Author: fr.stephendass@gmail.com

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Eternal Moments: Learning to Receive

Igor was relating the parable of the Good Samaritan to us. To be honest, I was wondering throughout the whole time why he was painstakingly telling us all the details of this parable. Surely he must know that this is a well-known parable and we are well aware of this story. After all, I am a minister and that should count for something. Igor knows this. We even did a bible study together on this story. Now he was recounting the parable to us as if we never heard it before. Then, it occurred to me. Maybe, just maybe, I should just listen and stop whatever I was doing mentally. He wants to tell us something important and the Good Samaritan is central to it. It is his story and I have to put my ego aside and listen as if it was the first time I heard this parable. After all, it is the first time ever hearing it from Igor. He believes that he has something new to bring to the table.

He called us a few days ago and wanted to meet with us. At first, I thought something was wrong. Unfortunately, my mind is prone to pessimism. We haven’t heard from him for a while and we tend to take comfort in the no news is good news mindset. However, we know that this is not always the case. This is why hearing Igor’s voice on the phone, I got a little nervous. Igor is living with his aunt presently. He is reconciled with his aunt after fifteen years. His mother was murdered trying to protect this very aunt. Despite his mother’s sacrifice for their sibling, Igor and his aunt were never on good terms. We are not sure why. However, whatever the problem was between them, it got resolved. She accepted her nephew into her household.
He had been living in the streets for 13 years prior to this. At the age of 20, he decided that he did not want to be homeless anymore. It took a lot of courage on his part to leave everything behind. Both parents were dead. His brother was shot by the police in a robbery attempt. The only family he had known since he was seven was the other teens and children in the streets. He was loved by them too. However, Igor knew that this adopted street family was volatile. It did not have the foundation for something more concrete and lasting. He wanted something better and durable for his life. He yearned for peace and fulfillment. He knew that it required sacrifice and determination. He was willing to make the former but it was hard to be determined and persevere to reach his goal on his own and alone in this world. It was at this time when God brought us together.

Igor took the initiative. He approached us first. He asked how many languages we spoke and expressed an interested in languages. This was really just his attempt to connect with us. We naturally grabbed this opening and offered to teach him English; something he accepted enthusiastically. We started meeting with him regularly for English lessons. We took him to a public library which was ironically situated in the square where they slept. However, he would have never entered this place on his own. It was such an irony. He was so close to place filled with all kinds of information and knowledge that he was interested in knowing and yet his low self-esteem was the only obstacle that prevented him from entering its doors. Even with us, he was just comfortable sitting outside on the benches of the library to learn basic English conversations.

Our lessons usually ended with long conversations about life in general. Needless to say, our friendship got stronger as Igor found the courage to confide in us. Igor even commented once that he never had friends who were like parents to him. This was three years ago. Here we are today, sitting with this young man who had been to the Juvenile detention at least ten times since he was eight relating the story about the Good Samaritan. A few years ago, he would have been talking about drugs and crime and today he is interested in sharing about God. He has been going to church twice a week and is actively involved in the youth program. His greatest struggle has been finding a job. He hasn’t held a steady job since he left the streets. All the jobs available want someone with experience. Igor has only dealt with crime most of his life. Money was never an issue for him when he lived in the streets. Nowadays, he can barely pay the bus fare to visit us. However, he wanted to see us. It has been months since we last spoke. Recently, he started a woodworking course. He received some financial aid from a church to pay for his bus fare to and fro from this course. He managed to save some of this money and use it to visit us. It was important for him to be with us now. It was important for us to listen to what he has to say even though I knew the story by heart.

Finally he got to the moment when the Good Samaritan appeared in the story. Igor went on to explain that Samaritans were considered outcasts and yet it did not hinder this particular one from helping a man who despised him. He concluded that God uses people whom we least expect. Then he said that we were the good Samaritans in his life. He never expected people like us to appear in his life and God used us to bring him hope and peace in a moment when he thought that he was just abandoned for dead. This was the insight that Igor wanted to bring to this story. He continued to say that the other teens and children did not see what God was doing through us. He doesn’t know why he felt something different and decided to take the step to approach us. He hopes that one day his adopted street family will see what he saw in us.

Mary and I responded with silence. I was humbled by what he said and at the same time, I was a little embarrassed and ashamed of myself. My mind was obsessed with our knowledge of the biblical stories and I almost missed a wonderful gift this young man was giving me. He thought that it was important was us to know that he understood our presence in his life. He was giving us a Christmas present. Igor reiterated that one day God will reward us for the time and energy we put into our relationship with him. Mary said that waiting wasn’t necessary, we have already received it. She is right. Igor is our reward. We don’t need anything else. He is our eternal Christmas gift from God.

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Eternal Moments : The Christmas Season

I have been quiet since Thanksgiving. My thoughts have been on Christmas. For a while there, it appeared to be too early to talk about Christmas. I know that as an Anglican clergy that the season of Advent precedes Christmas. However, everywhere around us, there are lights and decorations. The music everywhere sings of the joys of the season. It is impossible to pretend that Christmas is not here yet. Personally, I don’t want to wait. I love Christmas. It’s the most wonderful…..no, I won’t succumb to that. However, it doesn’t change the fact that it is indeed an amazing time of the year. People are thinking about others for a change. They are shopping for others. They even consider giving gifts to people that they don’t normally think about. Perhaps they are influenced by sentimentalism and commercialization. Nevertheless, there is something that occurs deep within the souls of the people which inspires charitable attitudes. People tend to be more generous. Money doesn’t seem to be a concern. People are giving money to our children and teens in the streets. They, on other hand, are more reflective. This year, in particular, they seem to be open with us about their sentiments about Christmas. One even suggested that we do secret Santa with them. It is not going to happen because it would take planning and organization. These two things are not in the general vocabulary of our children and teens. However, the invitation itself is special. They want us to be part of their Christmas celebration. Every year, for a short period, we are given an opportunity to stop and reflect on something wonderful that happened to humanity. It disrupts our hustle and bustle of daily strife and makes us reflect. Some, perhaps, only reflect for a very brief moment. Others take a step closer to discover the Truth presented to us in the Person of Jesus. This is the best we can do really. Each season, we take a step closer in understanding the mystery of the God who became Man.

The first Christmas disrupted our cycle of life, work and death. Eternity entered into the conversation of life. The peaceful night of the shepherds were disturbed by an angelic choir pronouncing a new beginning. Noble wisemen were forced to go into places reserved for lowly servants and bow their knees on the soiled floor of a stable. The peaceful daily routine of life was disrupted because the Eternal One came into our reality. Interestingly, none of the first celebrants of Christmas questioned the inappropriateness of the birthplace. They were not scandalized that the Hope of the world could not even afford a nice room. The first Christmas was an invitation to reflect beyond the limitation of our reality. All the material wealth of this world failed to give the King of Kings a decent room. It failed to honor the One who deserves the utmost. However, this did not stop the Eternal One from transforming this humble abode into a glorious temple of hope.Today we complain about commercialization and trivialization of Christmas. We forget that all this cannot destroy its meaning. We don’t give the season its worth. It is our Eternal King that makes this time special. He presents Himself in the most unlikely places. The joy of Christmas is not a mere celebration of an event that took place in Bethlehem but, as the beautiful hymn* proclaims, it is an event that continuously occurs in those who would listen to the gentle beckoning of this humble child. Christ enters into our humble reality.

