Author: fr.stephendass@gmail.com

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Cleansing the Temple

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” John 13:16

I began my week with the above gospel reading. My mind was still swirling from the violence we witnessed in my previous post. I needed something else to focus my attention. The cleansing of the temple didn’t seem to help. It appeared to be something too distant from our reality. In a different time and space, I would have said something about the commercialization of religion and then moved on from there. This would make sense in a middle class suburban context. However, our “church’ is a congregation of homeless children and teens. I know that there is something relevant in the gospel text. Unfortunately, my mind was still in turmoil and I was unable to quieten my soul. I don’t know why. Usually, I am able to get past these things and focus on the task in front of me. Maybe I needed to address some things. We waited for the children by the steps of the cathedral. No one came. It has been a while since we waited this long. Perhaps something has changed and I haven’t realized it.

Wallace eventually joined us. We hardly do anything with him. He has been in the streets for years. He is now about 23 and his birthday is in April. He asked us if we had a coloring book. He wanted to have a peaceful quiet time. We shared his sentiments. We sat there coloring. Tons of people walked passed us to go to visit the Cathedral. It is one of the most famous tourist spots. I remember last week a Spanish speaking tourist said that the square could be pretty place if it wasn’t so abandoned. It is a strange place, always crowded and yet, very much abandoned and neglected.

A bunch of high school students walked passed us. They were on a special excursion. The teacher saw us coloring with Wallace. His curiosity perked. He wanted to know who we were and the nature of our work. We spoke about our ministry. He was impressed. We smiled. He has to guide forty unruly teenagers from middle-class families around the busy city center. He is the impressive one. It was his turn to smile. He said that the violence is quite intimidating factor in the center. Once again, the dreaded word was spoken. Unfortunately, we heard another teacher close by relating to his colleagues about a robbery he witnessed just before coming here. Suddenly violence is taking the center stage here. Wallace just continued to color in silence. It is something he never gets to do in the streets when he is with the other teens.

Someone died in the streets yesterday. I hoped that it wasn’t due to violence. The square is always crowded with tons of homeless people sitting around and thousands of people who transit through the area. The firemen came to extract the body. We watched the incident from a distance but close enough to make out what was happening. We did not want to get any closer than necessary. The person most likely is going to be buried in an unmarked grave. Soon no one will remember that he or she ever existed. However, if the death was a result of violence, then people will talk about it for a while. It seems like violence tends to linger on longer in our memory than peaceful moments. Eventually, they will forget as well. Forgetting is inevitable. It is both a blessing and a curse.

Today, before we went to the streets, we saw a bunch of homeless adults having a heated argument. It was escalating. Behind them, there was a bunch of police cars parked but there were no police in sight. Violence was inevitable but everyone was powerless to prevent it. We have somewhere to be. Within a few minutes, we were at the steps of the Cathedral and waiting. No one came. It seemed like no one was going to show up. We decided to go home early. Then, as if they read our minds from a distance, Felipe and Bruno appeared, followed by Gabriel and Wanderson. We sat down and they were in the mood to talk. Our topic ranged from the death of the unknown person to the Bible. Nothing profound. They weren’t asking questions about the latter. They were telling us about it. Perhaps, they wanted us to know that the Bible wasn’t foreign to them. We patiently listened to Bruno explaining to us that the visions of the Book of Revelation were not literal but symbolic. He concluded his discourse by saying that God was going to destroy the world eventually. It was the same sermon we hear from the street preachers. Felipe interrupted Bruno and said that humans will destroy the world, not God. He added that we can see this in our everyday life.

Bruno knew that Felipe had said something profound. There was a competition going on between them. Bruno decided to switch the subject to where he has dominance. He asked me about a movie called, “A Serious Man”. It was a random choice but unbeknownst to him, it fitted in perfectly with our present conversation. The movie is a secular reimagining of the story of Job. Bruno wanted to know why he was a serious man. I explained that a serious man is a person who is sincere and resolute in fulfilling all his commitments. The movie is about a man who always does everything painstakingly right and yet nothing goes well for him. He loses his family, job and health. Felipe asked if God was testing him like in Job. I told him that to say that God is testing people might give us the wrong idea of God. It makes Him look like a mean person. It is better to say that God knows that Job’s devotion to God is genuine and not based on favorable circumstances. The series of unfortunate events that occurred to Job only proved to the world that Job was indeed a righteous man. The things that happened to Job can happen to anyone. Then it occurred to me I was surrounded by teens who lost everything like Job. Felipe nodded and said, “God knows our heart. He does not need to test us.”

I think Jesus has been sitting by the steps and making a cord of whip this week. He used the words of Felipe and Bruno. The simple conversation has brought everything back into focus. I have been thinking about the cleansing of the temple as a capitalist. After all, it is the system that I have known was all my life. I read words like “marketplace” and “selling” and my mind is imprisoned by the idea of commercialization. However, Jesus did not chase out the store owners and animals because He was against the market enterprise. It is about worship. When the pilgrims went to the temple to worship, they would be confronted by the stores selling the products necessary for sacrifices first and not the presence of God. Their focus would have been contaminated with this image. Our minds were contaminated with violence. The past few days I have been seeing and hearing about violence. God’s presence has been ignored. I have become no different than the street preachers here who only preach about judgement and destruction. Whereas Wallace just wants a quiet place to sit and be at peace with himself and hopefully in the silence he will hear the voice of God. He wants to go to a place where God’s presence takes the center stage. God has called us to be His temple in the streets.

Gabriel, who had been silent throughout this exchange, finally he said that he has been waiting for us this whole week. They did not know that we were at the steps. As we got ready to go home, he wanted to walk with us for part of the way. Then he gave us a hug which was not common for him but necessary for our souls. This was the final act of Jesus’ cleansing our temple. Our eyes were opened once again to see His presence in the midst of us. The violence has no business trying to dominate our minds.

