As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. Mark 1:29-31

Everything Felipe knew about Jesus was from the movies. The many religious movies he watched confused more than enlightened him. For the longest time, he believed David was one of the twelve apostles. He also thought that Joseph, Jacob’s son who became the Pharaoh’s chief counselor, and Mother Mary’s husband were the one and the same. We started reading the gospel of Matthew together for about a year now and it dawned upon him that the movies presented an impoverished version of the gospel. One thing which impressed him was the number of healings and miracles in the gospels. He was under the impression that Jesus only did an handful of miracles because in the movies he watched only depicted a small array of miracles and healings. He was confused as to why they limited themselves to these when the gospels related so many.

It was the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law that started this conversation. I told him that this story was recorded in three gospels. Since we are planning to read all the gospels together, I just thought that I should prepare him to read this again. Apparently, three evangelists considered it to be an important event which everyone needed to know. At the same time, there is hardly any information. The woman’s name is not even mentioned. We can make some assumptions. She lived with Peter which implied that she was a widow and did not have any sons. Someone like her had very little space in society back then. In a way, she would be considered as someone who had already served her purpose in life. It sounds cruel because it was a cruel world then and not much different from the present one. I suppose that it is just in our fallen nature to treat people as a means to an end. Regardless of all this, the disciples told Jesus about her illness. They wanted her to be well. She was someone special to them and Jesus elevated her even more. She became one of the first people whom he healed.

Her healing did not give her a celebrity status. It just permitted her to serve them. The person who serves is usually the one prepares the meal too. In cultures where food is eaten with hands, there has to be someone with clean hands to make sure everyone gets enough to eat. Consequently, this person is privy to the dinner conversations. Therefore, only trustworthy people can serve at the table. Jesus did not just heal her. He restored her privileged status in the family. It may not sound like a great deal to modern ears. She was living in an ancient time with ancient standards.

As Felipe listened to this story, we could see that he was trying to grapple this concept. Suddenly things were beginning to make sense to him. His life in the streets was a life of anonymity but he never minded it. He liked being anonymous. It was being abandoned that he detested. It was good news for him that this woman was never named. It wasn’t relevant. We did not need to know her name. Besides, it would be meaningless to us. Despite being nameless, nothing can change the fact that Jesus held her hand and lifted her up. God visited with her; a widow without not much prospect in the eyes of the world became one of the first people that Jesus touched and healed. She represents all the anonymous people who labor day in and day out without expecting any recognition. Perhaps, Peter’s mother-in-law’s anonymity is good news for these people. They did not need to be the squeaky wheel in order to get God’s attention. He recognizes and knows them in their quiet existence. For Felipe and I would say, most of our homeless youth, this is the most important thing.

I have read this passage countless of times. I never stopped to ponder on it. I used to think that it spoke very little to me. It is because I come from a world where my idea of the gospel is contaminated with complicated ideas of grandness and fame. I like stories where an unknown person rises up to become a hero that saves hundreds. There are people like that in the world. They are few and far between. Moreover, their stories are meant to entertain us. They claim to be inspirational. In reality, they just entertain and maybe provide some material for our fantasies of grandness. Peter’s mother-in-law was like the majority of people in the world. We see her in the thousands walking past us as we go to meet the children and teens. They are the grandparents of many of our children and teens, the only ones who gave our children and teens any attention in their households. The person who keeps our apartment building clean is one of them. She lives a quiet existence. She works silently and is almost invisible. It doesn’t mean she is unnoticed. We chat with her whenever we get the chance. Recently, she hasn’t been to work for a few days. We sense her absence even though someone else has taken her place. I doubt that many people noticed her absence. She is like the most of us. Besides our friends and families, the world won’t miss us when we are gone. There is nothing sad nor tragic about this. We don’t need the whole world to know of us. Not all of us are meant to be like the famous saints and heroes. Besides, Jesus did not seek saints and people with great potential. He sought people like Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus is not the savior of people of great influence or power or potential. He is the messiah of those whom the world regards as mediocre. Jesus did not expect Peter’s mother-in-law to do “great” things. It sufficed that she served them at the table.

No one is going to write books and make movies of people like this woman. If they did, it wouldn’t be her story. It would be a fictitious one made to look spectacular. Something the gospel writers avoided. They wanted her to connect with the vast majority of the people in the world. Most of us are not charismatic. We are just ordinary people pressing on to do what is before us. Jesus was among people like us more than the people of great potential in His time. He chose apostles that no one would consider to be leadership quality. He never told them to be leaders. He asked them to be servants and healers. Most of them lived out their existence quietly. There were twelve apostles and we hardly know what most of them did. Jesus seems to favor these ordinary people. They are present everywhere among us. They are the ones who stop by their neighbors when they are not feeling well. They bring soups to recent widows or widowers as they coping with the pain of their loss. They are the ones who invite their lonely friends to spend the holidays with them. They serve at the tables in the homeless shelter. They care for the stray animals in their neighborhood. They are just ordinary people who are too plain and normal for the world to pay any attention. Maybe they might lack ambition to be anything else than the ordinary. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law tells us that Jesus knows these people and He is present among them. He is their Shepherd.