“How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.”

Jesus came into this world to call us to stop and turn our eyes to Him. He brings a new dimension into our souls. He presents the Eternity to our limited world of time and space. It changes everything. It gives us hope to overcome the pain and suffering that our reality brings upon us. It reminds us that there is more to life than just what is presented here. It may sound like a “pie in the sky” theology. Well, it sounds like it because it is exactly this that is being presented in the coming of the King. He brought an eternal pie but it is not in the sky. It is here and now in the person of Jesus. He came to dwell among us and He is still present among us. It is easy to forget this Truth. We spend most of our time thinking about Jesus and sometimes defending doctrines about Him. However, Christmas makes us go beyond the “about Him”. It challenges us to meet Him who is eternally present in our time and space. We are taken away from our busy schedules and transported to a moment where all time-tables and datelines become irrelevant. We reminded that there is an eternal reality. This is the universal appeal of the season. God introduces His reality into this temporal world through Jesus. We don’t make Christmas special. Therefore, nothing we can do can jeopardize and banalize it. It belongs to God. It is His gift to us. However, those who are too busy might just miss it. Sometimes the most unlikely people might appreciate it.

Just like the first Christmas, we cannot choose the place and time where the Eternal One presents Himself to us. We go to the streets everyday trying to discern His presence. Some days are easier than others. Our minds are not always aware of His presence. It is easy for us to be distracted. Some days, when we least expect it, the Eternal One appears to us in the most unlikely places. It is moments like these that give a glimpse of what the first Christmas was like. God came into our reality in an unexpected way. He came and opened our eyes to see the joy of living and filled our hearts with peace that the world cannot comprehend. These moments are a glimpse of the eternal reality that dwells among us. We hope in the coming days to share some brief encounters with the Eternal One with you in our posts. Perhaps in some small way, we can contribute to your reflection on this special time of the year.

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A Culture of Life

Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas,[a] and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’-Luke 19:11-14

“For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”-Luke 19:26

It seems like the wrong person is always getting elected. This is often coupled with the fact that he or she always belongs to the party that we oppose vehemently.

With every new president, some things get better and others worse. It doesn’t matter who they are or their party affiliation. It is a cycle of life just like everything in nature. It goes on independently of the presidents and the politicians. We spend our time investing our passions and energy on something that just happens naturally. Jesus definitely did not participate in it. When he was asked about his political affiliation, Jesus simply responded, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jewish authorities: but now is my kingdom not from hence (John 18:36).”

Each election cycle tends to bring out the worst in people and we have to ask ourselves this important question; what is our role as Christians in all of this? It is understandable that those who do not subscribe to the Christian faith put their faith and hope in this political reality. They believe that this material kingdom is the be-all and end-all. They judge it as the foundation and basis for all endeavors and even perhaps their access to God or some sort of spirituality; not unlike those who attempted to construct the Tower of Babel. As Christians, we know the end of this story: utter chaos. We should also be wary of any talk about utopia or greatness or unity. All these illusionary goals can indeed become dangerous idols. Without God, none of this is possible. However, having said this, God does not need our manipulation to achieve them in this world. Historically, political entities that have attempted to establish utopian-like existence have resulted in many disastrous things. When we unite people without true love and God’s grace, we need a common enemy or a scapegoat to hate. Hatred for a common enemy becomes the basis for unity or utopian societies. This is not just an opinion; there has been extensive study on this done by a renown sociologist and philosopher, Rene Girard, in his major work, The Scapegoat. Nothing good comes out of this. If we want peace and greatness, then politics is definitely not the way to achieve this, especially the kind of politics presented by this world through its deceiving media. As Christians, we should ask ourselves; why do we insist on constructing the Tower of Babel when the inevitable result is chaos? Perhaps, we should focus on something more concrete as Christians. There is more to life than politics. The people in the text above asked Jesus a political question and Jesus responded with a parable. It wasn’t the answer that they were expecting.

We also have lived through a tumultuous political period in the Brazil in the past few months. A couple of months ago, sirens and helicopters were constantly heard from our apartment because of riots and protest. These were daily occurrences. However, everyday whenever we went to the streets, it was business as usual for thousands of people. The political climate did not change the basic reality of the everyday people. Eventually the protests died down and everyone realized that politics was just getting in the way of everyday life. I would say that this is not true politics. It is the media trying to stir up dissent and strife while pretending to be purveyors of the truth. What they say has very little to do with everyday life. When the people asked Jesus about the coming of Kingdom of God, they wanted to hear media politics. Jesus gave them an answer, showing them something completely different. He revealed how to be really political in the Kingdom of God.

I would recommend reading this parable in its entirety.

It was strange that Jesus would use a ruthless nobleman as the protagonist. In other places, Jesus said that the Kingdom of God was not like the kingdom of this world and yet the nobleman in this parable was very much like the princes of this world. Therefore, we can take it to understand that the nobleman is not a definitive depiction of God. I believe that his role is used to emphasize the chasm between those who are in the “know” and those are not in this political system. This system operates on violence and dominance and Jesus presented it as such. It does not mean that he condones it. Whatever the noble does is beyond the control of the servants but they are not helpless spectators. The interactions between the noble and his subjects are nothing out of the ordinary in this parable. He behaves exactly the same way as any king of his time. It wasn’t a democracy: it was a tyranny. Even in such hostile conditions, we, as servants of God, are not helpless. We can still be real participants in the political life of the God’s kingdom. It has everything to do with using our gifts that God has given to us.

I have to confess that I find it tedious when people say that they feel blessed to born in such and such place whenever they hear the plight of the poor in other countries. Their criteria for being blessed is material wealth. This is fine for someone who is not a Christian or rather, for those who are not interested in being a citizen in God’s kingdom. However, true blessing is gauged by our application of the gifts that God has given us to do something productive for the Kingdom of God. Saying that we are blessed and doing absolutely nothing is very much like being the the servant who said, “Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.”(Luke 19:20). God does not need to be reminded that He has given us something we can share. He wants to know how we use what we are given for the greater good.