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Get Behind Me, Satan

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Mark 8:31-33

Felipe likes to curl into a big ball when he sits outside the bakery to beg. It is actually quite comical. Being at least six feet tall, somehow he manages to make himself look like a small child. I guess people tend to give when they see a “small” person begging. I don’t understand all the psychology behind it. Nevertheless, Felipe has figured it out. He greeted us with a huge smile. He wanted to know our telephone number. He has access to a telephone now and wants to be in contact with us when we are away from the streets. This is the first time he has asked anything like this. As we were talking, a woman walked into the bakery and literally threw a piece of trash on Felipe. I was confused by her actions. At first, I thought she dropped it by mistake. Unfortunately, it was deliberate. Felipe picked up the trash which was a crumpled up paper bag and showed to another teen, Wallace, who just nodded. Their reaction revealed that they were accustomed to this kind of treatment. Felipe laughed it off. He did not allow this to disturb or discourage him. He kept his focus. He continued to talk to us. I couldn’t do it. I can’t just brush it off. It disturbed me that someone would act in such a cruel and demeaning manner. Felipe did not want to pursue the matter and we walked away feeling a little disappointed how humans treat each other.

This was how our day started. I wish I could say that the episode with Felipe was the only violent event of the day. It was indeed a violent act; after all, violence is an attempt to deprive someone of their humanity. This woman tried to make Felipe feel like trash. She refused to see his humanity. Unfortunately something else happened along the same line towards the end of the day. It still weighs heavily on my heart even as I write this. This time violence manifested itself physically. The victim was an innocent young man who was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. The perpetrator is someone with whom we have a close relationship. The whole incident occurred in close proximity to me. I witnessed both incidents of violence up-close. Both instances my initial response was of confusion. I was paralyzed as I watched one human being dehumanized by another. The victim lost a cell phone. We lost something too. We had an image of a young boy who once loving consoled someone who was hurting in the streets. Now, when I close my eyes, I no longer see that person. He was abruptly stolen from us. Instead, I see a vicious being brutally attacking another young innocent man for a mere thing. I am not sure if I will be able to ever redeem the former image.

I couldn’t focus on anything else the rest of the day. In fact, my mind has been constantly taunted by the poignant images of Felipe being treated like trash and our teenage perpetrator’s face filled with hatred and anger. I turn to the biblical text above for comfort. I discovered something but it wasn’t comforting. Perhaps, being comforted is over-rated. The Truth does not exist to console us. It prepares us to face reality. We live in a world where dehumanizing monsters can be the people whom you love and care about deeply. I left Felipe thinking that the woman was an monster then I saw someone whom I love deeply acting like one.

The quote from the gospel above comes from a context where Jesus had a relatively successful day in His ministry. He fed four thousand with seven loaves of bread. He healed a blind man. His closest friend recognized that Jesus was indeed the messiah. Yet, all the acceptance and approval did not change the fact that He would suffer and die in a humiliating manner. Such was reality. Approval and popularity does not keep us safe from violence and hatred in this world. Jesus did not give any solutions to avoid this harsh reality. In fact, He considered any attempt to do so to be demonic. Peter found this out the hard way.

I am sure that Peter thought that he was being sensible when he rebuked Jesus. After all, what was the point of being the messiah and then dying on the Cross? It seems to be a contradiction. Peter was being rational about the whole thing. I am sure Peter thought that there could be safer way for Jesus to attain His status as messiah without losing His life. I am sure that he had some valid suggestions but they were not the way of the Cross. Most likely there was no gospel in his rational method. It makes me wonder that behind all our sadness and discouragement, we might have harbored the same reasoning. Perhaps I want to minister to these children and teens thrown into a world of violence and yet not experience any of it. It is possible that I want to minister peace in a world wrought with hatred and bitterness and not experience them face to face. There is a chance that I want to preach the gospel without taking the Cross. It is highly probable that if Jesus heard me say these things, He would say,

“Get behind me, Satan!”

Peter, of course, wasn’t satan, nor am I. However, we are both allowing the circumstances to determine the course of our actions. I am allowing a violent incident to determine how I proclaim the gospel. This is not the time to recoil and run away from the world. Felipe needs to know that he is not trash even if disturbed individuals want to treat him as such. We need to have grace and courage to face our beloved teenage perpetrator and say that he is allowing his hatred to dehumanize him. We live in a violent world that is constantly trying to distort and destroy the image of God in another human being. The message of the gospel must preached in the midst of this world and not from a safe place. Therefore, we cannot retreat in the face of violence. We need to take our Cross and follow the footsteps of the Messiah.

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:35

It was hard to go back to the streets after that violent day. As soon as we arrived, a young teenage girl who never said a word to us for months came to us. She asked if she could color with us. She sat down and colored for three hours. She kept us in the street longer than usual. She did not say a word to us but she sat with us throughout the whole time and colored silently. She is barely fifteen but her arms are covered with tattoos. She has adopted the persona of a tough drug dealer. However, today she was just a little girl who liked to color. Her reality is one of violence but today she wanted to see a different reality. This is why we are in the streets.

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Stepping into the Wilderness

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Mark 1: 12-13

The gospel of Mark is very succinct about the temptations, unlike the other gospels. They give us long elaborate details of the conversation between Jesus and the devil. There was no mention about fasting. Nothing to clarify what he was doing there. Maybe it was not necessary for the readers. They might have been aware of all these details. It is said that this particular gospel was indeed the earliest gospel to be written. The first Christians tended to be people from a poorer class. The Early Church attracted slaves, the lost sheep and disenfranchised gentiles. All of these were accustomed to be allocated a place in the wilderness by their societies. Most of the time these people find their solace in unlikely place. Perhaps this is why there is a peculiar reference to wild beasts and angels. They were living in the wilderness. There was no need to describe their own reality to them. Jesus, on the other hand, needed to prepare Himself to live in their reality. He needed time in the wilderness to be prepared for the harsh reality of life.

I mentioned the season of Lent to our children once. It was a few years ago. I felt like someone trying to ask a starving person to give up sweets. Besides, the whole concept was strange to them. They had never heard about it despite being a predominately Catholic nation. However, they know about Ash Wednesday. It is the day that Carnaval* ends. In other words, it is the day when the partying ends. The children don’t necessarily participate in the revelries of Carnaval. However, it’s festive mood is contagious. People feel freer. Social boundaries are disrupted momentarily. The rhythmic beat of samba inspires even those with two left feet to venture out to dance. Fortunately, I am quite stoic about these things. I have a good imagination and I can picture my awkward dance attempts too vividly. It is understandable why a tourist watching the celebration of Carnaval might think that Brazil is closest thing to an utopian paradise. All the races and social classes mingling together and enjoying each other’s company as equals. It is quite deceptive. All this euphoria and utopic manifestations end when the music stops playing. Everyone goes back to reality when Ash Wednesday begins. Lent is associating with reality. The children don’t need a special word to distinguish it from the rest of their lives. They live in the wilderness of harsh reality.