I am grateful for this story. I am grateful that three evangelists had the wisdom to include it in the gospels. Now, I know where to look for Jesus. He is not among the people society has deemed influential. He is just outside my apartment right now with the lady that makes sure the floors are clean. He is with Felipe and the teens in their anonymity. Therefore, if I want to hear and see our Lord, I better be attentive to these ordinary people. They might have the words of Life. I paid attention to Felipe and he brought the mother-in-law of Peter alive to me.

They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. Mark 1:22-26

Jesus was in his hometown. We can imagine that it was a place where everyone knew everyone. Jesus had been with them since he was a lad which explains their confusion. They could not figure out how he gained such wisdom and understanding. The scribes and teachers of the Law can prove their authority. It is usually derived from some school or master. However, Jesus was just a mere carpenter’s son and yet, the words He spoke set their hearts on fire. Even the religious leaders and the Pharisees sensed it. They said that His authority was from the devil. This is quite the standard reaction from religious authorities. Today they would say that he is a heretic. Despite their strong accusations, the people knew something was different. Jesus’ words stirred up their faith. He made them feel that God was once again walking among them. It wasn’t just wishful thinking. His words made everything seem real. They had authority but at the same time, it was different.

I asked our youth, specifically, Bruno, Guilherme, and Felipe what images come to their minds whenever they hear the word, “authority”. They said almost unanimously that it was a figure of violence and restriction. I realize that for them, it won’t be good news if I told them that Jesus spoke with authority. It might taint their idea of Jesus. We did not want them to lump Jesus in with the rest of the authoritative figures in their lives.

Strangely, we can sense this sentiment in the scriptures too. They used the word, “authority”, reservedly. It is often accompanied with the phrase, “it was unlike anything they had seen before”. The people of Jesus’ time saw soldiers of the Roman Empire with their imposing presence in their land. They heard religious leaders with their self-righteous dominance of the religious narrative. The women were subjected to the authority of a patriarchal society. It was also a time of slavery. Like our homeless youth, all these people must have had similar ideas of authority. Most likely they never imagined anything that could free them from the burden of worldly authority. They never thought it was possible to be free from the yoke which life had imposed upon them. Then they heard Jesus. They did not have a proper word to explain what they felt in their hearts. They used the word, “authority”, but it was unlike the authority they had experienced until then. I realized that our children need to experience what these people experienced before they can imagine the authority of Jesus.

It is interesting that the demons of the possessed man wanted to know whether Jesus was going to destroy them. It is such a violent word. Well, violence is the language of this world’s authority. When I was young, teachers were allowed to hit their students. I suffered many times the wrath of the teachers in my school. They weren’t particularly wicked. I did challenge their authority and they attempted to impose it. I wasn’t traumatized. I just accepted it as normal. This was the way authority was exercised. Over the years, people tried to convince me otherwise. I almost believed them until I went out into the world. Every time I see a person of authority, they are surrounded with tools of violence, be they weapons or words. They always have the last word whether they are right or wrong. Violence is used to make the person subjected to feel small and insignificant so they would submit. Life becomes easier when we accept this fact. The demons in the gospel reading asked Jesus if He was going to use the same weapons of authority. Not just the demons, today many want God to use the same methods to silence those they perceive as enemies of God. When faced with a situation of chaos, we want to use the force available to overcome this chaos. Jesus was different. His authority was not one of destruction. Using it, He restores and reinstates what was destroyed or stolen. There was no violence in His confrontation with the demons. He refused to respond with violence, not just on this occasion but throughout His life. Jesus chose to focus on the man whose life had been destroyed by these demons. He was more concerned in restoring the victim’s peace and dignity than attacking and destroying the demons. Very often people who fight demons end up using demonic tools and eventually they become just like the ones they are fighting to overthrow. Perhaps this was the hope of the demons when they challenged Jesus.

Not much has changed since this confrontation in the gospel. Demons are still touting the disciples of Jesus to succumb to their idea of authority; one that destroys and attacks. They present it to us in a sophisticated way. Just like in the gospel reading, they make it known that Jesus is the Lord and at the same time they tempt Him to do things their ways. When we started this ministry, we heard these voices tempting us. Demons have many spokespersons. They like to tell us that we are doing a good job and then proceed to give solutions to homelessness without taking into account the homeless youth. As if, they are not people but things to be pushed around and forced to do what people from “so-called above” think is best for them. Sometimes the problem is not the superficial cause. There is a person who needs to be healed and restored. Jesus looks at this person first and not at the problem. More often than not, when we read about people coming to be healed by Jesus, He always asks first whether they have the faith to be healed. Faith is not something we conjure up within ourselves. However, it is something in us and with the right authority can be awakened. This is why Jesus was different. His love awoke hope in the hearts of the people. He wanted the people to come to Him because they sensed in their hearts the possibility of being healed.