We have heard countless of times that the world is promoting a culture of death. It has said been so many times that it has become a cliche. Electing politicians into office is not the way to avoid suicidal traits in society. If anything, it would be the weakest way to counteract against the tragic trajectory of the world. Policies are not going to bring the hope of life into the hearts of people. Material wealth does not going to bring joy: if so, suicide rates would be the lowest in wealthiest countries, but the opposite is true. Only the gospel can bring hope and joy. God has given us the gifts that we can use within our capacity to promote the culture of life that the gospel proclaims. It is not just voting pro-life which may be just a tactic of media politics. The Kingdom of God demands that our lives promote the joy of life in others through loving them. Loving others is not pointing out the mistakes in others but living our lives in a way that would make our neighbors desire to know the life and person of Jesus who is the foundation of our hope and joy.

This week, Ruan surprised us. He invited us to go to his house with him. It was the first time in three years that we got such an invitation. He informed us that he told his family about it and they were open to the idea. We have known Ruan for a while now and he hardly mentions anything of his family. Suddenly a letter from a church member in Florida is opening all kinds of doors. He wanted to send a picture of his family to this person and this was the main reason for our invitation. We met his mother and sisters. We did not know that Ruan had a new step-father whom he mentioned minutes before we got to his house. He was also very excited to introduce us to his grandfather who is just a few years older than us. It seems like he is the most consistent male presence in his life. The house was small but it was cramped with things. It contained most of the modern conveniences including a large TV. Ruan’s mother was mad that he preferred to sleep in the streets than at home. She believes that she provides everything to entice him to stay at home but he just refuses. He did not say much but he wanted to tell his mother about us and that he was learning to read and write. Unfortunately his mother was too busy being mad at him to listen to him. It was a little tense and we decided to ease the tension by taking pictures and explaining why he wanted to take them. It was our first visit and I don’t foresee any future visits unless Ruan initiates it. This first visit was important for him. He wanted us to meet his family and we are glad that we did.

We don’t know why Ruan is in the streets. Besides having all the material conveniences, his house was tiny and they had more than five people in a space of a small living room. However, it wasn’t the lack of space that brought him to the streets. One thing we know for certain that no child in his or her right mind would want to be far away from her/his mother and sleep in the filthy streets. Ruan prefers the streets more than his home. Something happened to cause this. We cannot change this something. It is beyond our capacity. We cannot change his family dynamics. It is the way that they have learned to function in this life. They don’t see anything wrong and we have no right to tell them otherwise. However, there is something that we can do. We can show Ruan that he is indeed a valuable person to us. We have the capacity to care and love him within our limitations. To do this, we don’t need the approval of the government; we don’t need a proper social and political climate or the ideal family situation. All we need is to recognize God’s presence in our lives and in the lives of others. However, we cannot do this work alone. We need the participation of others who are interested in Kingdom politics and not media-frenzy spectator politics. Real godly politics is where people reach and touch the hearts of their neighbors and help them see Life. From what I have been seeing, partisan politics regardless of which side we choose, promotes death; death of relationship, death of love and death of intelligence.

I am not saying all political systems are the same. Some systems appear to build good towers of Babel, but they can never be the Kingdom of God. This is a Kingdom of Grace and Love. It is not brought about by our workings. It is given to us through the person of Jesus. We did not vote Him into office but He chose us. He has given us the power to be His instruments of Life in this world. One day, He is going to ask each one of us what we have done with our gifts. We hope that on this faithful day, we can bring Ruan forward and say, “Our gifts have taught us to see the beauty of Life in this little child.”

This, my faithful Christians, is the culture of the Kingdom of God.

 

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Letters, Literacy and Related Events

“Do you know what I want for Christmas?” Ruan asked Mary. She was a little hesitant. On one occasion, Ruan asked for a cell phone for his birthday present. The other children just laughed when they heard this. They reminded him that presents are not something we demand from others. Now, he was talking about Christmas gifts. She thought that it was going to be another absurd request. He did not wait for her response. He just came out with it and said, “I want to learn how to read and write before Christmas.” It was definitely unexpected.

About a year ago, Ruan came up to us and told us that he wanted to learn how to read and write. He is thirteen years old and completely illiterate. He has been to the public school but never learned the basics. He is not the only one. In fact, most of our children and teens are illiterate. Only a handful of them are able to write their own names. However, none of them ever displayed any interest in learning or education in general. All of them have had negative experiences in the school system. After hearing stories about the precarious schools in the poor neighborhoods, we can understand their aversion. Recently we have noticed a change in their attitude towards learning. They are asking us to do more educational activities with them. The amazing thing is that the initiative comes from them and not us. We can’t really pinpoint one single incident that awakened this growing intellectual curiosity. I believe there are a series of events which contributed to this and they share one common denominator, which is relationship. The children have discovered the value of education within the context of human relationship. Prior to this, they have associated school and learning as something institutional and distant. They did not see the relevance of their knowledge in real life. Now, they want to learn because it makes sense to them within the context of a friendship.

I believe Bruno has a major part to play in this but his participation is unintentional. He loves to learn English and is self-motivated learner. Everyday he waits for us with a list of words that he wants us to translate into English. He is always coming up with new phrases and he wants to know the meaning of certain words and how to use them. The children noticed that Bruno has always tons of things to talk about with us. They wanted to be part of this but they did not know how. Some would sit next to us and just listen quietly. They noticed that the subject was about a movie or a book and it always connected to something educational. Ruan was the first one to ask our help. He wanted to read the books like Bruno and have access to the things that we talked about. Then Felipe started asking questions about the English language. Alex approached us and wanted to know if we have books about animals. One by one they begin to open up to us about their specific interest. They saw that their interest could be a means of building a stronger relationship with us. In a way, they are right. Their interests give a glimpse of the things that they like and care about. When they share it with us, they are giving an access into their souls.

Then the letters started coming. Ruan was the first one to receive one. It was from a church member in Florida. When I read the letter to him for the first time, he hardly said anything. He was impressed that someone would take the time to write to him. Then a few months later, we received some more letters for the other children and teens. The reaction was always the same. They listened quietly and all of them smiled when I told them that they were written by people from a far away land. After a while, nothing was ever said of these letters in our presence. However, unbeknownst to us, these letters were topic of conversations in the evenings when the children and teens were by themselves. The letters have created such an impact that some of the children began ask us why they did not receive any letters. They want to correspond with someone in the churches in Florida. I told them that letters are like a conversation. We don’t have to wait for someone else to initiate the conversation. They can do it as well.

In the past month, Ruan has been practicing writing with Mary. He even decided to forego a trip to the beach with the rest of the children because he did not want to miss his lessons with Mary. A couple of days ago, he asked if we would help him write the letter. Mary wrote down what he dictated;

“Dear…I really liked the letter you sent me and especially the Christmas card from last year. I thank you for praying for me. I want to tell you about my family…..I, Ruan, have three sisters but my favorite sister is four months old.….I want to make a Christmas card for you and hopefully I can send it to you with this letter….By the way, have you ever seen a alligator, if you can, please send me a picture of one…Please continue to pray for me and my family. By the way, my mother’s name is Andrea…”

Every single word written here flowed out of his heart without any guidance from us. This is the first letter Ruan has ever dictated in his life. I am sure that it won’t be the last. Maybe he might attempt to write the next one by himself.

