worship. Most churches define how the presence of Christ Jesus is manifested during Communion. We believe that Christ is present in a real and concrete manner without defining how or where He manifests Himself. In this way, we safeguard ourselves from slipping into idolatry and superstition, as well as keeping ourselves faithful to the words of Jesus,

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

The point here is not make an apology for Anglicanism. It is just to state that every Sunday we remind ourselves that if Jesus can be present in the sharing of the bread and wine, then He can very well be present anywhere He pleases in this world. Therefore, it is essential we keep this in mind when we interpret the words of Jesus when He tells us to keep awake.

The world has been going downhill since the day our Lord ascended. This is not a modern phenomenon. Perhaps, we have the technology now to make things move along faster. Nevertheless, there have always been wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters. The threat to our very existence has always been there. We cannot deny this. However, despite its ominous presence, there is an eternal Light present and darkness cannot resist it. Jesus tells us to keep awake because it is easy to fall into slumber of inertia. If we allow the darkness to overwhelm us, we might be tempted to recoil and wait for Jesus to resolve all our problems. This is not what Jesus is saying.

Our children and youth in the streets are isolated from the world. I mean they are not upset by the latest news of wars. If there is a natural disaster somewhere in the world, they are oblivious to it. It is not that they are apathetic. Their worlds have fallen apart long time ago. They have always lived in a broken world and feel it deeply. They don’t need the news to remind them of it. They see violence and injustice on daily basis. They don’t need any reminders. As for death, it lives very close to them. Yet, they still have hope. It is not blind hope as some might assume. It is hope that is more grounded in reality than any of us could imagine. This week, we had a special encounter with Wallace. He had his usual cheerful demeanor, however, just before we met him, he had a negative experience with an elderly man. The man had walked past him and then turned around and started hurling insults and demeaning comments at Wallace. It was completely gratuitous. The intention was to make Wallace feel small and insignificant. Thankfully, he decided not to react and just move away to another location. Obviously the whole incident upset him. It upset us just listening to it. He just needed to share it with someone.

This is the problem of the darkness in this world. It is not satisfied with wielding its power and showing off its feats. It wants to dominate our thoughts and minds. The homeless youth like Wallace want to avoid it but they can’t. It haunts them just like it haunts most of us who want to be good and do what is right. We are tormented by news of cruelty and evil in this world. Sometimes the very people we call family can become agents of darkness. However, despite all these attacks, homeless youth like Wallace, and there are a few like him, have kept themselves away from the claws of darkness. He himself told us that there are many people whom he meets on a daily basis that affirm the fact that God is alive and taking care of him. In a simple manner, Wallace has articulated what it means to keep awake in this world.

There are many homeless youth, ranging from children to young adults. They have all been homeless since they were very young. Tragically, only a handful of them are able to keep themselves from bad influences. They share a similar characteristic. They are open and available to people even after countless of negative experiences. If one were ask why they maintain this attitude, they will say that there are always people who show them love and kindness. It seems like something so simple. It is the simple things in life that are the hardest. Jesus tells us to keep awake. We can interpret this as being open to see what God is doing in this world. He is not acting on the grand stages of world politics, neither is He doing anything in which the media might be interested. In the temptation of Jesus, He clearly rejected this option when the devil suggested it. However, He is actively present in this world. I am not going to say how and where because I am an Anglican. We recognize that God is free to act where and how He chooses. We just have to be open for it to happen. It can be anywhere, and anytime, among anyone, but we need to be open; our eyes and our ears need to be sensitive to discern His presence. It could be right before your very eyes. Maybe even in your home. Being open is just part of it. We need to be available because keeping awake is not a spectator sport. It is an invitation to participate. We avail ourselves to be God’s instrument of blessing and we also avail ourselves to receive from God. The opportunity comes to those who are watching attentively what our Lord is doing. This is our vocation. We are to watch attentively all the great and marvelous things God is doing. Many times they seem small and perhaps are brushed off as insignificant by many. However, those who keep awake know that these are signs that the Kingdom of God is among us. When we are faithful in the little, then we will be ready for the great things.

For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:29-30

“I don’t have many talents!” I have heard this said many times whenever we read this parable in a bible study. On this occasion it was a young teenager who said it. Ironically, later on life, she proved to be quite a talented person. When I was younger and a little bit more ambitious, I wanted to know what I needed to do to get more talents. I thought more was better. Nevertheless, this parable is not about how many talents we possess. The one with many talents is not considered more important than the one with less. We have a tendency to interpret this text according to the values of this world. In most modern societies, more is considered better except for debts and taxes. You know what I mean. We live in this world. We understand its language and we speak it. Therefore, there is a danger here. We might think of this parable in the terms of this world. However, it is about the Kingdom of God. There is also a disturbing element to it. The verses speak to taking away from those who have nothing and giving to those who have much. It sounds like Kingdom of God is like an inverted Robin Hood, a nightmarish idea for those who desire a more just society.