The authorities of this world like to give quick and easy solutions achieved through violence in the broadest sense of the word. However, the authority of Jesus is different, healing and restoring. It is one more concerned about the victim than actually destroying the enemy. The enemy will always be in this world because it is their domain. Jesus did not send His disciples into the world to change the world. He sent them out to heal and restore people who have suffered much by the abusive and manipulative authority in their reality. The authority of Jesus appeals to these people. The rest of the world tries to do what Jesus strongly advised against doing,

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:22

I don’t think we can actually convince our youth that there are different ways of looking at authority in this world. They will never believe us that an authoritative figure can be good and loving when all they have received from them are violence and abandonment. They need to meet with the One who would heal and ensure their souls that He will be their Shepherd. They need to see for themselves that He is different. I believe that He uses many people to reveal His presence to these youth. They are sheep without a pastor and therefore, they become Jesus’ priority in this world. His authority compels Him to be present with these. It is our prayer that we are one of His instruments. It seems like it is happening. However, it is always incumbent on us to remember that His authority is different. This alone makes the world of a difference in the lives of those to whom we minister.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Mark 1:14-15

A great injustice had occurred. John was arrested for telling the truth. He confronted the king with the truth and now he was paying a high price for it. John was well-loved among the common people. He helped them see that God was close to them. His arrest must have paralysed them, exacerbating their sense of hopelessness. Strangely, for Jesus, this was the perfect time to establish the Kingdom of God. Perhaps, they might have heard these words and imagined that He was planning to organize an army to overthrow the king. Instead, He chose fishermen and other unlikely characters to be fishers of men. No politicians, nor kings, nor nobles were included in the list. Those who look to these people for change must have been disappointed. His Kingdom was going to be different, one producing genuine change. The kings and rulers of this world don’t have the capacity to forge any authentic transformation in this world, mainly because they do not deal with reality. They live far away from the concrete reality of everyday people unlike fishermen, tax collectors and basically Jesus’ motley crew of disciples. Jesus needed His disciples to be people who are engaged in reality before they can become instruments of the good news.

Very little has changed for us for the past few months. Maybe the situation is worse. It almost makes it hard to write about anything. We continue to be limited in our interactions. It has been almost a year since I went anywhere beyond my neighborhood. We try to see the children and teens as much as possible. They are still within walking distance from our apartment. Technically, they are in my neighborhood. I do my grocery shopping within thirty minutes walk. The trip to store is always easier that the return home with the heavy bags. We haven’t seen the inside of any restaurant for a whole year and maybe this year is not going to be any different. We used to go for long walks on the weekend and during the weekdays, we liked to visit our local libraries and even participate in communal events. There was always music in the streets. Sometimes we would complain about it. Now all this seems like a distant memory and we miss it. It has been a year without music.

Our social interactions have been greatly reduced. We haven’t seen our friends for ages but now we interact more with the maintenance staff in our building. We always take a moment to chat with them. It is strange to discover about their families and interests. We have transitioned from being cordial to a genuine friendship. They connect us to the world beside the children and teens. Outside our apartment building, a group of homeless adults have made a permanent abode on the curbside. Mary has struck up a friendship with a homeless man who has made a makeshift thrift store in the streets to which no ones really goes. However, he has an interesting display of treasures he found discarded. Mary has contributed some items to his collection. The grocery store clerks who used to be in a perpetual bad humor before the pandemic ask about Mary whenever I go alone to the grocery store. The drug store cashier who is usually clueless about customer service now knows exactly the kind of soap Mary likes. She reassured her that they will get in some new stock. We are beginning to be somebody in this limited sphere where we have been restricted for almost a year. If anything, last year was a reminder that the reality of our lives is limited within a small geographic area. Everything we need is within thirty to forty minutes walking distance. This is our reality. Things that happen in this small area make a big difference in our lives.

A month ago, a man was shot and killed on our street near our apartment building. He was a snatch thief. Unfortunately, this is quite common where we live. According to the police report, he tried to steal the phone of an off duty policewoman. There were three shots and this man was gone forever. We will never forget this incident. It was 11 o’clock on a Wednesday night when we heard the gun shots; a man was killed over a cell phone. It reminded us about certain truths about our reality. The next day the newspaper stated that he was shot but in the hospital. However, we witnessed the whole incident. The paramedics came and put him in a bodybag. We don’t need to news to tell us about what we saw. They were miles away when it happened. The reporters came hours after the fact. They never saw the body. They did not hear the gun shots. They don’t live here. For us, this is our reality. This is the space where our human bodies occupy. God gave us a body and it is limited because we can only handle limited things. We occupy a small space in this tremendous and immense universe. We are only allocated a tiny space in this great picture but it has everything that we need to experience life. Technology tends to give us the illusion that we can be everywhere and know everything. The news media inundates my mind with information about politicians and criminals who live thousands of miles away from our reality. I am not saying that they don’t have any influence on life. I am saying that right outside my apartment door, there are real people whose life or death makes a difference to me. Even the death of an anonymous thief makes a big difference in our lives. He lived in his life in anonymity and he died without his name being mentioned anywhere. No one shed a tear for this man. Maybe some might think that he deserved it. We think about him still. I want to write about him. He died on my street. He deserves to be remembered.

