“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”-Matthew 25:35-36

There was an ancient Chinese emperor who commissioned an artist in his court to draw a picture of a rooster. The artist told him that he would need a long time to do it. He needed to understand the nature of the animal before he expressed it on paper. A year passed and the emperor reminded the artist of his request. The artist responded that he studied the rooster and was only now beginning to get past its superficial nature but he still needed much time to penetrate into its depth. This interaction went on for several years. Finally, after ten years, the artist produced a painting of the rooster and it opened the world for the emperor beyond the animal. It brought the emperor in contact with the very Creator of all things. *

The emperor was a wise man who trusted the artist in what he was doing. The artist was a saintly man who knew that even something so common as a rooster possesses something deeper than what the eye can see. Most of us present here need help to be wise and saintly. The gospel reading above is the help that Jesus provides us. He is showing us how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ or in other words, the salvation of Christ. Salvation, after all, is God’s love. We cannot reduce it to a mere pass to escape hell. It is a journey in discovering the richness of God’s love for all humanity.

The Hungry, The Thirsty, The Naked, The Strangers or Abandoned, and the Imprisoned are the ones Jesus calls us to contemplate. A superficial approach would be to think that God is calling us to do charitable works. This is a tendency of human beings, perhaps as modern people. We want to have instant solutions. We read this text and think by dedicating one day a week to some philanthropic work, then we have paid our dues. We would have secured our place among the sheep. I hope that I don’t offend anyone here by saying this. There might someone here who volunteers to do some philanthropic work. There is nothing wrong with doing this. However, Jesus is calling us to do something deeper. He is asking us to see beyond the social status of these little ones. God is calling us to contemplate their very essence to the point that the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see Jesus manifested in a powerful way. If we are patient and wise, we will be able to penetrate through the superficial and see the essence of the person whom God has put in our lives. We will be able to see Jesus. Not because the person who suffers all these predicaments is saintly. It doesn’t take long for us to discover that they are not saintly. Usually our first contact will suffice.

The Acts of the Apostles tell us that the Holy Spirit was poured on all peoples. This event changes the way we understand salvation in this world. It means that the Spirit of Jesus is present in all peoples. However, not everyone recognizes the tender presence of the Lord in their lives. As Christians, it is our task to seek His face in those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or imprisoned. It doesn’t happen instantly. It happens in God’s time which means it takes a long time before we can see His face clearly.
Why just these people and not others? Well, the meaning of salvation is healing. Jesus told us that it is the sick that need healing and not those who perceive themselves to be well. However, when we begin to reflect and seek the face of Jesus in these little ones, we will discover that we too need healing.

Some people say that we should not have favorites when dealing with children. They are right. Nevertheless, we have our favorite. His name is Daniel. We have known him since he was ten and he will turn 17 this year. He and his brother came to the streets together and they have been sleeping there ever since. Not too long ago, a tragic incident in the streets left all of us distraught and little lost. The day after this incident, Daniel approached us. He was a little bit more pensive than usual. He asked me if we thought that he was a good person. I told him that we never doubted it. He wasn’t convinced. He wanted to know how we can think this of him when obviously everyone in society thinks other wise.

Daniel wanted us to paint a picture of him. After all, we have many years to contemplate on our subject. His goodness is seen in the little he does for those around him. He is always there to bring joy to those who mourn. He is always there to give comfort to those who feel lonely and lost. He always sees the best in others. One day, he even acknowledged the source of his personal goodness. He told a lady who accused him of stealing something that he would never do such a thing because God dwells in His heart. This was the picture I presented to Daniel. He sensed that it wasn’t a superficial representation because we noticed these things that he did without thinking about it. They came naturally to him. He asked for my prayers and he wanted God to forgive his sins and continue to guide him.

Daniel has brought much healing in our lives and also to those who read about our artistic presentation of him in our blogs. We couldn’t have given a genuine picture of Daniel to him if we did not know who or what to look for in him. Thankfully, Jesus showed us a way. He pointed out that He is always present in these little ones and our salvation lies in discovering His living presence in them.

Salvation is not a ticket out of condemnation. It is about changing the way we see the world. In a concrete way, it opens our world. It helps us discover the Creator of all beings present in everyone. However, Jesus seems to have a preference in manifesting Himself in those who considered unworthy in our society. As Christians, we are called to paint the picture of Jesus in the lives of these little ones. However, it takes time. We have been going to the streets almost daily for more than six years. We can safely say that we are now able to have a glimpse beyond the superficial. Hopefully, we will be able go deeper soon. One day, we will paint a picture that will help us all to see the salvation of our Lord manifested in the lives of the children and teens we call friends in the streets.

* I read this parable in sermon by Paul Tillich titled,”Nature Mourns for a Lost Good.”

When Jesus turned and saw the disciples of John following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi”, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day.-John 1: 38-39

It is a strange request. Only the gospel of John mentions this peculiar event. Normally I would have skipped past this part and focused on something else. However, we do minister to homeless children and teens. The homeless disciples of John wanted to see where Jesus lived. Sounds like something our children would ask of us.

We have been told often times that the Church is a House of God. I grew up in the church my whole life and never questioned it. However, churches and cathedrals are look more like extravagant palaces than any place our Lord chose to stay in the gospels. Christmas is still fresh in our memory. We read and even sang hymns about His birth in a manger. When questioned, Jesus made it clear that he was little to offer far as accommodations.
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”- Matthew 8:20

From the company He kept to the places He visited, Jesus always chose places that would make the average person a little uncomfortable. The home that the Church attempts to offer Jesus in its buildings seems to domesticate Him rather than giving Him an appropriate home; not unlike what the Hebrew people attempted to do in the Old Testament when they constructed the Temple. However, our Lord is His own Master. He lives where He desires to dwell. Therefore, it leaves a great challenge for us as modern Christians to discover where Jesus dwells in our cities or neighborhoods. Rest assured that Jesus never hides from us. He always made it clear where His preferred place is in this world. He is constantly inviting us to go and visit with Him.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”-Matthew 25:35-36

Jesus always dwells among those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers or abandoned, the naked and sick and imprisoned regardless of their crimes. He doesn’t visit them. He makes His home among those whom we tend to forget or ignore and maybe even feel a little uncomfortable being around for a multitude of reasons.