Besides, what can I say about Lent to our children? None of them spent Christmas at home. Some of them don’t remember their birthdays. They are all sick from a cold and their noses are constantly runny. Unfortunately, they have given this unwanted gift to me as well. They are already living a life of extreme deprivation. They constantly meet the devil. He is always tempting them to take the short cuts; promising them things that he never fulfill. He uses the same tactics as he did with Jesus. Food, wealth, and power is given to them only if they participate in what he proposes. Our children are constantly hungry, poor and powerless. It means that they have resisted in some shape or form the temptations of the enemy.

Dreyson ran up to us when he saw us. He gave a big hug and told us that he had been waiting for our return. We had been away for a month. His enthusiastic welcome was very good for our self-esteem. He wanted to do something with us. We played a game and, of course, it was intermingled with questions and gossip. Then he told us that he had to stop. He was too hungry. He said that he was going to look for food. Before he left, he told us that he wanted our help to get his documents. He is still determined to take the necessary steps forward to better himself. Then he went out looking for food. He did not need our help for that. He is going to eat whatever that is given to him at the restaurants or by a kind stranger. What can I say to him about Lent? Give up chocolates or ice cream, fast a few days a week…..Perhaps there is nothing to say. Maybe Lent is not for him but for those who have created a superficial world outside the wilderness. Every Lent, the Holy Spirit challenges those who have created a world outside the wilderness to take a step into something new and wonderful and perhaps even poignant. In the process, we discover the gospel in more profound manner.

Before Jesus went into the wilderness, He was a carpenter. He had a trade and a secure living for His time. He wasn’t a rich man by any means because there were very few people back than and even now who were rich. We could say that He had a safe and secure future. The Hebrew slaves were also safe and secure in their state of captivity in Egypt before they stepped into the wilderness. Being safe and secure is not the gospel or a blessing. Countless people who heeded the Holy Spirit’s prompting to step into the unknown places exchanged safety and security for copious blessings. They discovered the gospel. The way of the gospel is a passage into the wilderness. It helps us see clearly the meaning of the gospel. Jesus would have had nothing to say if He did not go through the wilderness. It was the place where He discovered what was essential and necessary for abundant life. In the same way, we will never discover what is necessary for the gospel to be the gospel until we are willing to step into the wilderness with nothing but the Holy Spirit has our guide.

Jesus did not need to go far to go into his wilderness. The Holy Spirit brought him there. Every Lent, God invites us to go to a place where He will show us what is needful for us to understand the blessing of the gospel. It is not about giving up chocolate or other special treats. It is not about repenting so that we can gain salvation. It is a gift from God. It is about discovering what salvation means for our lives.

Have a Blessed Lent. It is season for us to discover the meaning of salvation.

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Strange Choices

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.-Luke 1:38

Mary is the focus of the gospel reading today. This is the Mary before dogmatic interpretations, before she was dressed with royal garments and majestic titles. She is just Mary, plain and simple. Most likely, no one ever took any notice of her. Definitely they would have never imagined that her name would be remembered with reverence after two thousand years.

There are several traditions related to Mary’s parentage but, in the canonical gospels, we are only informed that Mary lived in the temple. Her parents do not appear to be in the picture anymore. Elizabeth, the mother of John, perhaps was her only living relative. Therefore, it is safe to assume that she was an orphan. She survived on the charity of others and even Joseph’s betrothal to her was considered as an act of kindness on his part. Apparently, Elizabeth and Joseph were the only people who were concerned about her well-being and the Holy Spirit testified to both about her pregnancy. She was basically a young teen alone in this world. There was nothing remarkable or spectacular about her. To make matters worse, she was poor and an orphan. The future did not seem very bright for this young girl. Her only place of refuge was the temple where she could be safe from any exploitation. She seems to have a similar story with our children. Except that in our present time, the streets have replaced the temple.

The angel never said why God chose her. The churches have many theories which have transformed Mary into super spiritual saint. I understand the intention behind it. They did it because Mary is our only witness to the virgin birth. They wanted her to be above suspicion. However, the authentic nature of the Virgin Birth is not something we prove through the testimony of witnesses. It is a Truth that is realized through the Holy Spirit.

As for Mary, the Bible just says that she was the one God chose to be the mother of Jesus and He has no obligation to give us any reason for His choice. It was quite simple and in a way, it is beautiful in itself. God chose an orphan whom society considered as insignificant or perhaps even a burden. I have no doubt that Mary was a devout young girl and I am also sure that there were devout virgins during the time. God did not choose her because of her sanctity. It is not a choice based on merit but it is purely God’s grace. Besides, it seems like God chooses underdogs to reveal His love to the world. Perhaps, we need to focus on this fact. God seems to have a preference for those whom society deems as insignificant to accomplish His work.

It is not first time He done this. It is basically the story of almost every personality in the Bible. God chose an enslaved nation to be His chosen people. He called the most unlikely shepherd boy, overlooked by his own father, to become the greatest king of Israel. Jesus chose common and perhaps unqualified people to become his apostles. He chose a despised Pharisee who persecuted Christians with a vengeance to become the apostle to the gentiles. The Bible is full of such examples and our religious history is also full of women and men who often overlooked that ended up doing great things for the Kingdom of God. There is a tendency for the church to be influenced by worldly standards to transform these people into some sort of super heroes. This is a great disservice to the message of gospel and it is also disrespectful to these saints. I am sure that Mary would reject all the titles that have been given to her by the churches. She has no use for them. She discovered the one needful thing that has made her life full of significance. She said, “Yes” to God. She chose life when she said that she was a handmaiden of God. She did not sacrifice anything to become Jesus’ mother. She had nothing to sacrifice. She had nothing in this world. This helped her see the life that was being offered to her.

I think that the most powerful message that the biblical Mary can teach us today is to say, “yes” to God. There is no sacrifice in saying “yes” to God. In fact, the contrary is true. We lose everything when we say “no” to him. Sometimes we are blinded by the things we possess and status that we have in this world. We think that we need all these things plus the gospel to be happy. In the end, we end up holding onto things that are meaningless and give up the One thing that is needful. Mary was the perfect candidate because she had nothing to hold her back from saying “Yes!”