The pandemic brought reality back to me. I wished it was done in a different manner. Sad to say, we humans learn to value our reality only when disaster strikes.

John the Baptist was arrested. Many loved him, but most likely few listened to his message. Now he was taken away from them. A politician of their time took John away from them. Today, we still look to these people for solutions, even though throughout history kings and politicians take more than they give. We need to heed the first message that Jesus preached; “Repent and believe in the good news.”

Unfortunately, the idea of repentance has always been drastically reduced by the church and common preachers to sins of the flesh. Repentance is a change of mindset. Sin, in the Bible, means missing the mark, or rather, looking at the wrong target. The world always tells us where to look for answer. Unfortunately, many times the church allies itself with these voices. However, Jesus shows in the gospel that He chooses specific kind of people to be purveyors of the good news. There are some special characteristics of these people whom He choses. They are people who are rooted in their reality. They don’t imagine that some person or system is going to solve their problems. They embrace their reality as difficult as it seems and then move forward. Our homeless youth are like that and I am sure you might know others like that in your limited geographic reality. It could be the grocery clerk that never smiles. It could be grumpy receptionist at the clinic. People who have resigned to their reality and perhaps they don’t see any way out of it. Jesus might just choose these people to reveal to us the good news. We will never know unless we stop listening to the illusion promoted by agents of this world and start embracing what is before us.

This year we are not going to wait for someone thousands of miles away to solve anything. They don’t care if we exist or not. All we need is within walking distance and I am assured that Jesus has placed His instruments of grace and hope within our limit.

I don’t know how we got onto the topic. Bruno asked about suicide. Thankfully, this is not a major issue among the homeless youth. In our time here, there has only been one suicide attempt. Actually the very person who attempted it was listening to our present conversation. It was Guilherme. He suffers from symptoms of depression, at least, according to my extremely sparse knowledge on the subject. Most days he is fine. However, he goes through frequent periods when he shuts himself off from the rest of the world. One day when he was in such a state, he stopped and saw us. He wanted to say something to us and then he just turned around and walked away without even acknowledging our presence. We know that it is nothing personal. Guilherme does the best he can. This year he had an incident. Thankfully, there were no permanent consequences. Now, he is feeling better. However, Bruno wasn’t asking the question because of Guilherme. He was in his philosophical mood today. He wanted to know if there is forgiveness for suicide victims.

It seems like recently most of our conversations revolve on the subject of death. Even Felipe shared that he has been having nightmares about death and destruction. Well, it has been a difficult year. The pandemic has confronted us with our mortality. Even though everyone is trying to go on with business as usual, its threat is looming in the background. Our youth sense it. They are more sensitive than people give them credit. They are in the streets all day and night. They sense threat and danger intuitively. On the other hand, we only receive our information through media which is filtered and devoid of any real human contact. Our youth come in direct contact with the people in the streets. Consequently, they are also exposed to all the dangers of the pandemic. They just deal with the pandemic like many of the other dangers they experience in the streets.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

I don’t know how it happened but our conversation brought us to Book of Ecclesiastes. Bruno was surprised that the Bible has such nihilistic expressions. He actually used this term. It is quite amazing that a young man who spent most of his early childhood in an orphanage and then his teenage years homeless has such a wealthy vocabulary. I told him that it gets worse. The author is brutally honest and can leave his readers feeling like him. Bruno’s curiosity perked up. I explained that the author writes from a perspective of a wise king who has accessed to everything he desired. He decided to embark on a search for meaning and indulged in all the pleasures life could afford without succumbing to hedonism. Wisdom was his primary objective. His final conclusion was that life is meaningless. However, the story does not end there. It is actually the beginning of something new. We won’t be ready for the new if we don’t realize the futility of the present reality.

Bruno admitted that he hardly knew anything about the Old Testament. He knows stories about the kings especially David and Solomon. I had never really given serious thought to this. The Old Testament started out as a story of simple shepherds and then somewhere along the way, kings and politicians usurped the narrative. It became a story of the elite and the common everyday people were a mere background to these stories. Everyone looked to the authority or the king in their case to show them the way. Very little has changed today. The common and everyday people are reduced to mere statistics and often lumped together without any heed to their individuality. The focus is still on the people at the top of society’s hierarchy to give us the answers for our happiness and significance. The answer we get from them is unsatisfactory. If they were humble and wise like the preacher of Ecclesiastes, they would give us the same answer. “Everything is meaningless.” However, I see Bruno before me. He has literally nothing. He doesn’t all the opportunities even the average Brazilian has and yet he is hopeful. He does not have idealistic view of life. He has experienced the most brutal blows this life can offer. I asked Bruno, “Do you think life is meaningless?” He disagrees. It is because he is looking at life from a different perspective. It is one that the Christmas story redeems. It is the one that dominates the New Testament. It is a narrative of the common people.