We have been going to streets almost daily for more than six years. We have to admit that there are still many things that disturb us. The dirt, the unhygienic places where people sleep, the lack of bathroom facilities, not to mention the violence and the sight of very young children being left alone to fend for themselves. I am not sure that we want to get used to these things. This is where Jesus lives in a real and concrete manner. We go to the streets everyday to visit Jesus.

Our homeless children are not necessarily hungry. They are usually fed with leftovers from the restaurants. They are not naked nor sick usually. However, they are always strangers in their own city. They are always invisible. They sense this rejection strongly. Of all the things they suffered, this is the one thing that cuts deep into their souls. Their crimes and sometimes aggressive begging are attempts to assert their presence. Consequently, their negative actions make them even more despised but they prefer this than not being acknowledged at all. Jesus sets His home among them because He wants to recognize their presence. Our children also sense His presence there. They have been subjected to rejection and neglect from the day that they were born and yet, they do not harbor hatred and bitterness in their hearts. This is because Jesus dwells among them. Where our Lord is present, He brings healing to broken souls.

There are many churches and cathedrals in our city. Unfortunately, they haven’t brought much healing to those who are abandoned and perhaps not even to those who frequent their buildings. Many have even joined the voices of hatred towards the very poor. Perhaps, it is time to question everything we learn about Jesus within the walls of these churches. It doesn’t mean that we need to stop attending churches. It is just time for us to challenge the idea of confining God in one place. We have to engage in the task of going out and discovering the preferred dwelling place of Jesus.

Where Jesus is present, there is always healing. Some may think that they do not need any healing. Then for these people, remaining confined within the walls of the church will suffice. However, there are those whose souls yearn for a deeper understanding and meaning in this life. There are those who feel that they have eyes and yet do not see clearly and ears and yet do not hear intelligibly. If you are that person, then it is time to seek out where Jesus lives in your city. He is calling you to be with Him.

We have been visiting Jesus among in the homeless children and teens for more than six years. Jesus has received us with love. He has brought healing to our souls. We are beginning to understand the depth of His Love for us through the children and teens. However, now the time has come for us to take the next step. We have to reciprocate. We have to invite Jesus to our house; not in the spiritual sense. We have been meeting Jesus in a real sense through the children. It was time us to invite Jesus manifested in the children to our home. We were a little nervous.

The past year, we have heard and seen Jesus through Felipe many times. It only makes sense that he should be the first to come to our home. We have known him for six years. We have accompanied the changes in his life from living directionless in the streets to become a father. We were worried about inviting him. The contrast between our homes is great. He and his partner together with four very young children squat in a small room in an abandoned building. His home is infested with scorpions and cockroaches. All this sounds horrifying for us, however, for Felipe, these are signs of his own personal achievements. Something that he is truly grateful to God. We wanted to invite him to our home but we were worried. We thought perhaps he might feel uncomfortable in our home. We thought perhaps he might think that our home was luxurious and that he might not be able relate to us after his visit.

We meet with him weekly near in a library to talk; sometimes about his struggles and sometimes just about life in general. One day a storm interrupted our conversation. There was hardly any place to take shelter but our apartment was nearby. We asked him if he wanted to go there instead. He gladly accepted our invitation. When he entered our apartment, he was completely impressed even though it was in a mess. I have to admit that we tend to lean a bit on untidy side. Felipe did not care. He saw my houseplants and was curious about them. He wanted to know if he cultivate plants too. He talked and shared about things as if he was in the streets. In other words, he felt at home in our home. Then we realized that Jesus felt comfortable in our home and it was worthy of His visit. Now the doors are opened. We have discovered the joy of having the Lord in our home. Now, our ministry has a path from the streets to the doors of our home.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”- Matthew 3:13-14

Sometimes the most familiar events in the gospel are the hardest to interpret. The Baptism of our Lord is a good example. It is hard to make a genuine connection with this particular event to our everyday life. It seems virtually impossible to understand why this event would be relevant to homeless children and teens. Perhaps the key is John the Baptist. He might the person who can help us extract deep spiritual truths from this sacred moment in Jesus’ life. John the Baptist had been preparing his whole life for this moment. For him, the Baptism of Jesus changed the world in a concrete manner. Perhaps this change is not visible for everyone. It is something visible only for those who feel disoriented and unsatisfied with this world. People who have said, “No” to all that this world has to offer.

“Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.”- Matthew 3:4

The gospel of Matthew is the only one to reveal John’s strange fashion sense and bizarre diet. Some scholars say that he was mimicking certain prophets. Perhaps this is true. However, the people who listened to him were not scholars. They were mere commoners. They listened to this man who was completely out of place in his society. His message brought hope to their souls. They identified with him in a deep spiritual sense. They shared his awkwardness in this world.
Our children and teens in the streets are not unlike John’s disciples. Some of them even dress almost like him. They use dirty cotton blankets and donated clothes. They do not follow any fashion of their society. John’s diet was based on what was available to him. Our children only eat what is available to them. John was lived His life this way because He said, “No” to the world. He did not want to belong to this world with all its standards and values. People think that our children are homeless because they are extremely poor. This is only part of the story. The city of São Paulo has millions people who live in extreme poverty but not all of them are homeless. Our children are fed up with all the false promises that the world has offered them and they are homeless because they said, “no” to all the lies that the world proffered to them. In a way, they have more in common with John than we do. They would have embraced John the Baptist as one of them. Maybe they might read the story of Jesus’ baptism and find it to be exciting and relevant. Of all the religious leaders and authorities in His time, Jesus came to the most awkward person in his society to be baptized. It says one thing concretely. Jesus identified with John and his ministry to those who are maladjusted in society.
The story of John doesn’t end here. Before he dies, the gospel narrates one final interaction between John and Jesus. John was imprisoned. Everything was falling apart for him. Death was imminent. John began to wonder if Jesus really was initiating something new in his midst. He needed help to discern Jesus’ actions in this world. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus a pivotal question, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Matthew 11:3)