The gospel of Jesus is deeply grounded in reality. It doesn’t paint a rosy picture of life, neither does it promote a gloom and doom perspective. The parable is merely stating the natural consequences of life. When I was younger, I lived in Indonesia for a brief period. I spoke the local language quite fluently but not perfectly. However, it has been more than thirty years since I have used the language. Recently, in a store in São Paulo, I heard an Indonesian couple speaking to each other, the words were familiar but the language is almost gone in me. It is still there dormant. I need to use it in order to get it back. However, in the way I live my life now, it is most probable that one day it will be completely gone.

When we don’t use or value the things we have, one day we will eventually lose them. It is not because we don’t like them nor fail to see their importance. It is because we have other priorities which we believe deserve our time and energy. The servant with the one talent wasn’t a lazy servant. He just had other priorities. Jesus did not teach all these things in isolation. They are connected with the previous lessons like the parable of the wedding banquet where the guests had different priorities and refused to attend. They eventually lost what belonged to them and it was given to someone else. In that parable, it was those who apparently have nothing in the world who benefitted. It gives our children and teens a lot of hope. Nevertheless, according to the standard of this world, they have nothing. Unfortunately, they are not immune from this reality. Many times, the little that they have is taken away from them.

Most of our homeless youth possess backpacks. Usually they find one in the trash or one is given to them by a passerby. We have given them several backpacks, too. These backpacks contain all their worldly possessions which are not much; some clothes, toothpaste and little things that are precious to them like photographs or gifts they had received. The way they pack their things reveals a part of their personality. Wallace has all his clothes neatly folded and he keeps his toothbrush and all his toiletries separate. He even kept a t-shirt we gifted to him years ago on his birthday. Every inch of his backpack is used and everything is neat and tidy. It is amazing to see how this young man who has slept in the streets since he was eight organizes everything systematically. Bruno, on the other hand, is total chaos. Anything new he puts in his backpack will look like something from the ruins of ancient civilization after two days. However, there is one thing he values highly. It is his notebook and red and blue pens. He writes in his notebook every night. He goes through a new notebook within a few weeks. He writes things he remembers from when he was a child in the orphanage especially things he learned in school. This was the best time in his life. He loved school. Often he talks about it. Obviously, it is either fantasy or reality mixed together or he attended the most advanced public school in the world. Recently, Bruno put his backpack down to talk to someone and within seconds, it was gone. The trash pickup people removed it. All his clothes and belongings were gone. He had so little and yet, it was taken away from him. However, Bruno wasn’t upset. He had his most precious treasure with him. His notebook was with him. In fact, he was writing down someone’s number in it when the trash truck came by. He was happy that he did not lose his book.

The book contains a list of movies and they are listed according the year of their release and nomination for the oscars. He has them all memorized. He also writes little phrases in English and tries them out with us. He gets them all wrong but he doesn’t care. Everything he writes is used as a point of communication with people. He can tell you about names of directors and actors from the late fifties which never fails to impress. Sometimes he gets the plots mixed up and usually no one notices because most people are ignorant of movies from that era. Only reason I notice is because I have heard him talk about these things for almost ten years. Bruno’s book is his bridge connecting him to people outside his circle. He chose movies because whenever someone engages in conversation about them, they tend to forget that he is a homeless young man. The subject helps him to talk to them as equals. On the outside, he looks like the stereotypical homeless person. His clothes are a mess and always stained. Sometimes they have holes in them. He walks around barefooted. Somehow this appearance has worked for him. No matter how you look at him, no one in their right mind would say that Bruno is a successful person. He has his issues but it doesn’t mean he is not successful. He doesn’t have wealth and in the eyes of many, not much of a future. However, none of us can be certain of our future. As for wealth, this parable is not talking about wealth in the worldly sense.