The story in the gospel reading above sounds like a Christmas story but it is still essentially an Advent story. It is still about waiting. It is not about waiting for Christmas. We can’t wait for something that already happened. It is waiting for God to manifest His Kingdom in a clear and precise manner to the world. The story is also a warning. It reveals to us where to wait. The religious authorities waited in high and lofty places for the Messiah. However, God appeared to the world in the same way He has always done. He appeared among those who are meek and forgotten. As Christians, if we considered ourselves to be people who are waiting for the Messiah, then we need to know where to wait for Him. He hasn’t changed. He will continue to manifest Himself among those whom the world rejects. This is why He admonished his disciples to be among the poor, imprisoned, orphans and widows, basically among those who are easily overlooked. Not because we are superior to these. The contrary is true. They understand that whatever God has to offer to them is infinitely better than what the world has to offer. Mary said “Yes” because she knew all the securities and honor that this world could offer is garbage compared to the gospel.

“Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ. ”-Philippians 3:8

She never said these words but St Paul, another unlikely servant, articulated it perfectly. Many of us are still holding onto garbage. We need to be with people like Mary to realize the truth of our fantasies.

Our children and teens are in an excellent place to see the world as Mary did. When we see them in this situation, we just see hopelessness and poverty. However, God sees them as great and potential servants like the Mother of His Son, Jesus. These are the kind of people God usually chooses to reveal His kingdom to the world. He does make strange choices.

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The Joy of Not Being the Savior

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.-John 1:6-8

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.” They said to him then, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”-John 1:19-22

A friend offended me once, unintentionally of course. It was a good thing. Obviously no one in their right mind wants to be insulted. However, this particular incident was a great help to me. The topic of the conversation was about altruism. The statement was a generalization. The subject was none other than Mother Theresa and the unfortunate term, “messianic complex” was thrown about callously. There is no need to go into details. One can figure out how everything unfolded. There was complete silence for a moment after the unsavory term was used. Our friend realized that he had inadvertently insulted us. During this uneasy moment, my own personal thoughts went wild. I began wondering if he was actually right. Am I serving in this ministry to the homeless because I secretly want to be their savior?

I eased the tension by reverting the subject back to Mother Theresa. I defended her but in reality I was desperately trying to find arguments to defend myself. I wasn’t sure if I was convincing. It did not matter. Everyone wanted to move on to something else. However, his comments had penetrated my soul. I was questioning whether I have a messiah complex. On the other hand, we are all attracted to messiahs. We read about them. We flocked to the theaters to watch dramatized versions of their heroic deeds. They are people we want to imitate. Maybe the question should be who doesn’t have a messiah complex?

I can think of many reasons why I remain in this ministry in São Paulo. However, there was only one foundational reason that brought me here. It was and still is the gospel. I had no idea what the homeless situation was like before coming to this mammoth city. I had seen abject poverty before. I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for four years. Then I lived next to a slum. I did interact with the very poor there. I am accustomed to the situation of urban poverty but homelessness is completely different. There is a sense of complete abandonment and hopelessness. Seeing children and teens in these circumstances added a more painful dimension to it.

Faced with such dire circumstances and armed with a privileged middle-class background, my mind was flooded with possible solutions to this problem. Somehow I thought that it was incumbent upon me to solve the malignant social illness. I thought that this was an intricate part of preaching the gospel. I fell into the trap without realizing it. I wanted to become their messiah. I read the scriptures and I imagined myself as their Moses, Elijah and David, not realizing that none of these were really successful messiahs. Moses failed, except for Joshua and Caleb, to bring the generation that he led out of slavery to the Promised Land. Elijah could not convince the people of Israel to abandon idolatry and David never could bring peace to Israel and his own family contributed to much of the chaos. Bedazzled by the prospect of being a messiah, I failed to see the truth about these great men of faith. Strangely, John the Baptist was never up for consideration. He was too simple. He appeared in the gospel for a few verses and then we never heard from him again until he was murdered. However, he was the one that I needed to heed. Jesus considered him to be the greatest prophet.

Occasionally, a young person who is unfamiliar with us will come and ask; “What are you offering us?” In a way, it is a fair question. There are various social agencies that go around offering their “solutions” to the homeless. There are many churches that provide food in the evenings. They are solving the problem of hunger. There are some religious groups that go to the streets offering shelters. Everyone is offering something. They want to know what we are bringing to the table. We don’t have anything concrete to say. I cannot say that we are bringing Jesus to the streets. That wouldn’t be true. He does not belong to us for us to take Him around like a prop. Besides, He was already in the streets way before we ever thought of coming here. Whenever someone asks this kind of question, they are usually not interested in anything beyond the material. Sometimes questions like these make us feel a little inadequate. Before someone thinks that they need reassure us that we are doing something significant, let me say that this is really a good thing. We need to be aware of our limitations and reality. We have nothing to offer that will end homelessness or other social ills. Therefore, I can safely toss out any aspirations of being a messiah. Thanks be to God because now we can really do something for the children.

There is one thing we do very well. We sit and wait for the children and teens to be with us in the square; our usual meeting place for a long time. We are mastering this art. The children eventually make their way to us, one by one voluntarily; Caio, Ruan, Guilherme, Felipe, Bruna….They come even though they know that we have no solutions for their situations. The interesting thing is that they never asked us to solve their problems. Danyel asked us why we haven’t been coming recently. I reminded him that we have been here almost everyday. It was he who had disappeared for a while. He smiled and asked to play a game and then he fell asleep in the middle of it. Felipe asked our help with his documents. He said that he found the whole process intimidating and he wants us to be with him to give him a sense of security. Bruna showed us the latest piece she had colored. She wants to send it to her newfound friend in Florida and asked our help to write a letter.

We discovered something better than trying to be the messiah. We can just love and enjoy them. People flocked to John the Baptist despite his strange outfit and mannerisms because he loved them. He cared enough about them to boldly proclaim the Truth which that the coming Messiah loves them more than they can ever imagine. We realized that we make lousy messiahs but we can be good John the Baptists. However, there is a significant difference between us and John. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11)

We have something more powerful to share than John. John proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. Jesus has given us the message of reconciliation. Christ reconciled us to Himself and now has given us the ministry of reconciliation. The Shepherd of our souls has come to reconcile all people. Our children and teens were cast out of their homes and society and God wants to gather them into His eternal rest. It is a message of eternal love. Our children and teens need to be ready for reconciliation. They need to know that they are included in God’s Kingdom.