This is a fair question! Some can interpret it as a moment of doubt in John’s life. Perhaps. Dealing with doubts is very much part of living out our faith. In a way, our questions and doubts help us to live a more authentic life of faith in this world.
A few days before Christmas, we got a letter in the mail. Some of the older teens use our address to receive correspondence. We were handed a letter for Renan Vitor Lopes. Once again, we were reminded of the brutal murder of this young life in the streets. The first image that came to my mind when I saw Renan’s name on the letter wasn’t his tragic death. It was actually the day when we spent with him trying to help him register for a job. It is a complicated bureaucratic process in Brazil and it took us the whole day to do it. Renan did not mind. He was quite cheerful throughout day. He was about 18 but emotionally about ten. He spent most of his life in the streets and it had stunted his emotional development. He did not have the opportunity to be a child in the streets. However, when he was with us, he was playful and silly like a little child. We had a delightful time with him. It was a day where we were like his parents and he was like our son. It remains one of our most precious memories. Renan is no more because of hatred.
We received this letter during the season of Christmas when everything is supposed to be cheerful and festive. However, a simple letter confronted us with a harsh reality of this cruel world. Christmas and even this short season of Epiphany where we find ourselves cannot be fully appreciated unless we confront the chaos and darkness that prevails in this world. We need to bring all this chaos and injustice before the Incarnate God and ask Him the question that John asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Because all the hymns we sing seem to say that He is the One.
Jesus gave John a simple answer.
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” – Matthew 11:4-5
The gospel never tells us how John reacted to Jesus’ answer. Perhaps it is not important. The answer is really for all of us who want to live our faith in this world. We live in a reality that is constantly trying to convince to look at the chaos and hopelessness that surrounds us. It seems to take pleasure in the darkness and the deeds of the darkness. However, something powerful happened at the Baptism of Jesus. The Kingdom of Light was established in this dark world. Its presence continues to be strong and powerful in our midst even though we might be able to see it clearly. Perhaps we are looking for the wrong things. Maybe we are looking for it in the wrong places. Jesus’ answer to John holds the key for those who want to discover the Kingdom of God initiated at the baptism of our Lord. Jesus tells John and us where to look for His Kingdom of Light. Its light shines brightly in this world but we need to turn away from the shadows and see its radiance. It is present among those whom the world has considered inadequate, defective or disposable. These are the ones who will help us understand if Jesus really is the Messiah or whether we should wait for another.
The day after Renan’s passing, we went to the streets to be with the children. Our hearts were heavy. We wanted some sort of justice. We hoped that the perpetrator of this heinous crime would be judged or punished in some way. However, when we arrived in the streets, we were greeted with the Light. The children and teens lived in a more realistic place than us. They knew that this unjust system is unable to love and care for those whom it considers to be outcasts. Our children knew that there is no justice for them in this world. Instead, they looked to us. They did not want us to do any great feat. They wanted to see our tears and sorrow for the loss of one of their brethren. This brought comfort to their hearts. I told them about the overwhelming response I received from people like yourselves whose hearts were torn to hear such horrific news. They smiled. They knew that even though they were rejected by this world, there was a Kingdom where their lives were valued and treasured. Hatred and Violence tried to wound their souls but the Incarnate King brought healing to their lives. They were reminded once again that they might be abandoned by society and their families but God is their father in the midst. He sends His children from away to comfort and remind them that His Kingdom will always be in their midst. In this Kingdom, they will always be full citizens. This was all they wanted to know and we, including all the social workers and those who mourned the death of Renan, were living proof that Jesus was in the midst of them.
Jesus used the children to answer the question we asked him. The same one that John asked, “Are you the One or are we to wait for someone else?” The answer was clear and astounding, “Yes! He is the One.” I hope that you are able to hear it too.

All things come of thee, O LORD, and of thine own have we given thee. –
1 Chronicle 29: 14.

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.-Pslam 34:8

On this special day I want to give thanks specifically for a teenage girl that I most likely won’t be writing about for the next coming months. She is not someone that we have any close ties with it at the present moment. In fact, it is hard to imagine being her friend at this present moment. This is precisely why I am writing about her. She is a symbol of the good things God has been doing in our life. I would say that this is the greatest miracle that we experienced in our ministry here. Teens and children that we thought would be least likely to become our friends end up playing a valuable role in our lives. It is not unlike the first miracle of turning water into wine. Perhaps, this would be the best way to describe it. We want to give thanks to God for turning all our water relationships into fine wine.

Her name is Angelina, at least, this is what we think. It is almost impossible to get a clear answer from her. She is always mad at someone or something. There is always a crisis. She makes sure that everyone knows it with her loud ear piercing complaints. However, we are not entirely sure if this is an attention seeking mechanism. Let’s just say that she is absolutely bonkers. This was my first reaction. Her behavior is so bizarre that all of us including the children and teens just stand there and watch her antics. She thinks that everything is crisis. Most likely, this has been a reality for her all her life. We can see her scars clearly. They are displayed before the world. In many places, she would be shunned. People would be afraid to deal with her. However, the children and teens are not like the world. They made room for her. They are sensitive to her pain. It is not easy for them because she is truly an awkward person. Nevertheless, they share an affinity with her pain. It is clear that her life has been a life of abuse and neglect so much so that she is unable to have a decent conversation with anyone. The children have accepted her for who she is. On the other hand, we are still learning to do this. Mary asked me what I thought about her. I don’t have an opinion because it is hard to say something concretely about someone I don’t understand. Regardless of this, one thing is for sure. It is possible that one day she will become very dear to us. For this, I want to give thanks.