There is an elderly woman. I think she is a Chinese immigrant. It is obvious that she lives alone. Every day she passes by Bruno and talks with him for a long time; not about movies but just general stuff. Then she goes home and prepares her lunch and brings down a plate for him. Bruno knows that she has no relatives nor friends. I have seen the food she prepares for him and it looks really good. He always begs outside a bank. One of the bank managers comes out to smoke where he sits. They have struck up a friendship. Eventually all the bank managers became his friends. They pitched in and bought a book on all the movies nominated for the Oscars. Every time one of them goes on holiday, they buy something for him. Bruno is one of the few homeless youth who has eaten authentic Oreo cookies from the States. There is also a young man who loves to sit next to Bruno and chat with him for hours. He is the son of one of the biggest businesses in the area. They have a strong friendship. The list goes on and on.

Bruno is not a saint and doesn’t claim to be one. A long time ago, we had a conversation about giving. I told him that even though he begs to survive, it doesn’t mean that he cannot give. I told him that there are many lonely people that don’t see or talk to anyone except when they talk to him in the streets. It was a simple conversation and I did not expect anything from it. However, Bruno listened. He has taken the little he had and produced much with it. He has blessed many people who otherwise will be lonely and without any friends. In doing so, he has regained much of his humanity and dignity even though his situation is not ideal.

Bruno has other priorities too, just like any one of us. They used to dominate his life when we first met him. He was one of the youth who was always high whenever we saw him. There was a time when he was never sober. Today he is different, not necessarily without any issues. However, love seems to slowly help him balance out his life. There is still a long way to go and this is true for all of us. At least for now, he is using his talent to produce good and precious fruits. There is a lot we can learn from this young man. It is not about how much we have; the little we do possess can produce a lot.

Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. Matthew 25:1-5

I had a lot of time to think about this parable this week. I spent hours waiting for something. It seemed like an endless two hours. I could think of thousands of things I would rather to be doing. Anything was better than sitting on an uncomfortable bench squeezed together in a closed environment with crying babies and several people coughing and sneezing away. Almost everyone was glued to their phones. The woman sitting next to me was watching a recipe tutorial which made me realize that I only had a light lunch; not enough to sustain me through this long wait. Others were mindlessly flipping through equally mindless short videos where humorless people are trying to be funny. All these distractions were helping everyone endure or even forget that they were actually waiting for something. Maybe one can argue that they came prepared for the long wait. Perhaps, I am like the unwise virgins. However, I am not sure this is what Jesus meant in the parable of the ten virgins. I have to admit this is not an easy parable to interpret. It is mostly commonly interpreted as waiting for the Second Coming of our Lord. I am not sure if this interpretation has any major significance in our ministry in the streets. However, there is a concrete lesson for us here. After all, waiting is something we quite often do here in the streets.

Daniel was sitting next to me. For him, the whole venture is an ordeal. He kept repeating the words, “Everything is going to be alright.” Of course, it is going to be fine. It is just his identity card. We have waited here in this same place countless times; doing exactly the same thing. We have done this so often that we can actually orientate complete strangers on the whole process. The irony is that we, ourselves, have never had our documents done here. This is only for Brazilian citizens. By law, Daniel was required to get all his documents when he reached 18. He is 21 now. In a way, he is the like bride of the parable. He needs all his documents and he is very nervous about it. We are his “bridesmaid” ensuring him that everything is going to be alright.

Our children and youth find it intimidating to enter any government building. All their experiences in these places have been negative. In Daniel’s case, he was once imprisoned in a juvenile detention center once after coming out from a public bathroom. He was dragged into a police station where he was asked for his personal information and then treated roughly. This is basically the treatment they believe that they will receive in most government buildings. It was really timing that got him into trouble. He was in the bathroom and two other boys who stole something ran into it. Daniel decided to leave immediately and the security guard grabbed him. Even though the victim insisted that he was not the one, Daniel spent four months in detention before being released with no charge. Most of the youth feel like people are always judging them especially in any government buildings. It is understandable. Even those who have never been arrested before remember the first time their parents left them in the custody of the State in a government building. They recall the trauma of being abandoned and sent to a place to be grouped together with other abandoned children.

We have been here for almost an hour. I looked at the panel and Daniel was just ten numbers away from being called. I asked Daniel jokingly if he wanted to play a game of Uno. He did not get my feeble attempt at humor instead he asked for a coloring book. It is actually one of the things that has helped our youth to calm down. He started coloring and suddenly his demeanor changed. He was completely into his coloring and looked very peaceful. He wasn’t distracted. Those around us glued to their devices were oblivious to the presence of people around them. Daniel needed to know that someone was with him. Coloring is something he always did with us. It was his way of being close to us. Besides, he was too anxious to be distracted. Our eyes were glued to the panel and he was four numbers away.