Yes, I was once possessed by the “Messiah complex” but thankfully Love exorcised this false image of myself. As for my friend, he will never know that his offensive words have helped me put things into perspective. I am grateful that I was offended. Nevertheless, I don’t want it to happen again.

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Waiting for The Embrace of a Mother

And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”-Mark 1:7-8

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the screen. We were waiting anxiously for our numbers to appear. All we have had so far were numbers. We started this process with Dreyson a week ago. He just turned 18 and wanted to have all his documents. You are nobody in this society unless you have your documents. Many children and teens are buried in unmarked graves because they did not have a piece of paper with them when they met their unfortunate end. Now they are forgotten in death as they were in life. However, it was not death that inspired Dreyson to get his documents. He wanted to embrace life. He wanted to change his story. He thought that the first step is to be recognized officially by the government that he is someone. He asked our help to do it. It had brought us here to this cold lifeless room waiting for his number which finally appeared on the screen. I walked with Dreyson to the counter and got him settled. Then I went back to our seat and waited.

It is hard to believe that this young teenager is legally an adult. He still looks and acts like a child. He is not childish but he is not an adult. We met him when he was 14. He was extremely shy and insecure. He wanted me to know his name and the next day he asked me if I remembered it. This was our first contact. Over the years, our conversations with him were quite erratic. He was hardly sober. He sniffed lots of paint thinner and whatever substance that was available to him. Despite this, we still managed to spend some quality time with him whenever there was an opportunity. Recently, he had a conversation with someone from a church and the person challenged him to take baby steps to leave the streets. He took the advice to heart. He asked for our help to navigate through the bureaucratic nightmare to get all his documents. This was his first step.

We did need to wait long this time. Dreyson came up to us and told us that he was done. He is registered now. However, he did not have any documents in his hand. He had another slip of paper with another number instead. He asked us to keep it for him. It said that his documents will be ready in 12 days. We have to wait again.

On our walk back, Dreyson shared his dreams with us. He said that he wants to become an interstate bus driver. He liked to idea of driving and traveling to different cities. His father had taken them across the country before. It was perhaps the fondest memory he has of his time with his father. They hitchhiked for the most part. Ever since then he was always interested in traveling. We had many conversations together about our travels. It was wonderful to hear from a young man who hardly shared any of his dreams before. He asked us what he needed to become a commercial driver. He wants to take the necessary steps to achieve his goal. He said that he did not want to continue living in the streets for the rest of his life. He wants something different. I am glad that he is thinking along this line and we felt especially honored that he wants to include us in his journey towards a new beginning. He also told us that he had recently wrote a letter and wanted to show it to us. It was scribbled on a stained paper but it was one of the most beautiful things written by a teenager living in the streets. It was a letter to his mother.

Dreyson came to the streets with his younger brother, Danyel. I wrote about the latter before. He suffered an accident and broke his leg. We visited him in the hospital during this time. Unfortunately, his mother only came to see her son after five days. Initially we were mad at her. Then she finally came. She hardly hugged him. She did not even ask anything about the accident. Throughout her time with her son, she appeared to be a little distant. However, our initial anger subsided when we met her. Unloved and neglected people can also have children. It was obvious that she had never received love in her life. It was also clear that she was giving all she had to her children even though it wasn’t much.

In his letter, Dreyson wrote that he was sorry that he and Danyel are living in the streets. He said that she deserved better than this. He did not want her to worry about them. He wanted her to know that he appreciated her. He thought that she was a wonderful person. He cherished her embrace and affections. He wanted her to know that these things were important to him. The letter went to describe a mother that was nothing like the woman we met. He did not want too much from his mother. He just wanted her hugs and affection.

Dreyson had spent two years straight without going home even for the holidays. I remembered asking him if he missed his home at that time. He did not say anything. His father only came looking for him after two years. Since then, he would try to go home for a few days but he always returns to the streets almost immediately. He goes home looking for something that perhaps does not exist. It doesn’t take him long to realize this and it drives him back to the streets. Now, he wants to be someone in the world; a bus driver has a place in society. He wants a place in this world. It is not a coincidence that he wrote a letter to his mother at this precise moment. He is feeling hopeful. He wants to connected to the first person who gave him the sensations of being loved. He wants to be loved and recognized.

John said, in the gospel verse quoted above, that Jesus will baptize us with the Spirit whereas he can only baptize with water. I have read this verse a hundred times before but listening to Dreyson’s letter has given me a fresh understanding of John’s proclamation. Dreyson is waiting for several things in his life. His documents, his dreams of becoming a driver and his desire to leave the streets; all these things are attainable if he is willing to wait for them. They might introduce minor changes in his life. He might leave the streets. This is a strong possibility in his case. One day, he might have a steady income. He might be financially and physically better than he is presently. It is possible to achieve these things without any reliance on God. We don’t need the gospel for these things.

The people who came to John the Baptizer were most likely better off than Dreyson in terms of wealth and security. Yet, they were not satisfied with their lives. They wanted something more. In this sense, Dreyson has something in common with them. His letter to his mother revealed something more profound about Dreyson. Something that John the Baptizer saw in those coming to him. They were seeking for something more substantial. He knew that he couldn’t give them what they needed. We cannot give Dreyson what he truly needs. He wants to be connected in a profound manner with Life in its fullness. The best way he could describe what he wants is to use the symbolic gesture of the embrace of his mother. It is an image of being united with Love. His mother is not capable of giving what Dreyson yearns for. Neither are we. The people who came to John the Baptizer came with the same expectation. They wanted to be connected with Love in a way that was beyond what John could provide. However, there is hope. This yearning is not something that cannot be satisfied. It prepares us to look for the only One who can touch us in our innermost being. Our task is to follow John’s example. We are the ones who help Dreyson and anyone else that God puts in our path to see this Hope that is coming. We cannot make it happen. It is not a formula or a doctrine that Dreyson desires to encounter. He wants to encounter the embrace of Love. We can only prepare him by letting him know that it is possible to encounter Life in its fullness. John baptized with water. It is symbol of purification. It is an act of helping people discern the true source of life. We will give Dreyson help with his documents and whatever help we can provide to guide him in discerning that true Love is found in the One who can nourish our souls with the Love that gives us the zeal for Life.