It is not wishful thinking. It has happened before. When we first Alex, he was a strange and awkward person. He would never acknowledged our presence or even answered our questions. We used to think that he was impossible. Things have changed. He is one of our dearest teens. Nowadays, we can hear him yelling out our names a mile away. He has a habit of calling us, “Aunty Mary” collectively. He has had a hard time saying my name spontaneously. My name is not a common name in Brazil. Recently, there is another girl that we never imagined that would be our friend. Her name is Erica. She met her when we first came back to this ministry more than six years ago. She was the first child we visited in a juvenile detention center. Then, she was a closed and proud young girl. She did not believe that she needed anyone’s help. Even after she was released from the center, she would hardly speak to us. It has been five years since she had a decent conversation with us. Now, she is 19. Recently, she has been coming to us asking questions about our relationships. She is curious about our lives and wanted to know what we did when we are free and who cooks in the home. We never knew that she bothered about our existence. Today in particular, we spent the whole day with her. She wanted us to accompany her to get some documents. She did everything on her own but she just wanted some adults with her. At the end of the day, we actually confessed to each other that we never imagined a spending a day with Erica and then saying that it was a wonderful and fruitful day. It was something that we never thought would ever happen.

Angelina seems like a person that would never be able to have a friendship with us. This is why I want to give thanks for her life. I know that one day she will be someone dear to us. She is “water” to us now but Jesus is going to open our eyes and see that she is really wine. He has done these countless of times. Each time we taste the fruits of His miracle, we cannot help but we amazed that He has saved the best for last.

I give thanks for everyone that God sends to us; no matter how broken or bonkers they may appear to us, they are God’s special gifts. No matter what the circumstances are, nothing can change this fact. They are special gifts from God. Sometimes we need God to do a miracle in our hearts to see that the water is really wine.

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” – Luke 23:33-38

There was a manifestation here in support for the President. They believe that he is chosen by God to be their leader. They demanded that he institute a military dictatorship. They thought that more power was needed to bring the country back to its Christian roots. They are convinced that they are doing all this for Christ the King. However, Jesus never sought the support of the politicians or the military to impose His Kingdom. On the contrary, they were the ones who crucified him. It would be strange to think that those who hated Him enough to murder would be His allies today. Of course, there was Pontius Pilate. He was the best of the lot at Jesus’ trial. He might have made a weak attempt to save him but he was too afraid to the right thing. He could be considered the best of the politicians at that time. Even then, history tells us that he was a cruel man. Nevertheless, none of them hindered Jesus from establishing His throne. He was glorified between criminals. The politicians and religious authorities did not understand His Kingdom then and even now. His kingdom is unlike that of the world. He has no use for the authorities of this world to establish His throne. He manifests Himself in the places the rich and the powerful of this world avoid. He is exalted as King among criminals, forgotten people and rejected women. His Kingdom is truly not of this world. Therefore, it is wise for us on this Blessed Sunday dedicated to honor Christ the King to remind ourselves once again, to look for our Lord in places where He is always welcomed.

I saw a simple gesture which I have seen countless of times. I never paid much attention to it. Hundreds walk by the front of the Cathedral and make the sign of the Cross. Sometimes they will stand at the main entrance and make a gesture of reverence. Hundreds do this everyday but only one young person caught my attention. He was a homeless transvestite, probably a former prostitute. He knows that he cannot enter the church without subjecting himself to scrutiny. He would be considered an outsider on many accounts. All this didn’t stop him from reverencing the One person who still accepted him. He was bowing before Christ the King. Only this King knows his struggles and loneliness. Only He knows the rejection and pain of this young person. For most of us, we only know this young person from what he shows to the world. We never know his tears and yearnings. However, this young person has a King who knows him even better than he knows himself. He knows that he is loved by this King and this is why he stopped and bowed before Him.

I saw him a few weeks ago. This was the last time we sat on the steps of the Cathedral. It has served as our waiting place for the children. Things have changed since then. We have stopped waiting for the children and teens. Now, they have invited us to be with them in their place. They beckoned us to come to where they meet with their group. It has been a year since we waited for this moment. We did not want to impose ourselves on them. We wanted them to invite us to be part of them. The tragic death of Renan opened the door for them to approach us. They came to us one by one. Now, we have new names to learn. There are some who under twelve. There are even toddlers with their young teenage mothers. Most of them have young innocent faces but unfortunately many had their innocence stripped away from them at a very young age. Now, they are weary of the world. Some of the teenage girls that started doing activities with us. The girls are always the toughest ones. They take the longest time to open up. There were so many new names that we can’t remember them all. It has been almost a year long since we had this problem. One young teen asked us what was our focus in the streets. She is a quite perceptive young woman and asks thought provoking questions. If she didn’t smile, she would look very intimidating. Her past had demanded her to put forth a tough exterior. It has helped her survive all these years. Fortunately, she wore a smile for us. It was the first thing we noticed about her. It was her way of saying that she wanted to open up to us. We did not leave her question hanging in the air. We told her that we help young people living in the streets to discover the one thing that is needful for them to find peace in their lives. We help them to ask the necessary questions and even walk with them in their search for it. She consented and added that many people don’t understand that they are in the streets not because they want to be here. It is because they are looking for something but no one really knows what. She has been coming up to us ever since this first encounter.

The one needful thing is right there in the place where they eat and sleep in the streets. At least, the symbol is present there. The Cathedral sits towering above all of us. It is the symbolic throne of Christ. However, it is hidden from them. The children and teens come to the street looking for someone who would take them seriously. Someone who would listen to their pleas and sufferings. Someone who would give them the strength to move forward in their lives. They want to meet the King of Kings in the streets. However, his symbols have been kidnapped by authorities and placed somewhere which is not accessible to the people whom He loves. They have made him a friend of corrupt and selfish leaders. Nevertheless, the gospel reading tells us that Jesus was enthroned among thieves. He was among the poorest of the poor, he was among the most despised people of society. He also warned us that only those who serve the least of his brethren can enter the Kingdom of God. Owing to the fact that he dwells among them. This is where Christ the King of the gospels sets His throne. The church and authorities can create a version of Him that fits their image. However, it cannot change the Truth that Jesus was born in a manger, He lived without a home, He died among thieves and He revealed His resurrected self to women who were considered second class citizens. He prefers to be in a place that is not tarnished with gold and silver. Christ the King is King to those who are rejected or ignored in our society. This is the gospel image of the King. If we want to bring Christianity back to the forefront, then we need to be present where the King is found.

The young teenage girl told us that she was in the streets looking for something. We are here for the same reason. In fact, we are here because we know that we will find what we are looking for. This is the difference between us. The children sometimes lose hope. They think that there might be nothing at all for them here. They need us to remind them that Christ is indeed here. We need them to remind us that Christ is enthroned among them. He is the only reason why we are all here together. He is the only reason why you are reading this too. We are looking for Christ the King ! And He is always present among the least of his brethren.