“What do you do in your free time?”

The children have been become increasingly curious about our lives. They want to know what we do when we are not with them. We told them that we don’t have a TV at home. They were shocked. It is something unimaginable for them. We told them that we like to read and having a TV takes our away time away from books. Bruno, trying to find something common with us, started talking about books that he wanted to read. He threw out names of some classical literature. The others got a little jealous because they did not know names of any books. Some of them have never had any access to books in their lives. To rectify this, I decided to take a Roald Dahl book to the streets recently. He was one of my favorite authors when I was a young boy. I have acquired several of his books in Portuguese with the hope that some day I can give it to our children to read. For now, I just wanted to share some of my favorite books with them. I showed the book to Ruan and told him that if he learns how to read well I will give him a book like this one. His face lit up. He immediately grabbed the book out of my hand and showed it to the other children and said, “Look what Uncle Stephen bought for me to read one day.” The others looked on and I could see that they were a little envious. I did not say anything. Hopefully their jealousy will give them the desire to read as well. Bruno asked about the author. I told him that he was the one who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This led into a long conversation about other books of this author that were made into movies. The children were familiar with the movies but they never knew that they were based on a book.

My most memorable time in school was when we had lessons with our favorite teacher. It did not matter what the lesson was. It was almost irrelevant. If the teacher was a loving person who truly cared about us, whatever subject he or she taught was interesting. Education is fun and exciting when it helps to bring us closer to one we love. I had forgotten about this essential and crucial aspect of education. Education on its own is dull and uninteresting. However, if it opens the door to wonderful world of warm human relationship, then it becomes marvelous and exciting.

Ruan is progressing gradually everyday. He recognizes new words every day. He likes to sit next to Mary and listen intently to her instructions. He has developed a ritual. He practices writing or reading first and then he wants to play checkers with me. He has been faithful in his lessons everyday. I think that this Christmas he is going to get his wish.

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Limited Space

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” -Luke 19:1-5

The children like this story. It is a story to which they can easily relate. They identify themselves with Zacchaeus. At first glance, it is hard to see the connection. The man in the story was wealthy and corrupt. He did not lack anything materially. Our children are homeless. They sleep under a bridge. They don’t have any possessions. Besides all these differences, they see something in Zacchaeus reminds them of themselves. Many of us may not want to identify ourselves with him. We prefer to think that we are better than him. For most of us, this story is an example of the power of God’s grace. We liken the person of Zacchaeus to that of a drug dealer, or a politician standing for Presidential election or someone we would like to easily allocate into the cesspool of objectionable personality. However, our children see a complex human being in Zacchaeus not unlike themselves.

We know how this story ends, even our children are very familiar with it. We tend to focus on the ending and ignore some interesting details in the story. The author of the gospel saw that it was important that we knew about Zacchaeus’ physical stature. His small stature wasn’t a physical ailment or some other impairment that warrants special attention. It was just something that helps to give an insight into Zacchaeus’ personality. The gospel wants us to go beyond the superficial assessment of a person in society. It requires to question why a person is the way he or she is. The story tells that, because of his height, Zacchaeus could not participate in the event of the day; the arrival of Jesus in Jericho. Even though he possessed wealth and power as a tax collector, it did not give him privy to the one of the most important events of the city. He was an outsider and most likely had always been an outsider. No one cared that Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus. In fact, no one cared if he existed or not. This must have been the story of his life. He was alone and had to make his way in this world. He chose the wrong way to do it. He was ruthless and unkind. He stole from people and the flaunted his wealth. People began to notice him. They despised him but he apparently did not mind this as long as they were forced to acknowledge his existence.

The more we get to know our children the easier it becomes for us to see the connection between Zacchaeus and them. The thing that brings them to the streets is not poverty; it does have a small contributing role but it is not the major reason. Our children don’t mind being poor. They can adapt to it. However, they do mind being neglected and ignored. They don’t demand too much attention but they want to know that their existence is important to someone. Most of them have suffered a trauma which caused them to flee to the streets. It is not even the tragic circumstance itself that brought to the streets. It is the unfortunate fact that no one cared enough to notice or help them through their traumatic experience. They take refuge in the streets hoping that someone will notice them. Those who engage in criminal activities don’t do so because of survival. They can have food and clothing without stealing. They can even buy drugs with the money they get from begging. However, people only notice their existence when they steal. People only think of the homeless children when they do something negative. Most of the time, they are invisible because they occupy such a small space in their lives or society just the like the man of small stature in the story from the gospel.

Zacchaeus was hidden from the crowd but Jesus noticed him anyway. This was a dream come true for him. He did not need to do anything to be acknowledged. Jesus knew him by name and broke bread in his household. The people despised the fact that Jesus wasted his time and energy on this person. People liked to crowd around the person of Jesus. They often spoke of Him. Unfortunately most of them hardly understood what He came to do. He came to look for those whom we want to forget in society. In this story, it was a wealthy man; in others, this person was a forgotten widow or a homeless beggar. They come from different social backgrounds but they share a common trait. All of them occupy a small place in the hearts and minds of people, so small that it is easy to forget that they exist. Most of the time, people don’t even think that they deserve God’s grace. Strangely, God chooses these people to help understand the meaning and immensity of His grace. However, if we choose to remain in our hatred and apathy, then we won’t be able to see or appreciate it.

Zacchaeus had been taking from people all his life. He found his identity in possessing things aggressively. However, now he discovered that this was unnecessary. He changed. He became a giver.

One remarkable change in our relationship with the children over the past few months is the fact that they are beginning to offer things to us. Usually it is some simple snacks. They have done this before as a courteous gesture but now there is a subtle difference. They offer us things that they buy with their own money. They even insist that we take it when we politely refuse. They want us to have something of theirs. They don’t want our relationship to be one-sided. They want it to become a mutual relationship. They want to be generous with us. This is a sign of genuine spiritual transformation; generosity always begets generosity.

Zacchaeus experienced God’s generosity and he could not help but become generous himself. However, he did not try to give to Jesus anything. There was nothing he could offer Him that would measure up to what he had received. Jesus had given Zacchaeus his existence. He realized that even though the world around him had ignored him all his life, Jesus knew him by name. No amount of money or power could compensate for this gift he had just received. The only thing he could do was to follow the example of Jesus. He gave to those who couldn’t reciprocate and he also undid the wrong he had done in his life. He had spent his life taking and now it was time to give.