Mary was a young teenage girl. In her society, she had no voice nor place except to be a mother. Christmas elevated her motherhood. The shepherds in the fields were insignificant people in society. There was no great expectation placed upon them to change the world. Yet, they are remembered throughout the world for their testimony of the little infant lying in the manger. The apostles were fishermen, tax collectors and idealists. No one expected much leadership from this crowd. Christmas opened the doors for these people to be remembered for thousands of years. Jesus healed many people who were never named and yet their stories are read everywhere in the world. Jesus came into the world to give these people a space in a kingdom which never ends. The gospel is virtually void of stories of kings and politicians. Beginning with His birth, Jesus redeemed the narrative of life from those who have nothing to offer into the hands of those whom society has ignored. Therefore, if we want to look for the meaning of life, we need to stop looking for it the wrong places.

There was never really a conclusion to our conversation. Bruno had to process some things. I needed to process them too. Perhaps, it is good that this year Christmas is going to be different. It is going to be less hectic and maybe even more contemplative than the previous years. Due to the pandemic, our friends who spent almost every Christmas Day with us won’t be doing so this year. In fact, this year we hardly saw them. However, this year we discovered something special. We found genuine friendship among our homeless youth. Before, we said that we ministered to them but now they have become our friends. They have become our family. They have helped us listen to the narrative of the Emmanuel in their lives. Life has become more meaningful to us in the period while death is quietly looming in the background.

It is the Advent season. Liturgically, it is the beginning of a new year. However, for all practicality, it is still the end of the year for us. Usually, this month invokes within us a desire to ponder upon all the valuable lessons we learned this year in order to carry them forth to the coming one. Needless to say, we have encountered a very different and difficult year. However, as religious people, we believe that the circumstances or situations do not change the nature of God. To the contrary, in this world that is constantly changing, it is our religious duty to discover the Logos which always remains constant and unchanging. Our reflections are based on discovering this constant presence that guides and gives us hope and peace regardless of the challenges we confront.

I posted some of these reflections on my newsletter but I know there are many who don’t receive it. There are readers who stumbled upon these reflections on the internet and have been following the lives of these young people who have become our family for some time. Also, the newsletter doesn’t give people an opportunity to respond to our reflections whereas here they can share their thoughts and comments. We begin our year end reflections with the most significant change in our ministry.

I have always described our ministry as bringing the church to the streets. Well, this year something changed radically. We began to have church in the streets. It happened at a time when almost everywhere in the world church buildings were closed to public worship. Our congregation is a tiny one of three. In reality, we never intended to have a church service. We just wanted to read and reflect on the Bible together with Felipe. We usually end with a short and simple prayer asking the Holy Spirit to help us live what we just learned. One day, we read the verse where Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20) Felipe immediately looked up and remarked that this was about us. I read this verse so many times and I never paid much attention to this detail. Felipe was right. Jesus made church simple and easy. We have added many complicated components to it and now we are facing so many challenges to maintain it. It took a pandemic to bring us back to the basics.

Our “church building” is in a park in the midst of skateboarders and cyclists. No one notices that we are a congregation. Everyone is too busy adjusting their masks and trying to socialize to take any notice of us. It seems better this way. Occasionally a homeless persons approaches us and we are forced to put into practice what we just read in the Bible. It is perfect environment to be a church. We have a friend who lost her faith many years ago and she asked if she could participate one Sunday. I asked Felipe about it. He liked the idea. I think that she will bring something special to the group. However, we don’t want to grow too much. I think we will limit to membership to five. This is a perfect number for us. I sense that we will lose something precious if we have too many people. For now, it is just the three of us and it is wonderful.

Every Sunday, we read the gospel of Matthew. We haven’t got past the Sermon on the Mount yet. There is so much to reflect on here. Nevertheless, we are almost done with it. Eventually we will read all the four gospels. Felipe has never read the gospels in their entirety before. Last week, we read, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) I told him that this is sometimes known as the “golden rule”. He never heard about it before, neither did he understand what the “law and prophets” meant. I explained that Jesus used the “Law and Prophets” to describe what we call the Old Testament. In other words, everything sacred that was written up till then: everything is summed up in this rule. It is known as the “golden rule” because this same rule is found in other religious traditions even places as far away as China. We could see his mind working overtime. Frankly speaking, I had to stop and think about it myself. We have seen churches spilt over doctrines, ethics and politics. Christians have even killed each other over the nature of the sacraments. Yet, Jesus tells that everything boils down to this rule; if we only had listened to Him…..once again Jesus has simplified things. The problem is that whenever He simplifies something, it becomes harder to follow. Fighting over doctrines and ecclesiastic politics is much easier than living out the golden rule. I asked Felipe if he thought that people lived this rule. He smiled and said that it is a simple rule that everyone ignores.