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” Then Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14

Whenever I have read this parable, I pictured myself as the tax collector. I know that I am not the only one. No one wants to imagine themselves to be the antagonist. We always picture ourselves in the role of the one who comes out victoriously in these stories. It is human nature. We always tend to think that we are better than others even if it is secretly in our deepest thoughts. This is the function of parables. It exposes who we are. The fact is we have as much in common with the Pharisee as with the tax collector. We are not one or the other. We are both the Pharisee and the tax collector. We start out as the tax collector and then we forget and eventually become the Pharisee. The latter is the one who forgot where he came from or who he is. This parable is a warning to our souls not to forget where we came from.

We almost forget these names. No one has mentioned them for a long time. We had no reason to talk about them until last week. Some one wrote all their names on separate pieces of paper and below each name was written, “Present!” One name struck out for us. It was Mateus. His death and murder was similar to that of Renan who was strangely missing from the list. After all, it was his recent murder that prompted the memory of the children and teens who were taken prematurely from us. Maybe they still could not accept the fact that he is no longer among us. We used to sit and watch Renan with his childish mannerisms. Now we miss his erratic and childish behaviors. We saw a young man dressed like him and just for moment, our hearts forgot that he was killed in a brutal manner. No one has accepted that he is no longer with us.

Mateus* and Renan were very similar in life, well at least to us. It wasn’t love at first sight in both cases. We grew to love them. They were very immature for their age. They have bodies that did not reflect their emotional state. They were very childlike in their behavior and easily amused like children. They gradually became part of our lives. Both suffered brutal death. Both suffered hate-filled blows to their heads that ended their time with us. In both cases, the people who committed this heinous crime believed that they were better than their victims. They believed that Mateus and Renan did not deserve to be treated like human beings. However, they were very human to us. They were our brothers, friends and sons. They did not expect much from others. They just wanted to be loved by God and those around them. Whenever they did not feel this Love, they used drugs to help them deal with the emptiness. They carried in their hearts a deep rooted pain that only God knew and rightfully; He is the only One who can judge them.

We sat among the children and waited for them to come to us one by one. After this tragic incident, we know that they would want to talk. They wanted to tell us their connection with what happened and their thoughts about Renan. Danyel came up and sat with us for a while. We told him to avoid this place for a while. The person who murdered once might be tempted to do it again. He agreed. We wanted him to know that he is very precious to us and we don’t want anything evil to happen to him. Danyel then asked us why we thought so highly of him. He continued to say that he did not think that he was not a good person. He believed that he was always doing things that brought harm to himself and he doesn’t think that he helps anyone in the streets. We told him that whenever we see him, we see a kindhearted young man who wants to do what is right. He is always loving towards the others. He never desires anything evil to anyone even to those who did harm to him. He always refused to engage in any activity that hurts another person. Besides, there are things we do in a given circumstances because we need to survive. Danyel uses drugs to endure the harshness of living in the streets. Our answer brought some comfort to him. He then asked me to say a prayer for him. It was the first time he has done this. I asked him if there was anything specific he wanted to ask God. He replied, with any hesitance, “Pray to God to forgive me for my sins.”

It was a beautiful moment that we needed. Danyel and the other children weren’t thinking about revenge for the brutal killing of their brother in the streets. They were thinking about their relationship with God and each other. They realized that there are many who believe that they are not worth a penny. In a way, our presence and your prayers have helped them to know in their hearts that there are some people who like them. We can identify with their emptiness and loneliness. We look at them and we see ourselves in them. We are not better than them. In fact, we are not better than the one who murdered Renan. We don’t understand why people would do such a wicked thing. We are angry with them. We may think that they are people who have succumbed to the evil that is present in this world. Nevertheless, we are not better than them. This does not mean that we are just like them. No, this is not true too. We should stop trying to figure out the actions of others. It is beyond our capacity. We are only capable to know who we are before God. Just like Danyel, he wasn’t comparing himself with anyone else. He just felt strongly that he wasn’t living his life according to what God desires of him. He wants God to forgive him and help him. Danyel doesn’t realize that God has always been listening to him and thinking the best of him like Jesus did of the tax collector.

And as the lepers went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17: 14b-19

We always spot Prince first. It’s a sign that Alex is somewhere around. Prince is his latest canine friend. He hasn’t had much luck with dogs for the last few years. Thankfully, the last one did not die on him. Someone stole it from him. It is still tragic but the lesser of the two evils. It was a police officer who took his dog. We don’t know the details and decided to leave it at that. However, it doesn’t take long for Alex to get a new dog. In reality, they find him. It is the strangest thing. He attracts lost dogs, especially the ones that are independent. They voluntarily attach themselves to him. It is more like the adopt him. They take care of themselves and protect him at night.

As expected, Alex showed up but he was visibly upset. He shook our hands and told us that he is not in the right frame of mind to sit and talk with us at this present moment. Someone had upset him. He was very angry. He told us that he will come back when he feels more settled. Both Prince and Alex took off leaving us alone at the steps. We were a little surprised. Not with the fact that he was upset. Our children are always upset over something. However, Alex was able to express how he felt. He has come a long way. It is amazing that this is the same young teenager that we met about six years when he was barely thirteen.

Alex was a severely neglected child. He was always different from the other children. He almost behaved like he suffered from autism or Asperger’s syndrome. He hardly smiled and he never responded when asked him a question. He was completely oblivious to all social cues. He did not even know how to have a basic interaction with a regular person. Most people brushed him off as a rude child. Even the other homeless teens thought that he was strange. We initially felt the same way about him. He was definitely one of the most difficult boys in the streets. He never showed any gratitude whenever you did anything for him. He thought people were a means to an end. He lived off begging which did not help him change his views about people, initially.