There are Zacchaeus all around us. Some are rich and powerful and some are poor and isolated. They are people whom we like to forget. However, they are not different from us. They are just like us trying to find a place in this world. They are just like us trying to find a reason to justify our existence. The only difference perhaps is that they are more aware of their anonymity in this world then the rest of us. God chose Zacchaeus to show that even though you are despised and hated by the world, this does not disqualify one from God’s grace. The children understand this valuable lesson. They are glad that Jesus chose to dine at Zacchaeus’ home. It gives them hope. It gives us hope as well.

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The Weak and the Strong

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”-Luke 18:11-14

A fight had broken out. We were in the middle of it literally. Ruan and Alex were fighting where we were sitting. We were unintentionally the cause of the fight. Alex was being difficult and he used some foul language. Ruan confronted him. He thought that it was inappropriate to use that kind of language in our presence. The next thing we knew they were throwing punches at each other. Ruan is only 14 but he is almost twice Alex’s size who is two years older. Things went from bad to worse. Alex emotionally disintegrated right before our very eyes. His face turned red and tears flowed profusely. We pleaded with them to stop but their passions had taken control of them completely. Before anything could be done, a punch landed on Alex’s face and he lost his balance. His head hit the steps. Blood started to ooze out a gash just above his right eye. Alex became hysterical at this point. He was screaming away at Ruan and was wailing like a two year old. Ruan just sat down in silence.

Alex went to the side of the cathedral and sat there alone. He couldn’t stop crying and he then laid down on his side. To make matters worse, he started to hyperventilate. He looked like he was going into shock. We tried to calm him but he was inconsolable. Ruan became remorseful for his actions and came over to apologize. However, Alex was not in the right frame of mind to accept anything from anyone. We began to get worried. It seems like he needed medical attention, and then he slowly started to breathe normally. Throughout this time, Ruan sat behind him and said that he was sorry. Alex continued to bleed from his wound but he refused any first aid from us. He stood up and walked away in a daze. We remained at the steps. Our minds were reeling from the whole incident. We have never seen any of our children or teens break down in this manner before. We have never seen them in such a vulnerable and fragile state.

All it took was a simple altercation. It is something that happens on a daily basis in the streets. Everyday we walk by people fighting over the silliest things. Maybe it sounds strange to some readers but it is the reality in the streets here. Alex navigates in this world daily. He always appeared to be comfortable in this environment. Maybe he believed that he was immune to the violence until a punch landed on his face. The aggression revealed to him that he was just as fragile as anyone. Perhaps it was too much for him and he couldn’t handle it. For us, it was heart breaking scene. We saw a teenager revert to the young lonely child. We had a glimpse of the hidden frighten child in the teenage body of Alex. There was nothing we could do or say that would help Alex.

There is something in us that wants to show the world that we are strong and better than others. This was the basis for the fight between the boys. In the end, the only thing that was obvious was how weak we are as human beings. We stood and watched Alex in tears and broken emotionally. There was hardly anything we could do to make it better. Ruan has physical strength and sometimes he does things to appear like a bully. In reality, he has a tender heart. He wants to be a good person but ends up doing things that hurt others like Alex. He is unable to do the good he so desperately wants to do. Alex wanted to show everyone that no one can push him around. The only thing he managed to reveal to the world was how fragile he really is.

The Pharisee in the above parable wanted to believe that he was better than the tax collector. He thought that he was stronger than the tax collector who has succumbed to the temptations of life. Unfortunately, in his attempt to show off his strengths, he ended up revealing that he was much worse. The tax collector showed the better way. He acknowledged his utter weakness. Maybe because he did not have much of a choice. Society had already condemned him for being a traitor. His weakness and vulnerabilities were open for everyone to see and judge. In a strange way, this involuntary exposure of his personal and moral frailties made him open to receive something better and greater. It has given him the wisdom to discover a different and a more lasting and powerful source of strength.

We saw Alex and Ruan a few days later. They were talking and joking around together. Ruan came up to us and said that we were late. We were not. We arrived at our usual time. Ruan and Alex were early. They usually show up later in the day. There was something different about them. Ruan was more affectionate. Alex approached Mary and started telling her about things that happened to him over the weekend. There was a tenderness in the way they interacted with us. I think it has something to do with being vulnerable. The fight was a simple altercation in the eyes of many. However, the Holy Spirit transformed it into an encounter where all our frailties were revealed. It has given us the courage to admit that we are weak and now we are ready to discover our true strength in the redeeming power of God’s love. Perhaps this is why the boys were not afraid to share their love and affection with us. They no longer needed to pretend to be tough. They just needed to be themselves. The strength will come from the One who is truly strong.

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Eternal Answers

And Jesus said, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”- Luke 18:7-8

I want to start with Boethius. No, it’s not a name of a teenager in the streets. He was a philosopher from the sixth century. I always begin my reflection with an encounter in the streets. Today, I want to take a step back. I am going to someone furthest away from our reality. Boethius is from a time and culture completely different from our reality. Yet, I believe that he has something relevant to say to us and even our children living in the streets.

I encountered Boethius for first time in his book, the Consolation of Philosophy. It was an involuntary introduction. It was required reading for Medieval Philosophy. Recently, I had a reunion with him. I purchased his book again. It wasn’t for any particular reason except for the fact that it was on sale. Capitalism helped me revisit Boethius and I am glad for it.

The book is not an academic treatise on philosophy. It is a reflection of a man who was faced with an uncertain future. It was a question of life and death. He was imprisoned unjustly and his fate depended on the whims of an unreliable and corrupt king. His life until this point had been quite stable and prosperous and now everything dissipated with the looming possibility of a painful and humiliating death. Boethius needed to find solace in this chaos. This book is the result. Strangely, as I was reading the parable of the unjust judge quoted above, this book came to my mind. Jesus said that God answered prayers swiftly. God answered Boethius’ prayer for justice swiftly but in the way many would not have hoped.

Boethius was trying to understand the question of evil and good, God’s timing and his timing, fate and destiny, and why bad things happen to good people. Questions that drown our hearts and minds when we are faced with an existential crisis. He did not resort to simple religious formulas. He faced difficult issues boldly. He was persistent to discover the Truth or God’s justice in this case, just like the old woman in the parable when she confronted the unjust judge. Perhaps, the major difference was that Boethius did not believe that he had to keeping insisting on an answer. He wasn’t questioning a corrupt judge. He was having a dialogue with Lady Wisdom. He was confident that he would receive the answers at the right time. He did and perhaps they helped to face his imminent death with tranquility.

Boethius was executed immediately after the completion of this work. His death was slow and painful. Many would say that he never received the swift justice that Jesus promised in the quote above. However, we need faith to understand God’s justice. For many in the world, God was silent in Boethius’ case. It is because they have a concept of justice which is superficial and worldly. Boethius has been gone for more than thousand years and yet he is remembered. His greatest work was the one he produced in the last moments of his life. The people who played a role in this unjust trial are nothing but names today. No one remembers them. Their lives have no influence today. Boethius, on the other, still speaks to us today. A boy in the streets once asked us about life and death and suffering. I remember talking about Boethius and his concept of eternity. What he had to say about the subject were simple but it’s profundity is still discussed today. The young man I spoke to was able to grasp what I shared about eternity. It brought it some comfort to his soul. He had just a lost a dear friend when he asked this question.