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The Gracious Judge

Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ – Matthew 25:32-40

Felipe had an evangelistic tract in his hand. He wanted to read it aloud to us. Unfortunately, it had a limited focus. It was obsessed with hell. It described the torments that awaited those who rejected Christ. There wasn’t much about the gospel; just fear and death. Jesus was only a means to escape this impending damnation and nothing more. I asked Felipe what he thought about hell. He said that he believed in its existence and he almost sure who was going to be there: those who listened to hard rock music. I wasn’t sure why this sub-culture was singled out for eternal doom. Felipe is a kind and forgiving person. He hates to see anyone suffer or be bullied in the streets. Besides it is highly unlikely that he has never met a rocker. I can only conclude that he heard it from a street preacher whose sermons often include a citation of those who are destined to hell. The list always contains the usual suspects. Felipe has friends who are gay, drug addicts, thieves and transvestites. Rockers are the only ones with whom he does not keep company. It is in our human nature to send those whom we don’t know or dislike to hell. When it comes to hell, we are always very selective about who goes there and usually they are people outside our intimate circles. We believe that the ones we love always find themselves in heaven. However, God loves everyone. He cares deeply for every soul. They are all His precious creations. He does not desire to lose a single soul. The God that Jesus revealed is not looking to send people to hell. He is opening the gates of eternal life to the world. Anyone who preaches the gospel should focus on the gift of eternal life and not the threat of death.

Felipe’s tract was based on the parable from the above quote. The major themes of this teaching are judgement, eternal life and death. These can be frightening themes. However, Jesus was not interested in inducing the fear of death into our hearts. This would be consider the lowest form of persuasion even in Jesus’ day. Any philosophy or doctrine that depended on fear to convince people of its veracity was despised then. Besides, Jesus never used fear as a tool of evangelism. Therefore, we need to step back and look at this parable as a revelation of God’s love which casts out all fear despite the uncomfortable and perhaps fearful themes.

There is a scandalous element in this parable that is often overlooked. It was not good news for those who share similar religious affinities with the Pharisees. These were concerned about exclusion from eternal life and not so much about inclusion. Jesus appears to have very “low” standards for entrance into paradise. The King did not require doctrinal purity or orthodoxy nor any religious affiliation as a prerequisite. All one has to do is to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothed the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned. These are not difficult things. Anyone can do them. It doesn’t mean that these actions earn the right to eternal life. It just means that the King is a gracious Judge who chooses to remember selective things.

The good news of this parable is that many in this city of São Paulo are going to be included into God’s plan of salvation. Every day we see people buying food for the children. They buy good and sometimes expensive food, not just leftovers, for the children and teens. They do it gratuitously. What I mean to say is that they don’t expect anything in return, not even gratitude. I once saw an elderly man put a package of hot food next to a sleeping homeless adult. He did it discreetly without calling any attention to himself. He did not want any recognition for his charitable act. However, Jesus, according to the parable, will remember his actions.

Giving someone something to drink is even easier. Again no one in the streets dies of thirst. Waiters go out of their way to bring a cup of water whenever a homeless person asks for a cup of water. We witnessed this with our own eyes yesterday. Jesus remembers their extra effort. People constantly donate clothes to the homeless. During the Christmas season, some people actually buy brand new clothes for the children and teens. The problem is that our children just can’t seem to hold onto them. This is not a lack of desire on their part. They like new and beautiful clothes. Unfortunately, the government likes confiscate their personal belongings but it doesn’t stop the people from bringing new clothes to the children. Principalities and powers of this world can’t appreciate the efforts of these people, yet Jesus will never forget their kindness.

It is harder for a regular person to visit our children in the hospitals and prisons. However, it still doesn’t hinder some people. There are more people who do this than we realize. When Danyel was hospitalized after the accident, he said that his stay in the hospital was actually quite pleasant. There were many good people who visited him there. People took their pets to comfort the sick especially on the ward where the poorest of the poor were interned. Our children and teens who are incarcerated, often look forward to visits because it was the only time that they feel like human beings. Thankfully, there are many who do visit them. Jesus knows all of these people by name.

From the looks of it, heaven is going to be crowded. Maybe Jesus needs to raise the bar a little higher. It seems to be too easy to get into heaven. All we need to do is to listen and obey that tiny voice in our souls that beckons us to walk in the path of Love. Unfortunately, not all listen to this voice. Some prefer that this world becomes a place of misery and suffering. However, we are not going to dwell on these people. Their lives are a living hell. Bitterness and hatred are punishments that we create for ourselves. God does not have room for them in His creation. Those who insist on punishment and revenge do not understand the God that Jesus is revealing to us. We need to pray for them that we will know the Jesus that said these beautiful words,

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”-Matthew 11:28-29

Danyel saw us sitting by ourselves on the square. He does not like it when we are left alone. He is very considerate child. There are days when it takes a while for the children to come up to where we are. Danyel wouldn’t have any of it. He refused to let us be alone for that long. He came and sat next to us and wanted to play a game. Any game will do he said. It happened to be a game between him and me. We talked as we played. I forgot the context of our conversation but Danyel wanted to say something to me. He said that even though that the children are using paint thinner all the time and sometimes they tend to neglect us, it doesn’t mean that they don’t remember the love and care that we show them. Then he smiled. He was done saying what he wanted to say. It sounded like Jesus just spoke to me.

So, finally, are the rockers going to hell? I don’t know. I can’t see into the heart of any person. Jesus, our King, knows each person intimately. He is not going to judge them according to their shortcomings. He chooses to forget our sins but He remembers all the acts of love that we do when no one is watching. This is the kind of King we serve; the King that waits and catches someone doing good.

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Waiting for the Unpredictable Bridegroom

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed…..But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’-Matthew 25:1-12

Waiting is about having a lamp in one hand and oil in the other.

We need the Light to recognize the Bridegroom. We need to know who we are waiting for exactly. The oil is to remind ourselves that He does not come when we expect Him. We need to persevere even nothing seems to be happening. He cannot be domesticated to follow our timetable. He does not come at the time we want Him to show up. It would be foolish to think that we know how and when the bridegroom acts. All we know is that He will act and we have to wait for Him to do it. If we take the initiate and act on His behalf before He comes because we lose patience…then we might end up doing something foolish. We might find ourselves being locked out of a banquet feast.