Once he had a toothache that was making him extremely miserable. He asked for our help. We took him to the public health clinic but no one attended to his needs. He was homeless and the health care practitioners are not the most compassionate people. They tend to neglect the homeless population because they don’t like the way they smell or dress or for other trivial reasons. After several failed attempts trying to get service, we decided to pay for a private dentist out of our own pocket. It was quite expensive but the young man was in pain. We made an appointment at a private dental clinic. The dentist told us that Alex needed to extract two teeth which was going to cost more. She was not going to give us any discount even though Alex was homeless. Such is life. We agree to pay for the whole treatment. Everything went swiftly. She extracted both his teeth in less than ten minutes and Alex came out of the room smiling. His pain was gone. Then he just walked out of the clinic without saying thank you or even goodbye. He just walked away. Thankfully we have grown accustomed to his strange behavior. Nevertheless, we were still a little offended.

This was a few years ago. Alex gradually changed. He began to smile more. He started feeling comfortable talking to people. He was still awkward but people were patient with him. Eventually, he developed a habit of expressing appreciation and gratitude. At first, it was a mere formality. He did not really mean it, or least, it did not make any difference to him. He was saying these things more as a means to an end. Then, something started changing in him. He began to enjoy saying these things because he liked the response he got. People started talking to him more. He started developing a social life apart from the homeless youths among the business owners and store attendants in the city center. The security staff of the stores where he begged started treating him with affection. Sometimes they would even keep an eye on his things when he used the bathroom. Consequently, Alex became one of the most successful homeless teens. His bags were full of food and chocolates even though he doesn’t seem to like them. On his birthday, people would buy him a cake and give him presents. Alex learned something else. He learned to give what he received. He became aware of those who suffer. He was extremely sensitive to people who had physical challenges. I saw in several occasions helping homeless adults or giving them some of his food. He even wanted to buy special cards for the people with whom he corresponds from the States. We had to convince that it wasn’t necessary but he still insists. Alex has changed but he is still different from the rest. Now, the difference is not his awkwardness but his sense of gratitude. He has a genuine appreciation for the people God has put in His life. He still has a long way to go. All the neglect he suffered doesn’t go away so easily. However, he has found a way the road to healing.

When I read the above gospel story about the grateful leper, I saw Alex’s face immediately. He was once like the other nine who just walked away. Back then, he did not know that you don’t take people for granted. He did not have anyone in his early life to teach him this simple fact. Now, Alex has discovered that people like him for who he is. He is becoming to feel more like a genuine human being with a definite place in this world. As a result of this self-discovery, he has become more grateful. He says “thank you” not because it is the socially acceptable thing to say. He says it because he is grateful that his humanity is being restored each time someone shows him love even in the smallest way.

It is amazing that Alex is able to acknowledge how he feels today. He found the words to say, “I won’t be good company right now.” Even in this simple act, he has shown us that he believes that we deserve his best behavior. This is definitely a powerful transformation. For those who don’t know him, they might think that we are making too much of a simple gesture. However, we have seen him when he first came to the streets, we can hear angels singing and praising God because this young man has discovered something that he once lost. He has found the joy of living. We are glad that we are here to testify to this wonderful transformation. There is still a long journey ahead and we don’t mind it. We are truly grateful for what we have seen so far.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Luke 17:5-6

I am not sure if my life would be better if I could uproot trees or move mountains literally. However, it would improve a lot if I could overcome some of the obstacles I find within my soul. My life experiences contribute to who I am but there are some things that obstruct my path of discovering more great and wonderful things about God and eventually about myself. They are intricately connected. These stumbling blocks need to be removed. Sometimes they are a huge mountain that stands in my way and I need to have the courage to move it and cast into the sea to be destroyed. These personal obstructions are more often than not pernicious and detrimental to our souls. They are our Goliath: our monsters that hide under the bed. They are the things that paralyze us from becoming more Christlike in our spiritual walk.

For no rhyme or reason, a homeless adult that was sitting in front of us turned around and said, “Praça da Sé never changes!”. This is the actual name of the place where we minister to the children. It is funny that I have never mentioned it all these years. I always say that we meet at the steps of the cathedral or the “old center”. However, the official name in English means “the Cathedral’s Square”. The man was right. When I came to this place in 1993, there were a phenomenal number of homeless children walking around wrapped in old blankets and on top of this, there were hundreds of homeless adults scattered around. Today, the scene has not changed. The children even use the same type of blankets to wrap themselves. The country has gone through diverse economic and social changes over the past twenty something years and yet nothing has changed. This place remains the same. We have been here for more than six years and things remain the same at best, or in same cases they have become even worse. The plea of the apostles resounds with us, “Please increase our faith!” Sometimes it is hard to feel hope in an apparently hopeless situation.

On our way home, we heard someone calling out after us. We turned around and it was Camila. We met her six years ago when we came back to Brazil. She was only fifteen at that time. I don’t recall having much interaction with her then. She was involved with a group of teens that dealt with drugs. Even so, she would come to us and talk to us from time to time. Our conversations were always very brief. Then she disappeared for a while. We ran into her after few months later to find out that she had been imprisoned in the juvenile detention center. Over the years, our relationship become one of casual encounters. She was always happy to see us. She attributed many things to us that we honestly cannot take credit for. Camila progressed from a lost teenager to a determined young woman who fights for the best for her life. She has grown into a beautiful woman full of life and joy. She came up to us and gave us a big hug. She wanted to walk with us. Our conversation was simple. There were victories and challenges involved. There was nothing extraordinary about these. However, Camila is an orphan and spent most of her life in the streets. She is still technically homeless. She squats in an abandoned house with her boyfriend. She is presently 8 months pregnant. They sell bottled mineral water in the streets to survive. She told us that she has everything she needs for the baby now. She told us that she is going to move on and slowly overcome the mountains in her life. Camila told us in several occasions that we always have been a source of encouragement to her. This is strange for us because we hardly did anything for her. Regardless of this, Camila found something in us that helped her. We literally did nothing for her. However, for Camila, we did a lot. Maybe we are looking for something big that we did for her life. On the other hand, God used our little mustard seed conversations with her to give Camila the strength she needed. Motherhood is going to be challenge for her. Nevertheless, this young woman is going to garner all the faith she has to face the mountains before her.