The most powerful words of the parable from Luke are the final ones. Jesus ended the parable with a question; will the Son of Man find faith in this world when He returns? I have heard and read this parable since I was a young lad. I had always focused on the judge. I missed the point. I confused God with the judge. I thought that it was necessary to keep insisting with God until He gave in and answered my prayers. I am not alone in this. There are churches that have built their theology of prayer based on this. We treat God as if he is an unreasonable bureaucrat who will only answer our request when we dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Jesus was representing a different picture. He was teaching via negativa. God is nothing like the judge or us for that matter.

This is more consistent with the other teachings on prayers;

“..your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”-Matthew 6:8

On one occasion, Jesus taught;

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”- Luke 11:11-16

If anything, Jesus reveals to us that we do not need to twist God’s arm to attend to our prayers. He is always willing and swift to answer our prayers. The problem lies not in God but whether we are able to discern God’s response. Sometimes we ask the wrong things from God and we don’t get the answer we want. Job wanted God to give him a satisfactory answer to the perennial question,“why do bad things happen to good people?” The story ends with a different answer, one more pertinent to the nature of God. We often ask God for something contrary to His nature and we don’t get an answer.

Our children in the streets beg all the time. In theory, they beg because they need money for food but in reality, they want to buy drugs. They can get food for free whereas drugs cost money. They never beg from us. Even if they do, it is usually done in jest. They know our answer. They know that we know how they use their money. Most importantly, they know that we have a different kind of relationship. Occasionally, a new arrival to the streets will ask us for some spare change. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that they will receive nothing from us in terms of money. Some will close themselves to us and our relationship will end there and then. There are others that will figure out that our refusal to succumb to their pecuniary demands is due to the fact that we are willing to offer something more valuable and enduring. If they are willing to wait around and get to know us, they will discover what we want to give to them.

Boethius wrote the Consolation of Philosophy when he knew that he could be facing a slow torturous death. I am sure that he prayed for justice. God answered his prayer. He did not allow Boethius’ enemies get what they wanted. They wanted the memory of his life to be completely erased. Instead, his imprisonment contributed to his name being remembered till today. Our fears are mostly based on being forgotten. The greatest injustice is being treated as if one does not exist. We don’t want to be forgotten and considered irrelevant. Sickness and death are the inevitable things in life that threaten our very existence. Most of our desperate prayers stem out of these situations. The widow in the parable refused to be forgotten and the corrupt judge conceded to her pleas. God is nothing like the unjust judge. He does not forget us. The problem is whether we trust Him enough to know that He will remember us.

The parable tells us that the woman got what she wanted because she was willing to wait. In our relationship with God, we don’t have to convince God to do what is just. We just have to wait. Waiting is trusting. We don’t wait for justice because of the eloquence of our prayers. We wait for justice because our God is a good God. However, God’s justice is not to be confused with giving us what we want. His justice is giving what is really and truly important to us.

Justice was given to Boethius even though he died. The world would say that he had based on his life on a false hope. They have eyes but they do not see and ears but they do not hear. They think of justice purely on materialistic principles. Our faith should help us to understand reality in terms of eternity. It is something that only could be understood by faith. It is no wonder that the major truss of the Consolation of Philosophy is on the concept of eternity. God answers our prayers swiftly. The response is understood in terms of eternity. We need faith to see this. This why Jesus asked the question, will He find faith on earth when He returns?

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The Joy of Being An Unworthy Servant

“Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”- Luke 17:7-10

These are tough words for a modern world.

Just listening to the words, “unworthy servant” and “duty” sounds oppressive and manipulative. It sounds like a recipe for disaster. It is enough to send anyone running away from Jesus and Christianity. Once again, the gospel proves itself that it is serious about the Truth. If it wasn’t, these verses wouldn’t be it. There is nothing apparently positive and joyous to say about these verses. However, it is still the gospel. The good news still embedded in these tough words. We cannot just ignore and discard them. They have something powerful to say to us. Perhaps even more so in this modern culture in which we find ourselves.

We live in a world that is starving for compliments. They represent recognition and honor to us. However, we don’t like it when others receive them instead of us. It seems to provoke feelings of jealousy in most of us. I remember song in the eighties by a British musician, Morrissey, called, “We hate it when our friends become successful.” It might as well be the secret anthem of many people like myself in our private thoughts. I am not sure if compliments and recognition create unity but I am sure that they generate a spirit of competition within us. Maybe this is their purpose in this world. They exploit the weaknesses of people and make them work harder against each other.

The words of Jesus are meant to liberate us from the world of competitiveness where we must try to prove ourselves better than others. They help us to see the Truth about ourselves. We are “unworthy servants”. It sounds harsh but the Truth is grounded in Love and meant to liberate us from lies. It is a lie that we can prove our worth because we are unworthy. However, this doesn’t hinder God from choosing us to be His servants.

Every Thursday, there is a kind and devout man who goes to the cathedral for the afternoon mass. He comes up to us without fail and shakes our hands and tells us what a wonderful work we are doing in the streets. Most of the time, he does this in the presence of our children. We usually feel a little awkward and embarrassed mainly because we know in our hearts that we don’t deserve his compliments. There is something wonderful happening in our midst. However, there is nothing that we can honestly take credit for. It was God who made this into a reality for us. This is God’s project that He has allowed us to participate in. We could not have even said, “Yes” to God if it wasn’t for His grace. We are here because of His grace. The so-called success of our time in the street does not depend on us alone. It also depends on the children and teens. They make the choice to spend time with us. We cannot be there doing anything worthwhile if there is no one to participate in our activities. The children and teens are just as gracious and generous with their time as we are. One can argue that we chose to be there instead of being elsewhere. The children chose to be there with us too. They could be doing other things with other people. Instead they chose to be with us. Behind all our choices is our Heavenly Father who bestows upon us all good things. Therefore, none of us deserve any compliment for doing something that is beyond our control.

At this point, I would like to do something that I don’t usually do. I am going to tell how not to read this post. Please don’t confuse it as a thinly disguised testament of humility. It is anything but this. It is a reflection on the text above. I found much joy and peace in knowing that we are just unworthy servants doing something which is beyond our capacity and yet, we are given the privilege to be part of this. It is this joy that I would like to share. Actually, it is not just for us but everyone who wants to live their lives as a testimony to the gospel. It is a joy to know that we are all unworthy of serving God and yet God still include us in His ultimate project in this world.