We never had any profound conversation with Wanderson before. He is an intelligent young man but he is always high on something. Having meaningful interactions was always a challenge. Perhaps drugs is a way of escaping such connections. Whenever he was somber, he lived in a fantasy world. He would tell us that his parents are wealthy people that have many homes all around the city. He told of birthdays and Christmases that were stuff of American TV. It is difficult to imagine that any of this could remotely be true. However, we have been surprised before. Still, I would say that it is our strong opinion that this is mainly make-believe on his part. Nevertheless, we listen to his fantastic tales because it is important for him to have these stories to tell. They help him cope with the harsh reality and loneliness of street life. Besides his incredible stories, we never knew anything about Wanderson. He is a private person. He has a barrier between him and the rest of the world. He is afraid of something. Maybe he is waiting for the right moment to open up. We need to wait for him with our lamps ready and some oil on the side. If anyone is going to open up the heart of this young man, it will definitely be the Bridegroom.

Someone that was helping Wanderson with his documents came up to him and told him that the police were looking for him. We have known him since he was 13. He never was caught for doing anything illegal. The criminal life did not attract him. The person told him that he needed to go to the police station to clarify matters. I was a little confused. Then things became clearer. He is not wanted for a crime. He was reported as a missing person. I asked him if it was his family that made the report. He was sure that it wasn’t his family. We left it at that. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.

A few days later, the subject came up again. He revealed that he spent most of his early life in an orphanage. He did not like it there and escaped. He thought it likely that they reported him as missing. Then, he said that it could be his godmother. She was the only person he could think of that would be concerned enough to look for him. For some reason, he wanted to talk this particular day. He was somber. He put away his paint thinner and just wanted to chat with us. Some boy came and asked him for some paint thinner to sniff. Wanderson gently rebuked him and said that he was having a conversation with us. He did not want to be disturbed. I told him that his godmother couldn’t be the one because she wasn’t next of kin. I told him that we cannot go to the police to look for him if anything had happened to him because we are not his next-of-kin. The police will only act when it is a family member. We have to show some documents proving we have custody of him like the orphanage. As I explained this, Wanderson turned around and said, “Well, my father died when I was young so you can adopt me officially.” He smiled as he said this. He did not mean it literally. He likes his freedom too much but it doesn’t mean that these were empty words. They meant something important to him and us as well.

Before we left for the day, Wanderson asked if he could accompany us halfway to our home. We accepted his offer. It was the first time anyone had wanted to do this. We talked about nothing of interest. It wasn’t about the conversation. It was being there with each other. He wanted to be with us alone. For us, it was our invitation to a wedding banquet. The bridegroom has finally arrived. Before we parted ways, he gave us a hug. This was the first time too. Maybe he is not one for deep conversation. He might not be someone who is able to articulate all his thoughts and feelings. However, it doesn’t mean that the Bridegroom cannot come into the life of this young man. I am thankful that the Light of the gospel helped us to see His presence in this young man’s life. I grateful that we had the sense to bring enough oil. It was a long wait but the banquet was worth it.

 

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Lessons on Being a Neighbor in Small Spaces

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40

I rode the elevator with my neighbor. We have lived next door to each other for than a year. I have only seen him once or twice. We felt a little awkward being forced together in a small space. We did not say anything to each other and perhaps we were ashamed that we had nothing to say to each other. Obviously, we were anxious to get to our floor. When the door opened, we gave each other a weak smile and nod and then went into our own apartments. We were free again to be alone and apart from each other.

Mary and I were in the elevator with some of our children a weeks ago. It was the first time for us. We haven’t been in a situation where we needed to be in a building together. However, this was a special occasion. Children day’s in Brazil falls on October 12th. Here the day is honored and celebrated with events and parties for children. A social agency decided to hold a party for our children and teens. Ruan insisted that we go with them and even made a special invitation for us. So there we were crowded together in a small space. There were at least 8 people this time. The party was on the 5th floor. Ruan was practical leaning on me. Then he did something unexpected. He rested his head on my shoulder. The other teens from the streets were with us. They did not say anything or even think that it was strange. I think that they would done the same. They can be very affectionate. A regular teenager of the same age wouldn’t do this even with his father. Ruan did not mind showing his affection with me. I did not mind being in the elevator with him. There was no awkwardness. I wasn’t waiting for the door to open to rush out. Ruan is my neighbor too but he lives miles away from my apartment. I feel comfortable with him. My next door neighbor lives in close proximity to me but there is a distance between us.

Jesus said that I should love my neighbor as myself. Love in itself is a complicated thing but loving another person as myself raises the bar. The traditional idea of love which I held onto to once doesn’t seem suffice.

Loving someone means desiring goodwill towards them; this was my answer to anyone who asked me about love. However, it doesn’t quite capture the essence of what Jesus is saying. I can convince myself that I desire goodwill for my next door neighbor without ever talking to him. I really doubt this was what Jesus had in mind when He said that we should love our neighbor. There is a distance between me and my neighbor. I cannot imagine loving him as myself because he is not part of my life. The love of Jesus overcome distances. His love for people was concrete and real. He loved people in a way that He made Himself need their presence. Jesus asked his closest disciples to be with him when He prayed the anguish prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. According to our faith, He is God incarnate. By right, He doesn’t need anyone. Yet He loved people in a way that He always wanted to be with them. He wasn’t afraid of this type of needing people: to allow them into our lives in such a way that it is difficult to imagine life without them.

The way Jesus loved produced something in the lives of the beloved. His love restored their humanity. The people who were once forgotten suddenly felt that they were important to God because of Jesus. They had a renewed zest for life because of His Love. Nothing of this sort was happening between me and the man who lived next door. There are too many obstacles between me and my neighbor.

The obstacles are there because we feel that we don’t need each other. We have our apartments. We have our hobbies. We have created a world for ourselves that excludes needing anyone. I don’t what he does in his home but I have enough things in mine to forget that he exists next door. On the other, Ruan has no possessions. He has some cards and letters that he treasures. He asked us to keep them for him because he knows that he will lose them in the streets. Homelessness doesn’t allow any room for personal possession. In a strange way, it creates less hindrance and distractions between us and the children. There are no material things to replace human interactions in their lives. The children and teens don’t need us in the material sense. They have their basic needs met by other social groups or random strangers. They have a different relationship with these people. It is based on a physical need and when the need is met, the relationship becomes meaningless. We don’t provide any material things. We are just there and they come to us. They want to be with us as much as we want to be with them. They need us as much as we need them but not because we gain some material benefits. There is an exchange between us but it is beyond material needs. When we are together, we feel like our world is complete. Perhaps, this is what it means to be reconciled.