Faith is something personal and yet it is contagious. It spreads to those around us. It helps them see things that perhaps they never consider before. Camila does not expect faith to change the circumstances of her life. She is too smart to believe this. On the other hand, she needs faith to help live in harmony with what God is doing in her life. She has taught us an important lesson. Praça da Sé might always remain the same. There might always be countless homeless children and adults here. Our faith is not going to change these things. It is not about changing things. It is about helping us become more Christlike. Jesus was and is the most perfect servant of God. He showed us through his life that our faith is sufficient to teach us to be a good and faithful servant, nothing more and nothing less. We are not meant to be political messiahs nor superheroes. We don’t have enough faith for such things. We have faith to be simple servants. Even though we get dismayed with the injustice and violence that surrounds us, we need to use our faith to see that beyond these things. We need to see that there is a hopeful Presence in the midst of hopelessness. This Presence gives us the hope to move on even when things fall apart. We don’t need to be spiritual giants to see this Hope. All we need is a mustard seed faith; something that all of us have within us.

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” Luke 16: 9

There is a reasonable comment floating around about money. It claims that money is really neutral. Good people who have it do much good with it. On the other hand, evil people do wicked things with it. Sounds like a pleasant approach towards understanding money. No one feels uncomfortable with this idea. It sits well with most of us. Unfortunately, it is not the way Jesus would define money. He had many things to say about money but He never said that it was neutral. Christians don’t have the option of thinking that money is neutral entity. It represents something dangerous and we need to carefully heed the words of Jesus.

All in all, Jesus had an uncomfortable relationship with money. He needed money to function in the world. There were some wealthy women who supported his ministry. He healed and brought comfort to many people and some of them were wealthy. He always had access to great wealth. However, He chose a path that refused to give money any dominance in his life. He even demanded the same of those wanted to follow Him. The early Christian community sold all their belongings and lived together. Money was always regarded with disdain even though they had to use to survive in the early Christian communities. In the above gospel text, He relates a bizarre parable to drive His point to us. It is almost an uncomfortable read. Jesus appears to praise the actions of a corrupt man. It is completely inappropriate to our modern sentiments. Unfortunately, this is not the most difficult part of the parable for most people. He tells us that wealth is dishonest or unrighteous depending on the translation of the original Greek word. No matter how we look at it, He did not consider it to be something positive. Many tend to get stuck here. We like to believe that wealth can be acquired through hard and honest work. Jesus doesn’t draw an argument to explain why He termed money the way He did. He had a higher goal. He had something more important to say than to talk about the role of money in society. However, if we cannot move beyond this controversial terminology, then perhaps we need to worry about our souls. It would appear as if mammon has taken control of our senses already.

Maybe I should say something about mammon or money since it shows its ugly head around for most part of our lives. I am not sure what I think about it exactly. I need money to survive in this world. I have bills to pay, I need to buy food, I need to pay my rent. I am just like everyone else. The more money I have the easier it would be for me pay for my basic needs and some luxuries too. I am just like anyone who is reading this text. However, Jesus warns us that mammon is not happy just being our servant. He wants to be our god. This is the problem. He is not our friend and we should never forget that in reality he is our enemy. He should not have the seat of honor in our hearts and minds. He is our enemy! If we are not careful and turn our backs on him, he will strike us. Jesus tells us that he will wound our souls. This parable is about how to deal with our enemy.

We witnessed something outlandish in the streets recently. We were in our regular place waiting for the children and as usual, we were in the company of homeless adults. A woman sat down on the steps close to us and started making loud and rude comments about society in general. No one paid any attention to her. Everyone assumed that she was one of the many mentally-ill people on the steps. However, everything changed when she opened her wallet and took out a hundred dollar bill. Everyone’s attention was on her including us. This is not a safe place to wave money around. It made us feel a little uncomfortable but the homeless had a hopeful gleam in their eyes. They knew that one of them could be the possible recipient of the luxurious hundred dollar bill. The fortunate person was the one sitting closest to her. Then the atmosphere changed. Her action brought the worst in people. They gathered around her like vultures and asked for more donations. She took out a wad of 100 dollar bills and asked everyone to queue up in front of her. The situation grew progressively inhumane. Some were fighting to get ahead of each other. We were a little worried. The whole scene seem to be prelude to a riot or something worse. Then she saw a passerby who wasn’t homeless join the queue. This annoyed her and she then got up walked away leaving the long line of homeless adults empty-handed and disappointed. Then a homeless man burst out laughing and everyone eventually decided to see the humor in it too. The woman was obviously rich. She gave her money away but she did not make any friends. In reality, her actions did not bring out the humanity in the homeless. She dehumanized them further. She gave her money away but she was still a servant of Mammon.

Felipe got another job recently. He couldn’t survive with one job so he had to find a second one to supplement his income. His new job required him to work 60 hours a week and his salary was not sufficient to pay for his groceries. On top of this, the only place where he could eat his meals was at a lunch place owned by his boss. The food was overpriced and Felipe had no choice to ask the boss to deduct from his salary. In the end, he worked longer hours than his first job and earned much less. He had no choice. There were four mouths to feed. Finally, he got sick from the long hours and the boss docked his salary for being sick. This was the last straw. He had to quit. His situation was quite desperate working for a servant of mammon who did not give him much hope. We shared with our friends about Felipe’s situation and how unjust things were for the poorest of the poor. Fortunately, our friends knew of an owner of a restaurant who gives jobs to people regardless of their experience or educational level. The salary is enough for Felipe to survive on it. My friends never met Felipe but they desired to know him. They pulled all their resources together to help Felipe. There was no vacancy yet in the restaurant but Felipe is first in line. He has to wait patiently and he still has four hungry mouths to feed. He can’t think about anything until he has food for them.
It is impossible for us to have a deeper relationship with Felipe without participating with him in anguish and frustration. Thankfully, we have an enemy in our household that needs to leave and needs to know that he is the first to go when a friend is in need. Our friends also feel the same way about mammon. Now, Felipe’s circle of friendship is growing because mammon was not allowed to take the role of being a god.