One of the joyous things of knowing that we are unworthy servants is that the burden of success or failure is not dependent on us. First of all, there is nothing to gauge success in this world. Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, there is nothing in this world that can be remotely compared to His standards. Our present ideas of success are based on principles of the reality. There are no possible graphs and charts that we can conjure up to determine what the Holy Spirit considers as success. The change and modification in our personal attitudes towards our neighbors is the essence of the fruits of the Spirit. Those who try measure the performance of their ministry through the means of this world have failed in the Kingdom of God. Even though they might prove themselves to be successful in the world, they have allowed worldly standards to contaminate their calling. All because they think in their hearts that it is necessary to show that they are worthy servants of God. In reality, no one is worthy and this is why we are in constant need of His grace. There is freedom that comes with this awareness. We are liberated to serve willingly and joyfully even when nothing apparently happens because our self-worth is not based on results. It is based on the privilege of being part of God’s actions in this world.

In this world, everything is geared towards reward. According to Jesus, there is no reward for the unworthy servant. The servant shouldn’t expect one. No rewards means no competitive spirit. This does not mean that there is not a goal. To the contrary, the goal is quite perfectly clear; it is to be a faithful servant. When we do this, we will discover that no reward is necessary. Service in itself is sufficient. I know a friend who has been a priest for many years. He never considered himself a charismatic leader or successful pastor of a large congregation. He was faithful in visiting the sick and widows. He was always available when someone needed spiritual guidance. He did exactly what a priest is supposed to do. Whenever he left a congregation to serve another, he always left people in tears. They did not want to lose the pastor that helped them see Christ clearly in their lives. This very pastor once told me that doing the right thing is reward in itself. I will never forget these words because they are God’s words to me. I have found them to be a living reality as we participate in God’s project here. For Mary and I, the reward is being on the steps of the cathedral and waiting for the children and teens. Knowing these children and learning to discern God’s presence in their lives makes life splendid and beautiful for us. We believe that this awareness is mutual. The children seem to enjoy being with us too. This is because we are all where God wants us to be. This is the reward. Being exactly in the place where God wants us to be. Willing to be God’s unworthy servants is enough. God will make the rest happen. I believe that there are countless number of people that will testify to this Truth.

This seemingly heartless and tough saying of Jesus is actually a most powerful and liberating Truth for us today. The desire for recognition and honor has left many tired and depressed in this world. People are forced to prove their self-worth and end up losing their dignity in the process. Knowing that we are unworthy servants of God has the opposite effect because our unworthiness doesn’t stop God from including us in His service. The only possible reason for this is Love. It gives God great pleasure to include His children in the things that He is doing. We don’t deserve this and there is nothing we can do that would prove our worth for the task. God just wants to give us the privilege to be part of the things He is doing. He wants us to share in the good things He is doing in this world like a father who wants to share special moments with his children. He will give us the grace and strength for us to fulfill our duty. However, we should never confuse His grace with our own personal merit. There is no room for meritocracy in the Kingdom of God. There are just room for unworthy but faithful servants.

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Small Dog Licking His Wounds

Jesus said, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.- Luke16:19-21

The dogs made it into the parable. It’s funny that Jesus included them. They appear to be irrelevant to the story. I haven’t heard a sermon preached about them. Nevertheless, they caught my attention. It is hard to be among the homeless and not notice the dogs. It makes sense that Jesus included them in this parable.

Dogs in the Jesus’ period were considered to be nuisances. They were just a little better than rats. They were definitely not man’s best friend. They were despised animals and taught to fear human presence. Yet, they had no fear of Lazarus. They knew him. They were aware of his sufferings. They brought comfort to him in their own limited way. The rich man was not aware of Lazarus. This does not make him an evil man. Jesus never said this about him. He was just ignorant of Lazarus. He was too consumed in his wealth to notice the beggar’s condition. However, the dogs did.
Every day, we walk by the hundreds of Lazarus that beg and sleep in the streets. They have his wounds and sores. There are even dogs that lick their wounds. At the steps of the cathedral, there is a mutt named Billy. He belongs to no one but all the homeless including the children love him. They want him to be their pet. He is an independent spirit. He does his rounds everyday and licks and comforts the spiritual wounds of those who suffer. He growls at anyone who is not a homeless person. He only knows those who are abandoned and rejected. He has come to know us now. He comes and greets us whenever we sit at the steps of the cathedral. I think the key to understanding this parable lies in Billy the mutt.

“Friend to the martyr, a friend to the woman of shame,
You look into the fiery furnace, see the rich man without any name”- Bob Dylan, from the song,“Jokerman”

This parable is not about rich and the poor. It just tells of the contrast between two different people. The social divide is not a new thing. It has always been there and will always be. Jesus said nothing about the social injustice. He did not work concepts like social systems. He worked with individuals. There were two individuals in extremely different circumstances. This is the reality. The rich man did not do anything to cause Lazarus’ pain, but he could have done something to relieve it. It was within his power. Alas, he was too occupied having a good time with his wealth. He must have believed that he was blessed unlike Lazarus who only had dogs for companionship. Maybe he did not help Lazarus because he did not know what could be done for him. It is easy for us to criticize this man as an outsider. However, most of us have money to give to the person who begs around the corner or at the highway junction. Most of us try not to make eye contact and pretend we don’y see him. It is not because we are heartless. We just don’t know how to help in a meaningful way. The dogs did not think too much about it. They just did what they knew. Lazarus’ wounds needed to be tended. They did it. We can perhaps look beyond the money and try to discover the wounds of those who have been reduced to this desperate state. Maybe then, we can offer something more meaningful than food and money.

Alex came up to us one day at the steps of cathedral and showed us that he had gotten fifty dollars from begging. On top of that, someone had bought him a takeaway lunch and a bag full of cookies and chocolates for snacks afterwards. He was truly pleased. Then he sat there for a good fifteen minutes watching all the people going in and out of the cathedral. He decided that he was going to beg from the people. He asked for almost anything. If he saw someone chewing gum, he would ask for some. If someone was drinking a can of soda, he would ask for the rest. It was comical and yet quite revealing to us. He was begging even though he had no reason to do it. He had more than enough money for the day. Yet something was motivating him to beg. Alex is not a greedy person. He is actually quite generous. He always shares what he receives with the other children and teens. He was begging for a different reason. He was very selective. He wanted things from specific people and when they gave him what he wanted, he looked almost sad. He wanted certain people to notice him. He was begging not for monetary gain but for emotional recognition. His sad and disappointed look was because his only connection with these people ended after he received what he had asked for. Maybe he does not even realize this himself. He never asked anything from us. He knows that he has a connection with us. The other children and teens do activities with us because they know that these are symbolic gestures to show that there is a real connection between us. Begging is not just monetary. It is a plea for some human contact. It is the last and desperate attempt to reach out to humanity.