After we say our prayers together, like good Anglicans we have our coffee hour chat except there is no coffee. Felipe wanted to know what we thought about heaven. I told him that I believe that the gospel news can only be good news if heaven begins here. I asked him what would he change in his past if he had the chance. We discovered that it was something that he has been pondering recently. He said that even though living in the streets was at times difficult and unpleasant, he learned many good things about life too. It has shaped who he is at this moment. Therefore, he said that he wouldn’t want to change anything in his past if it meant losing what he has now. This told me that he was beginning to grasp the idea of heaven now. It is not about changing our circumstances. We don’t have the power to do this and even Jesus did not do this at the Cross or prior to it. Heaven is not a place nor an ideal situation. It is a person or rather, a personal encounter with God. When we catch a glimpse of His goodness or presence in our everyday life, we have a fore taste of heaven. Felipe though about this for a moment and then he further added, “I want to know about nature and learn about the stars and all these mysteries of the universe, too.” He observed that he feels happy inside whenever he learns something about nature or the universe. “Well, then, heaven is becoming more concrete for you”, I replied.

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:15-19

This year has been an unusual year to say the least. We wish that things could have been better. We hoped that everything would go back to normal as soon as possible; whatever normal means. However, this is not going to happen for a while. Maybe it will never be the same. Perhaps it is time to let go of what we think of as “normal times” and open our eyes to see what is unfolding before us. I don’t want anyone to think that I am implying that we should look at the bright side of the situation. I am implying that we should be grateful for the mere fact that we are alive. It is good to be alive. However, we must not forget that we are part of a community. Many have lost loved ones due to this disease; does this mean that they have nothing to be thankful for this year? As human beings, we need to press on as difficult as things seem. Sometimes being able to be sincerely grateful helps us release the past so that we can face the future. It helps to know that the same person who gives the strength to do this is going to be with us in the face of all the challenges that lie ahead.

The story above from the gospels tells us about ten people whose lives changed drastically because of an ailment. Nine were desperate to get back to normalcy and they got what they wanted and forget about the One who healed them. They tried to go back to something that perhaps no longer existed. In doing so, they failed to understand the something new which had happened to them. Only one realized something has drastically changed. He went back to the One who ushered in this new beginning in his Life. Being thankful is not only about appreciating what we have. It is about acknowledging that no matter what changes we have endured, may they be good or bad, they bring something new to our lives. This does not suggest that new is always good. In fact, it is indifferent and occurs regardless of whether we want it or not. God, on the hand, is present always. He is the constant, never changing no matter what we experience in Life. Sometimes we might make a deity out of our past and forget that all our false gods will eventually whither away. If we are adamant about wanting to go back to things they were, we might end bowing down at the altar of a false god. The leper from Samaria went back to thank Jesus because he realized that even though he was a foreigner and unworthy of Jesus’ mercy, Jesus healed him. The rest thought that Jesus was just there to serve and help them get back to normal. They did not see the need to be grateful.

Life for us this year has changed drastically. We are slowly beginning to establish some regularity in our lives. However, this might change again in a few months. There is no certainty. It is not the time to make concrete plans and hope that God will work according to our plans. We cannot force God to make this world a stable place. In fact, there is ample evidence in the Bible revealing that this reality is slowly deteriorating towards chaos. However, this is not a reason for us to despair. We need to see our world for what it is in order for us not to put our our hopes in it. However, beyond this chaos, there is a Light shining through and guiding us to find our path through the darkness. This Light is our contact, our Logos. The good news is that this Light is Love, as revealed to us through Jesus. Therefore, we are assured that this Light also brings healing to our souls. We need not to fear chaos anymore, albeit, we might dread it.

Giving thanks during this time helps us see beyond what it before us. It connects us to the one person that never changes in our lives. It is the one person that our children and teens have held onto through the radical changes in their lives. They have much to teach us about living our lives in these times. We are accustomed to everything being predictable. They, on the hand, survive when everything is volatile. It is no wonder that they are able to handle this situation better than us. For them, this pandemic is just one more thing in their long list of dangers that life dishes out to them. Regardless of this, they are always thankful to God for being there for them. Some might say that this is just wishful thinking or their desperation that makes them believe this. It doesn’t matter why they are grateful. The fact is that they have strength to face whatever that confronts them through their gratitude to the One whom they believe has sustained them. For this reason alone, we need to look deep within our ourselves and recognize God’s divine presence in our lives even in the worst moments of our lives this year. It is not about looking at the bright side of life. It is about recognizing His constant faithfulness which is always with us even when we are doubtful about how things will unfold in the future.

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

These are harsh words, especially for those of us who were brought up in the Protestant tradition. For years, we have heard the phrase, “saved by grace alone”. Now, it seems like Jesus is alluding to works. If we even dare to go a little further, it almost appears to have a hint of meritocracy; another word which has taken on a political character in recent times. The tricky part is how we are going to interpret this rather disturbing parable. We could ignore it. This is an option. We can reduce this gospel reading to one about discovering our gifts. I have done it before. However, since then, my circumstances have changed radically. Now I read these texts with our youths in the streets. They are considered as the poorest of the poor by society. Although, even among the homeless, there are is a social hierarchy. However, this is a conversation for another time. Presently, we have our plate full with these disturbing words. The homeless have nothing in the eyes of the world. Jesus says that even the little these have will taken away from them.