I don’t really have much to say about money. I need it but I know that it is also an enemy. Jesus taught us how to deal with it. Mammon wants to be our god but we have to remind him that he is merely a means to an end. For Christians, Jesus established that the end is building relationships that would last for eternity. Mammon is an enemy that wants to be our god but there is only room for one God in our lives. He is the only One that helps us to keep mammon in His rightful place. We are powerless to fight against him because we are too weak. We can fall prey to his seductive words. We have a High Priest who rejected mammon successfully in this existence. When we pray and ask Him to help us deal with mammon, He will send people like Felipe and many others to teach us that life is much better when we keep our enemy at bay.

Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:25-27

“So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” Luke 14:33

There was a question that always bothered me when I was in seminary. It was quite a simple and almost basic question; “What is theology exactly?” I can’t think theologically if I don’t know what it means. I read theological works that were almost meaningless to me. I memorized them and accepted them as my own. I even understood them superficially. However, they never became my words because I did not really know what I was supposed to do with them. Eventually, I discovered the answer to my question. I did not find it among Christians nor the professors of my seminary. It was hiding among agnostics, former believers, and non-religious people. The discovery is still an ongoing process. It is becoming even more clear as we minister among the homeless children and teens. Now, I can’t imagine being a Christian without being a theologian.

Every time we read something from the gospel, it seems like Jesus is saying something uncomfortable and extremely difficult. Whenever He mentions about being His disciples, He throws some outrageous demands at us. It almost seems like He is making it impossible to be his followers. There are few options open to us whenever we hear His tough sayings. We can ignore these verses and go on with our lives. In this case, we will join the ranks of those who travel with Jesus in the gospel text above without any real commitment to Him. They just stood close to Jesus to reap some benefits from Him without making any firm commitment. We can just sweep everything under the rug and pretend that it is not there. In this case, we need to question ourselves whether we are really interested in Jesus at all. We can confront this text like his disciples and be completely disturbed and confused about it. When we do this, then we would truly become theologians. Theologians are not people with all the answers. In fact, the ones who claim to have all the answers are not usually theologians. They are something else. Theologians are common people who have their feet grounded in reality and cannot deny the paradoxes of life that confront them. They know that the Truth is in the words of Jesus and yet they find it hard to live according to His words. I believe that Jesus wants us all to become theologians, or in simple terms, He wants us to think about our faith, or rather, count the cost of becoming His disciples.

Jesus demands that we give up everything that we possess including our families. It sounds like Jesus is going against everything that the modern church has termed as “family values”. Jesus tells us that they are a hindrance to our salvation. No one in their right mind would think that these so-called “family values” are wrong, even the Pagans would agree with us. They are the fabric of every society. Nevertheless, Jesus always swam against the current of cultural norms. He challenged whatever our culture told us was right and good. Almost every saint in our church calendar took these words of Jesus literally and seriously. We can try to make it more amenable in order to deal with it. This attempt would only serve to dilute the intensity of the gospel. These words are what they are. Therefore, we have to do something about it. Most of us are just common people. We are not saints like those in the past. We sense a responsibility to our family. We need to have possessions in order to survive in this world. Yet, we want to follow Jesus and take His words seriously. There are no easy answers. This is why we need to be theologians. We need to think and struggle with these difficult issues. There are no easy answers. Perhaps, there are no answers at all.

I realized all homeless teens and children have done this. They have abandoned their families to be in the streets. Their families were stifling their lives, tormenting and smothering their spirit day by day. They had to abandon them to be free. There were countless times we heard from social workers who visited the homes of some of our children and reported that the streets with all its violence and dangers was better than the homes of these children. We don’t need to see it for ourselves to believe it. It is quite obvious. No child or teen from a moderately adequate home would prefer to stay in the streets. There is nothing attractive about sleeping in the streets. It has been extremely cold in the streets for the past few weeks. The children refused to go to a temporary shelter to keep warm at night. These shelters remind them too much of their homes. It is too traumatic for them to spend the night in a place looks like a home.

For these children, it was necessary for them to abandon their families to discover life. It is just lamentable that in this day and age that the streets are the only possible place of refuge for them. Our children and teens would appreciate Jesus’ words better than us. For them, his words here are the gospel. They are guaranteed that there is life and acceptance outside their oppressive family ties. However, Jesus, in the gospel, was not strictly talking to children, teens or women who come from abusive and dysfunctional homes. He was talking to regular people like us. We need to give up everything in order to be His disciples.

I think the children helped me understand what Jesus was trying to teach us here. The children had to abandon their families to discover something new. As long as they remained in their familiar environment, they would never discover any new possibility. It is necessary to leave the old and familiar to discover something greater and better. Our children had to leave their families. It wasn’t an easy decision for them. It took a lot of courage for them to abandon what they knew to be normal. As human beings, we always choose the familiar over the new. For our children, the living streets was a huge change. It is better than the old one they had. However, it is still not good enough. One day they will to abandon their life in the streets in order to embrace something better. Perhaps, it is going to be ongoing process for them and maybe even for us. This is perhaps the greatest challenge for them. They are comfortable where they are. They don’t want to move forward. They like to remain where everything is familiar. They are just like us.

Life is a question of abandoning the old to embrace the new. This pattern starts with our birth up to the time of our death. Those who hold on to to their past look quite sad and pathetic when it is no longer appropriate for their age. We don’t have to forget what we leave behind but we cannot hold onto it and expect to appreciate the new. Jesus’s words are tough because they are brutally honest and realistic. Jesus, through his wisdom, reveals to us the true nature of the family. It exists to prepare us to become His disciples in the world. It doesn’t exist to shelter us from the world. Unfortunately, families are made up of people of this world. They manipulate and control and exploit feelings and sentiments like any citizen of this age. Sometimes, we need to cast them away in order to discover the abundant life that the gospel ushers into our lives. Nevertheless, we have to count the cost. We have to ponder upon it carefully before we act.

These verses taught us a valuable lesson this week. Our task in the streets is to be theologians. We take the words of the gospel to the streets and struggle with the reality that confronts us there. We know that there is truth in the words of Jesus and we need to discover the Truth in the context of our reality. On the other hand, we are also confronted with the task to teach our homeless youth to become theologians, in other words, they need to learn how to count the cost. After all, it is impossible for us to be Christians without being theologians.