Jesus used everyday situations to tell his parables. In His time, it was customary for the bridegroom to go home and prepare a place for his bride immediately after the betrothal. The marriage would not take place until the groom had the place ready to receive his bride. Once accomplished, the groom would return to the bride’s family and receive her as his wife. The only task of the bride was to be ready and wait. No dates were set because it was a time when no one followed a tied schedule, neither was there any way to communicate to the bride when the groom was coming. A simple journey then could take days or even weeks. There were countless things to make the bride anxious and worried. The groom could be delayed due to financial restraint. He could be robbed on his way to her or he could have taken ill. The bridesmaids’ task was to console and encourage the bride to keep hope. This is what we were doing at this moment. We were waiting with Daniel to help him not to give up. Maybe it seems something trivial but all great lessons start in a small and simple manner.

The panel showed that Daniel was only three numbers away from being called. He was almost done with his coloring. He actually did an excellent job. I assured him, “Anytime now and it will all be over.” Famous last words, unfortunately. There was a commotion among the staff. They suspiciously stopped calling out the numbers. No one seemed to be busy in front of their computers, instead, they were talking and joking among themselves. Then a woman came and advised us that the system was down. No one was going to get their documents processed today. We were so close, just three numbers away.

Daniel did not seem to be upset. He kept saying out aloud, “Everything will work out.” Strangely, we weren’t upset either. I mean there is nothing we could do about it. There was no point demanding. The system was down and it was a lousy system. However, the people responsible are hiding in some bureaucratic office completely oblivious to the plight of the common people. We went up to the desk and got another date for us to sit and wait for hours. It is tedious and absolutely boring but not a wasted moment. For us, this whole endeavor started out as being something pragmatic. The youth need their documents and they don’t have any parents to help them with the process. However, it meant something else for the children. When Daniel asked for our help with the documents, Gabriel stood up and said that we helped him get all his documents. It meant something special for him. Immediately, the other youths around us asked our help for other documents. Daniel was first in line.

He was hungry (maybe he caught a glimpse of the recipe video) and asked if we could buy him a snack. We got a nice meal for him and sat with him as he devoured it. Then he hugged us and told us that it was great day. He got to spend some quality time with us. We were quite amazed that he wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t get his documents done. Maybe it is because he knew that it would all work out for him. However, he just needed someone to be with him to help and reassure him.

There are many ways to wait. Most of the time, I wait for something to happen. In this case, we were waiting with Daniel. It wasn’t about something. It is about a person. He wanted us to be present with him. In fact, each time the numbers changed in the panel, he kept asking if his turn was close. He needed us to be alert with him. I could have brought my little device to help me endure the long wait but it would have distracted me from being with Daniel. It is not about the arrival of the bridegroom. It is about waiting with the bride. It is about participating with her in her anxiousness and worries. It is about rejoicing with her when they hear the footsteps of the bridegroom approaching to receive her. It is about being completely present when waiting. We are going back to the place today. We might wait for a few more hours. It is going to be frustrating but we have brought enough oil with us to be present with Daniel. We are privileged to be asked to be with him. This parable is very practical.

The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 23:11-12

Most social workers don’t last long working among the homeless. For starters, many of them have the title but not the training. It is not really their fault. The State hires a bunch of people and sends them out into the streets without any preparation. They don’t usually do anything beyond gathering names and personal information of the homeless, both adults and children. They wear a vest that says they are social workers. Furthermore, they are underpaid and work extremely long hours. Most of them do this work because they need the employment.

The job description put out by the State paints a rosy picture of reality. Actually, we can say this about almost every job description. They look wonderful on paper but everything goes downhill when we add the human element to it. The homeless, both adults and children, are not really the easiest people. They are not worse than the rest of humanity. They are just like us but live in a situation not permiting them to hide their emotional baggage. We have the the privilege of personal privacy. As a result, they don’t like people prying into their personal life. These social workers are supposed to do exactly this which makes their life even more difficult. Therefore, it is not a surprise that most of the social workers don’t last very long in this work. It is a terrible system. However, this post is not about the failure of the social services. It is about Nubia, an ingenuous social worker whom we thought wasn’t going to make through a month.

There is nothing wrong with her. To the contrary, she is a lovely person and very likable. She has a bubbly personality with an overdose of optimism. She was so optimistic that she made one wonder if she was working with all her mental faculties. I am aware that this is a terrible thing to say but these were the thoughts going through my mind. We thought that she was just a little too ingenuous for the street work. Maybe it has something to do with my own personality. I am not exactly a bubbly person nor an extrovert, therefore, I could have found her enthusiasm and optimism little overwhelming. It’s possible. However, this is not about me. It is about Nubia.