Jesus also used a word that goes against everything we say about God in church or outside of it. We assert that everyone is precious to God. Jesus begs to differ. He calls the servant worthless. Not only this, he is cast out, not for being a sinner but for just not doing anything with what was entrusted to him. Again, it is problematic to read these verses with our children and teens. They are considered worthless by many. Here Jesus appears to be on the side of these judgmental people, or is he really? We have to consider carefully how we interpret these words because they will reveal our own personal values. The things which we consider to be our treasures in this world will determine how we use our given gifts. Therefore we need to tread very carefully before saying anything about these verses. Yet, we have to be brave to confront these harsh words because they contain the gospel. They help us penetrate the wonderful mysteries of God’s love.

The world is always telling us stories about people who so-called “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps.” Maybe there are many who are aficionados of these biographies. They can be inspiring and encouraging. Nevertheless, they contain a fundamental flaw. They fail to recognize that no one is born with nothing. Being born poor does not mean that we are born with nothing. All of us are born with an equal zest for life and desire to learn and discover everything around us. Unfortunately, not all of us are given the opportunity to develop these natural desires within us. Some are born in fertile ground and others need to work a little harder to hold on to what is given to them. Apparently, this is not really relevant in Jesus’ eyes. He did not say that the one who had more was a better person than the other two who were given less. Unfortunately, it is just the way things work out in the world. We make a value judgment based on the quantitive possession of each person. There might be a tendency to read this in the light of material possession. Even though the text deals specifically with money, we must not forget that it is parable. It uses an everyday situation or item to symbolize something deeper than the eye can see. Those who have much in this world may not necessary be considered highly in the Kingdom of God. To the contrary, they might be the very ones who have nothing and eventually lose everything they have. Jesus made this clear in several occasions as in this verse from Matthew.

“For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” Matthew 16:26

This world considers certain kind of people to have plenty but Jesus considered them to have nothing at all. Therefore we need a different pair of glasses to read this text. As for our children and teens in the streets, it is important to remind them that even though they maybe categorized as the poorest of the poor, it doesn’t mean that God hasn’t entrusted much to them.
Most likely, those who have much in the Kingdom of God may not look too impressive in eyes of many. In this world, we are impressed with countless things that may have very little to do with the standards of success in the God’s eyes. On the same point, we should not import this world’s standard of success or failure into our reading of the scripture. The words of Jesus should transform our minds and not give us fuel to conform them to the mindset of this world.

Sometimes I am concerned that whenever I write about our encounters with children and teens, I am presenting a romanticized idea of our homeless youth. I think that it is important to note that our youth just happened to homeless. In other words, they are just the same as anyone else in the world. Some are nice and some are…not so pleasant. Just like your neighbor or anyone you might run into at the grocery store or in the parking lot. The difference is that their situation does not afford them the luxury of hiding behind the niceties. In other words, what you see is what you get. This is why I use the word, “encounter”. We meet and talk with the youth regularly but it is very rare to have an encounter. It is the moment when there is an openness which helps us to construct something eternal between us. It cannot be forced. It happens naturally. Over the years, we found that some of the youth have the ability to open up more easily than others. They have a tendency to connect with people more profoundly than others. For us, these youth have been given much. I mention with a great frequency certain names in my blog posts like Felipe, Bruno, Daniel, Gabriel and many more. These young people are always open and able to transmit something profound to our souls. They give us a certain joy which cannot be described in mere words. The closest thing I can say without turning into a cliche is that they give us a sense of life. On the contrary, I have been to shopping malls where people have access to money to splurge on anything they desire and yet they walk by hundreds of people without ever noticing the existence of the other. There is just a lot of activity but very little life.

Wallace recently got a hold of an old cell phone. He called me one night to say, “Bon Soir”. He met a French speaking person in the streets and the man taught him some French words. He wanted to practice them with me. He was laughing on the phone as he desperately tried to get the pronunciation right. Then he said that he just wanted to share this simple thing that he learned. He missed us and can’t wait for us to do things like before the pandemic. His simple call brought much life to our souls. He definitely has a lot to give and each time he comes in contact with someone, he shares what he has received with them. This is why those who have much will always receive more because they know how to bring joy and life to others.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:12

Fame, fame, fatal fame
It can play hideous tricks on the brain
But still I’d rather be famous
Than righteous or holy,
any day, any day, any day*- The Smiths

I can completely understand. I don’t want to be righteous and holy either. Then again, I’d rather not be famous. It is not because I am humble. Being famous seems to be a chore. Perhaps I am too lazy for fame. As for being “righteous and holy”, it is not what it seems to be. Today, there are many people who claim to be on a holy cause and their actions are righteous. More often than not, they don’t seem like people we want to emulate. There seems to be a lack of compassion and grace in their actions. Thankfully, there is another way. Being “saintly” is available to us. It remains uncontaminated with negative images. Saints never considered themselves to be righteous or holy. Quite the opposite, they always thought that they were far from it. Maybe this is what makes them saintly. They are more accessible. However, we are drawn to saints not because of their piety. They are attractive to us because they show us doors which we never knew were open to us.