When we go to the streets, we sit at the square and wait for them. They come on their own. They know that they don’t have to but they come to us and spend time with us. Recently, they made us overstay our usual time. We were with them until it got dark. We did it happily. We were not trying to rush back to our apartment. We don’t mind spending time with these children and teens because they are our neighbors. They have become part of our lives. Jesus has used these children and teens to teach us what it means to love a neighbor according to the gospel. They are people that you allow to become an integral part of your lives. Their relationship gives a new understanding of the meaning of life.

It is easier to love the children and teens than our next door neighbor. We thought that we are going out to the streets to teach the children about the gospel. However, I am discovering that Jesus is using them to teach us to remove the obstacles that separate us from our neighbors. Ruan was not afraid to show me that he enjoyed being with me. On the other hand, I can’t even think of something to say to my next door neighbor. Maybe it is time to allow the Holy Spirit to help me remove some of the barriers I have put between me and my neighbor. I don’t how to do it. Frankly speaking, I am not sure if I want to do it. However, I don’t want to miss out on life. Our life has become richer because we were open to the children. When Ruan put his head on my shoulder, it was special. I don’t want my next door neighbor to do the same. That would be very strange. However, I would like to learn how to love him as myself.

 

 

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Render unto The Caesar…

“Show me the money for the tax.” And they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled; and they left him and went away. Matthew 22: 19-22

The mayor of this city wants to clean it up. He wants the city to be beautiful. Everyday he sends the police to where the children sleep and forces them to evacuate the area. However, they are not allowed to take their blankets or cushions. These things are confiscated and eventually destroyed. Apparently, these things makes the city look unsightly. I am sure the presence of the homeless children and teens sleeping under the busy highway bridge does not qualify for a post card picture. The homeless are not part of the beauty of this city. They need to find another place where they would not be a burden to those who want a beautiful city.

The cushions are perhaps the few comforts that the homeless have. They are discarded cushions full of stains and holes. Now, the children sleep on the dirt floor. Now, their clothes and bodies are covered with dirt when we meet them in the afternoon. The mayor has yet to improve the shelter situation. However, it doesn’t matter. Our children and teens won’t go to one. They are treated like prisoners in these places. They prefer to sleep on the dirt floor.

I don’t know the mayor personally so I cannot pass judgement on him. I shouldn’t do it even if I knew him. It is safe to say that he is not an evil person. He does not deliberately want to make life miserable for the homeless. It is just that he doesn’t know them. He cannot imagine their sense of rejection because they are not part of his world. They are just concepts and numbers for him. The distance between him and the poor of the city is astronomical even though the city office is in the old center of the city where we work. If he stepped out of his building, he would see the large number of homeless that occupy almost every street corner. However, he never steps out of the building. He comes to work in a helicopter and leaves the same way. He has no reason to meet the homeless. He is a mayor of the city and no expects him to be listening and hanging out with the homeless.

No one existentially is further away from us than God and yet He is with us. He dwells among us not like a mayor or a king but as a suffering servant. It is a choice that He makes. Perhaps, God thinks that it is incumbent to His eternal office as God to be close to those who suffer. Jesus tells us that if we want to see Him, we have to go to the ones who are hungry and give them something they need. He is among those who are in prison where society puts people it wants to punish. He is present there among those who are easy to hate and despise. He wants us to know that He cannot and will not forget anyone. He wants us to give Him shelter when He is present with our homeless children. Perhaps when there is no shelter available, a discarded cushion would be fine or even in some cases, a filthy manger.

He works completely different from any government officials. These officials like things to appear good. They work in the realms of numbers and statistics. They like to present a beautiful image. Jesus is not into images. When the disciples commented on the beauty of the temple, He told them that it would be destroyed. Outward beauty never lasts. The Pharisees liked outward appearances. Jesus has some harsh words to say to them;

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whitewashed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” Matthew 23:27

External beauty doesn’t revive a soulless society. Jesus was not interested in building great cities or empires. He was concerned about finding the lost sheep. He wanted to be their shepherd. His priorities were centered on being the Good Shepherd to those that society forgot and rejected. The Caesars of the world have other priorities. They are invested in the constructions of images that one day will stumble and fall. Yet, some people who consider themselves followers of Jesus applaud the actions of the Caesars even when they are soulless. Regardless of who they are and what they propose to do, their desires are not compatible with the priorities of the gospel. They dwell in a world that is too separated and distant from humanity. They judge the world from a distance. Jesus did not make decisions from a distance. He is close to each and every person. He revealed to us a God who is so different from our nature and yet chooses to be close to us. Caesars share our humanity and yet they hide behind walls and illusions of their own creation.

It has been a while since we had a decent conversation with Bruno. He was the one who told us about the police taking away the cushions and blankets. He mentioned that it was the first time that the police actually seemed apologetic and said that they were just following orders. Without us saying anything, Bruno talked about shelters and orphanages. He said that he was in a state orphanage for most of his life before he ran away to the streets. It wasn’t because he disliked the place. He had many pleasant memories. However, the government only allows them to stay in the orphanage until they turn 18. Then they have to leave. He had no where to go. He doesn’t even know the address of his family or his mother’s full name. He ran away before he turned 18. He is not the only one. There are many who share the same story. They leave before they get rejected one more time by the state. Bruno ended his poignant story saying that he won’t go any shelter just for the sake of sleeping there. He wants to have some structure and stability in his life. Strangely, the streets has provided something for him.

Caesar has the finance and the resources but he is too far away to do anything worthwhile with them. We have restricted material means but we are close to the children. Bruno hugged us with his dirty blanket wrapped around him. His hands and feet were covered with dirt. However, his outward appearance did not hinder us from seeing his beauty. Not just Bruno, but all our children and teens. They might be considered a nuisance or a pest by many who are far away. These will support the actions of Caesar. However, Jesus beckons His followers to draw close enough to see that within each of these little ones lies the beautiful image of God. It is something anyone who is far away will never appreciate.

Render unto Caesar what belongs to him but he will never understand the things that belong to God.

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