One of the saddest things for the homeless is to be invisible. Many people ignore them. Not because they are bad or unkind. They don’t how to deal with them. The homeless do many things to avoid being invisible. We have seen the homeless do weird dance routines and sing out of tune just to get some attention. We have noticed that the ones that smell the worse are the ones who are most introverted homeless people. Their dirty and pungent smell is not just a lack of hygiene. It is also their only attempt to be noticed in this world. They would do anything not to be ignored. Unfortunately, it is these very actions that sometimes keep people away from them.

Lazarus must have not been a pleasant sight. He was covered with sores in the hot desert environment. It would have been easier to ignore him than to try to do something. It is understandable why one would want to do this. However, it is not justifiable. Ignorance is not an accepted excuse. Perhaps the rich man should paid attention to the dogs. They did not have much to offer but they gave Lazarus what they could.

Lazarus was not upset that the rich man was rich. He did not think that his predicament was due to unfair social structures. All he wanted was to be satisfied with the crumbs from the table. He deserved more than this for sure but he would have been so happy with so little. The rich man had the possibility to do something good. Unfortunately, he wasn’t aware of Lazarus’ existence. He was too busy enjoying the fruits of his wealth. In the end, he only had the poverty of his soul to show for throughout eternity.

As I am writing this post, I remembered meeting a young man who used to be in square with the children and teens. He was a homeless child at one point as well. He just moved to my neighborhood recently. He is sleeping on the streets with a group of homeless adults. Incidentally, we took notice of him because he was a tough looking guy who had a poodle mutt as a pet. He found it abandoned and they were inseparable ever since. Unfortunately, the dog is gone and he is alone and sad. He saw us the other day and asked us to visit him. He said that we were like street parents to him. He did not want money from us. He just wants our time. He said that he was lonely. He is our Lazarus. We have to visit him. We walk thirty minutes to be with the other children and teens and this young man is just a block away from my apartment building. Yet I haven’t been down to see him. The truth is that I feel so comfortable here that I forget about this young man had asked us for a visit.

I am thankfully to Lazarus for reminding me that I could be like this rich man. It is easy to indulge in our own comfort zone and forget those who need their wounds to be ministered. I am going to look for this young man after I post this on my blog.

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Reflections on Being a Family

“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.”-Luke 14:25

This is a reflective follow-up on Michelle’s observations in our last blog post.

We have just completed three years here: a short time for those who understand long-term missionary work and a long time for those accustomed to short-term experiences. For us, it is just a time to reflect. Michelle’s observation helped us realize that we have reached a significant phase in our time here. We had hoped that we could be a family to the children and her observations confirmed that our intentions are materializing. Family, however, is a complex concept. There are all kinds of families. There are hospitable families where outsiders are received with much warmth and openness. Yet, the separation still exists between friends and “real” family members. There are dysfunctional families where the bonds of affection are loose and fragile. Relationships are volatile and interchangeable in these families. There are the kind of close-knit families where no one else matters except the blood relationships. The list of diverse family dynamics can be almost infinite. However, we do not go into streets to introduce our brand of family. We are here with the conviction that it is God who is leading us to be a family to the children. Therefore, we have to consider what kind of family God wants us to be in the streets. Before we can get to this answer, we need to first heed the tough and difficult words of Jesus regarding our family ties.

No one in their right mind would say aloud the things Jesus proffered in the above verse from the gospel of Luke. These sayings are often allocated to the tough sayings of Jesus. Everyone recognizes them but their implications are rarely considered seriously in the church community, despite the fact that the first Christian community did honor them literally in the Acts of the Apostles. Families in the primitive church sold everything and came together to be one. Traditional family ties were given up in order to become part of a broader reality in the Kingdom of God. We could only imagine the criticisms that Peter and the other married apostles must have endured. Christianity must have been considered then as a religion that was disruptive to regular family dynamics. We think that it is different today but in reality, in some countries where Christianity is not the dominant religion such criticisms still exist. Many friends of mine who came from Taoist and Buddhist backgrounds said that their parents considered them as spiritual traitors when they accepted baptism into the Christian faith. Some parents even disowned them. However, most readers of the blog, including myself, live in a predominantly Christian environment. We don’t face such social and cultural pressures. Nevertheless, these powerful and disturbing words of Jesus still apply to us. They should still scandalize and challenge us to rethink our idea of family.

Our commonly held family values are not from the gospel but they are based on our cultural and societal customs. They are, in reality, just a sophisticated form of animalistic behavior. There is nothing remarkably new or excellent about them. On the other hand, the gospel brings a radically new and more excellent dimension to our understanding of a family. It challenges us to go beyond our animalistic instincts and become human. Jesus’ words do not destroy family values but restore a true and godly understanding of them. We define families along blood ties whereas Jesus presents God’s idea of a family. This is clearly seen in one particular incident in the gospel of Luke when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were patiently waiting to speak to him;

But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” -Luke 8:21

Family in the Kingdom of God is defined by our relationship to the Truth. We should not confuse this with doctrinal convictions. Hearing and doing the Truth is more than mere subscription to certain doctrines. It is a transformation of our attitudes. The first sign of this is reflected in our attitudes towards our neighbor.

Hearing and Doing the Truth does not mean that we have to abandon our families. At least, this won’t be necessary in our context. Jesus’ words are a challenge to us to evaluate and perhaps even abandon society’s restrictive concept of family in the Light of the gospel.

And no man puts new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the wineskins, and be spilled, and the wineskins shall be destroyed.-Luke 5:37

Ideally, our birth family is a training ground for us to learn how to love and accept others into our household. When our birth family becomes the be all and end all, then we fall into sin of idolatry. We need to discard the old in order to understand the value and beauty of the new concept of family that the gospel inaugurates. Discarding does not mean that we abandon them. It means that they should not keep us from accepting God’s richer and life-giving definition of family.
I want to bring this post back to the streets. God is teaching us to be a family. It is something new for all of us. A social worker once told me that he corrected a young teenage girl when she said that she considered him to be her father figure. He said that he will never be her father because he does not have the capability of accepting her into his household. I thought that it was tactless on his part to say these words to this young homeless girl. Nevertheless, he was being coherent with the world’s definition and standard of a family. However, by the grace of God, we are not social workers, not just us but all Christians. We have a higher calling . We are called to reconcile individuals back to the family of God. Social workers only deal with social problems. We are God’s children sent here to embrace those who do not know the true status of their existence as God’s children, as well.

I have been a son and a brother and Mary has been a daughter and sister. Now God has given us sons and daughters. Through the grace of God, we have become their father and mother. Many people who are living thousands of miles away from these children have adopted them through prayer as their grandchildren. Perhaps none of this would make sense to the world. It is a concept that is not common to them. They have to break away from their traditional ideas of what constitutes a family to understand this. Even then, it would still be impossible for anyone to do this until they have met the One who is the true Father of all. We have discovered our family in the streets and God has a family for you to discover as well. They may not be in the streets like ours but they are there somewhere waiting to be reconciled into God’s eternal family.

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