We met her about eight years ago. The social workers don’t usually interact with us. Nevertheless, Nubia is gregarious by nature and she couldn’t stop herself from connecting with us. She was always curious and observed whatever activities we did with the children. She liked the way they interacted with us and she started imitating us. Personally it was rather flattering. We colored with children and teens using coloring books which had more sophisticated and attractive designs. Nubia could not afford to buy these books and her work did not provide any funding to do activities as such. Instead, she resorted to the internet and printed out cheap and rudimentary designs meant for little children. She attempted to color these with the teens and it worked. I think the children liked doing things with her for the same reason they liked doing things with us. They sensed that we liked being with them. Nubia was different from the rest of the social workers. For her, it was more than just a job. She really loved the homeless youth. Even then, we still didn’t think she was going to last long. This time we thought that her supervisors would not tolerate someone like her. However, Nubia was stronger than we expected. She outlasted all of her colleagues. In fact, the children and teens recognized her as the most loving social worker in the streets.

The State likes to shift the social workers around which creates another problem. The homeless find it hard to develop a relationship of trust with them because of this. Perhaps this is the intention. There is an idea floating around that one can do a task effectively if they are not invested emotionally. We hardly saw Nubia for years. We almost forgot about her to be honest. Then a couple of days ago, we ran into her. She looks much calmer now. Maybe it is just because she is older. We can still the flame burning brightly in her. She was dying to share something with us. She explained that her job description is changing every week according to the whims of whoever is in-charge. For the present moment, she is responsible for finding permanent shelters for homeless adults. She frequently sees some of the children and teens we knew over the last ten years. Obviously, most of them are adults now. She shared that she was helping one of them find a permanent shelter when he asked her if she knew us. She said that he mentioned us by name. Then he got emotional and shared with her that he really appreciated the time he spent with us in the streets. He remembers all the times we colored with him. It was strange that this was the very activity that Nubia was drawn to when she saw us with the children. For us, personally, it was just an activity to do with the children. We thought that it stimulated their minds and it was good for them to engage in something peaceful. However, both Nubia and this young man saw something more profound in this simple activity. Nubia even got emotional as she shared with us this story. She said that the young man wanted us to know that he will never forget us. We asked her for the name of the young man. She couldn’t remember exactly. It wasn’t surprising since she sees so many people on a daily basis.

After our encounter with her, we were deeply encouraged. It is not that we ever doubted the value of what we do but it is still life affirming to know that someone recognizes it. I realized something about Nubia that moment. Something perhaps I overlooked over the years. I just saw her superficial nature but there is something deep and really special about her. She wasn’t as naive as I thought. She has to be pretty grounded in reality to persevere in a work where people are reduced to mere numbers. We, by comparison, have it easier. No one questions nor restricts our participation in the lives of the homeless youth whereas her efforts are constantly being undermined by those above her. Despite all these obstacles, Nubia always sees and finds goodness in everything she does. She doesn’t just identify them but seeks to imitate goodness without any hypocrisy nor falsehood. She is humble enough to recognize that she needs to learn how to serve people in this world. She does so because she finds joy in doing it. Nubia did not need to have the conversation with us. She did not need to do more than her job requires. She did not need to listen to the young man share his heart with her. She did all these things because they are good things to do. She knew intuitively that being a servant of all is the best way to live your life. Most importantly, she has a quality that I consider to be saintly. She has an infectious spirituality inspiring people to become better and loving people.

We just celebrated All Saint’s day. Usually, it is a day we remember saints whose stories are told in the traditional sense. They are stories filled with miracles and legends. Even though the intentions are to highlight the selfless dedication of these great people it creates a barrier between us and them. It makes it impossible for us to imitate them. We need to identify the saintly people who are more like us; people with the strange quirks and imperfections which all of us possess. However, despite all these human limitations, they are still able to touch people with God’s eternal love in the most profound way.

I don’t regret making a swift judgment about Nubia. It has taught me a valuable lesson. Maybe I should say it reminded me. I need constant reminders. Saints come in all shapes and forms. Sometimes they appear in places where we least expect or in people we think are too naive and optimistic. Nubia is all of these but most importantly she is a servant who wants to spread God’s love wherever she goes. She does this naturally. I still think that she is ingenuous but it doesn’t matter. She is a saint because she inspires others to become more saintly. She has inspired me. I am sure that there is a saintly person close to you too. We just have open our eyes and ears to discern their presence.