Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’ John 1:49-51

Every day for past few months, we walk past a homeless adult living in a little makeshift tent-like structure made out of plywood scraps. Ironically, it sits opposite the entrance of an expensive hotel for business executives. We never actually saw the homeless person initially, only his two intimidating looking dogs with a lot of Rottweiler in them. One day we happened to walk by when he was out and about. As we passed him, he remarked that he couldn’t believe that we are still around after all these years. At first, we were little puzzled. Then almost Immediately a name popped into my mind and I hollered out, “Clayton!” I was a little embarrassed for my overtly enthusiastic outburst. I was actually more impressed with myself that I still remembered his name after 27 years. His face bears the harshness of time. However, his smile recalls the young boy we first met when we ourselves were much younger.

My memories of him are a little vague. I remember that he was part of a group of boys who lived in a manhole. Back then, the homeless children and youth lived lived in whatever hole or tiny abandoned space they could find in the streets. Unfortunately, not much has changed since then. On several occasions he invited me to visit his underground home. I remembered contemplating doing it. I must have been much more adventurous or maybe extremely curious back then. However, when I saw the dark tunnel without any ventilation, visions of unknown critters and strange smells made me change my mind. Besides his strange abode, I don’t have vivid memories of him. Nevertheless, I remembered him being always happy to see us for no apparent reason.

He is 40 now. The first thing he wanted us to know is that he will never forget our love and affection. The truth of the matter is that we represent something symbolic for him. I am not underplaying our role here. There were streams of people over the years who showered love and concern for the homeless children even though a major part of society ignores them. It is not humility but a fact. Furthermore, it is important for us, as followers of Christ, to know that God is always actively involved in the lives of these little ones. Moreover, it is essential to recognize that the Holy Spirit is not restricted to those who profess the faith. He uses anyone who is available. Many times His instruments of Love do not realize that they are His instruments. Many of these people are not around anymore. It is apparent that Clayton needed someone concrete to show his gratitude. We just happened to be the privileged ones and he made our day.

On another occasion, some acquaintances, who gave us a ride home in their car, drove by Clayton’s tent. I took the opportunity to share about our chance reconnection. For us, it was a happy encounter. However, it was obvious that our acquaintances had a hard time appreciating our joy. It was not a success story. Clayton is still homeless and has never found a way out of it. It was difficult for them to look beyond the overwhelmingly sad and tragic situation to partake in our joy. I understand their sentiments. There is nothing positive nor romantic about homelessness. It is indeed a tragedy and sign of utter failure and hopelessness. Perhaps this is why many avoid the homeless. They reveal an uncomfortable truth. We live in a fragmented world. Some may create an illusionary existence to help them ignore this fact. Our homeless children and youths were never given the luxury to participate in this illusion. Therefore, they have become outsiders who remind the world of this uncomfortable truth. We used to think that our primary task or ministry was to help these young people become insiders. We were part of society. We participate in its illusions, too. Naturally, we thought that everyone needs to be part of it to enjoy the gospel to the fullest. However, we forget John the Baptist was an outsider. Our Lord made special efforts to be an outsider. He refused many times to be a prominent insider because abundant life is not dependent on making this fragmented world better.

The very first lesson our children learned from this world is that it did not want them. They were not given any part in society. Their families had such heavy burdens to carry that they could not afford to prove them otherwise. They had no sense of personhood.
Their journey to the streets was their final attempt to discover their identity and individuality. Their relationships and experiences in the streets helped them develop who they are as individuals. In other words, homelessness is an integral part of their personhood. They don’t know how to be somebody outside this environment. It is quite tragic but it is reality. However, it is not a problem peculiar to our homeless youth. Most of us perambulate up and down in our social circles in search of our identity too. We develop our identity within our limited social circles. At the same time, we are also constantly aware how fragile these circles are and how easy it is for us to lose our space in them. Some times we shudder to think what would become of us if we were lose everything which guarantees our identity. In the same way, our children are afraid that they might lose something integral to their identity if they leave the streets.

We don’t remember much about Clayton because we were trying to solve his problems instead of recognizing that he is an individual with thoughts, faith and even a personal philosophy of life. In other words, in our attempts to help him, he became a mere object of our project. Consequently, we became part of the problem. The whole reason he took refuge in homelessness was to discover his personhood. We failed to comprehend this because we associate homelessness with utter anonymity. However, the truth is that they were already anonymous before they became homeless. In this way, children and those who spent their infancy in the streets are different from homeless adults. These resign to a state of anonymity where as our children escape to the streets in search for their identity. Not all homeless are the same.

In the past, we were physically present in the streets but our minds was elsewhere. We were busy trying to solve problems beyond our capacity. Besides, Clayton did not ask us to resolve anything. He just wanted someone to recognize that he is a person. It is not merely knowing his name. He wants to be someone whom others enjoy being around. This is really what all of us desire. We want our presence in this world to be appreciated by someone. We want people to know that we have something significant to say about the important things in life. Perhaps society might not think that the homeless have anything relevant to say. In a way, this might be true. The way society defines success, it excludes the homeless from the conversation. However, as followers of Christ, we have different topics of conversation. Clayton, like most of our children and youth, has a strong faith. It may not be a perfect one but none of us have this. Despite all the hardship and miseries they have suffered in life, they are convinced that God has never abandoned them. They have something to share with us which will enrich our spirituality.

Even though, we were busy focusing on the problem, something in our souls made us obey the nudging of the Holy Spirit. Clayton knew that we liked him as a person. He remembered us as such. Now, we have the opportunity to know him more profoundly. Every day we pass by to see if he is there. During the day, he goes around looking for recyclable products and sells them at a junk yard. He survives by doing this. Whenever we walk by, he always smiles and waves at us. The gracious Spirit has given us another opportunity to see Clayton as a person; someone whose faith has helped him make sense of the world in which he lives. He has an understanding of the love and providence of God that perhaps we would not comprehend. He has something precious to share with us just as much as we have something to share with him. It is not about solving problems but recognizing that we have something wonderful and special to give to each other because our God is gracious and powerful to do miracles in all circumstances and situations.