I know that the Roman Catholic Church has rigorous rules before anyone can be promoted to sainthood. It is almost as if one has to have receive a license to be considered an official saint.
However, in practice, people recognize others as saints without the necessity of ecclesiastical approval. Brazilian history reveals many saints who never had official recognition. Regardless of this, these saints have left their mark in the lives of many people. The present Anglican bishop of São Paulo shared with me that his grandfather was taught how to read and write by a man named Antonio Conselheiro. For many in the world, this name means nothing but this simple teacher turned mystic caused problems to the newly formed Republican Government of Brazil in the late 19th century. They sent a fleet of armies against a man who never once encouraged violence nor rebellion. He was just a mystic who traveled around the poorest regions of the northeast of Brazil where hunger and extreme poverty reigned. Not to mention the ominous presence of dangerous bandits who brutally maimed and mercilessly slaughtered people for the little that they had. They were known as cangaceiros.

The people must have felt that God had forsaken them. The land was infertile and hunger was rampant. Children died before they could speak. Parents buried their young without time to mourn. Ruthless landowners made unreasonable demands, impossible to fulfill. Everything was working against the survival of this tired and miserable people. Then a young man appeared and went around the impoverished villages giving people the gift of literacy. He spoke about the Christian faith in a manner which common people understood. His presence brought joy to the people. Soon people followed him around even though he did not want to start a sect nor be a religious leader. The people organized themselves around this person and he taught them from the Bible. The Catholic priests opposed him but some eventually joined his community. People brought their limited resources together and then suddenly everyone had enough to eat. The most surprising thing was that this simple man did something that the brutal arm of Law could not do. His lifestyle convinced the bandits to lay down their arms and join his community. Throughout this time, Antonio Conselheiro never assumed the role of a religious leader. He was a man who dedicated to prayer and fasting. He never gained anything from his community. The people felt that this man brought God closer to them. They saw God’s grace shining through him. Unfortunately, the newly founded republic did not like the idea of autonomous communities. They sent their troops to destroy this community and a war ensured which ended with the massacre of half of the inhabitants of this community called Canudos. Antonio Conselheiro fasted and prayed for it to end. In the end, he died as a consequence of his rigorous spiritual practices. Today, he considered a saint. He brought hope to a people in a land where hopelessness reigned. He opened the doors for people who never knew that they had a chance of being part of something God was doing in this world. My friend, the bishop, would not be where he is today if this young man did not reach out to his grandfather. Historians today are still baffled at this strange phenomenon. Antonio Conselheiro did not have the personality or the desire to be a great leader. They don’t understand how he managed to influence people to unite and even resist the forces trying to destroy them. I don’t believe that they will never understand this man. This world does not understand saints. In a way, they are not to be studied. They just appear in our lives to help us see something better and greater that what meets the eye.

I know that many Protestants have a hard time comprehending the idea of saints. I guess that they were a little confused with the way they are presented. I agreed. Saints are transformed into someone “holy and righteous”. This does not do justice to the saints themselves. Most of them did what they loved. They were not trying to be someone special or better than others. They loved God and they allowed God’s love to shine through what they did. Antonio Conselheiro loved to teach people and God’s love permeated through the way he taught people. His words opened the minds of people who had been taught that their world was limited and hopeless.

God puts saints in our lives. Sometimes we might not realize their presence because we have preconceived ideas what saints should look like. We mistakenly look at “righteous and holy” people and think that they are saints. These people tend to tell what is wrong with this world. Saintly people show us what is beautiful and real in this world. They bring hope in a hopeless situation. We need to keep our hearts open to these saints in this world. We live in a strange time where everything seems dark and hopeless. I quoted above from a song by a band, the Smiths. Those who know of them might wonder at this bizarre choice. I must admit that it is quite unusual. However, the song does not end there. The next line says something profound, maybe said in a humorous way,

“But sometimes I feel most fulfilled
Making Christmas cards with the mentally ill.”

Maybe for the composer of this song, God’s saint was the mentally ill person. In fact, if most historical saints underwent the scrutiny of a psychoanalyst today, I am sure that they would have earned a diagnosis or two. Like I mentioned before, the world will never understand saints. However, we are not of this world. We are to be attentive to these people who opened our eyes to see a reality that is hopeful and beautiful in this world. In other words, the presence of God dwelling among us. For us, our saints are the children and teens. I am not saying this in a manner to end this reflection with a sentimental touch. I am saying this because during this time of pandemic and political uncertainty, a brief conversation with our children and teens brings Light and Joy into our souls. For that moment, we realize that no matter what happens, we can still find God’s presence in our midst in the lives of saints that God places among us.

* This name of this song is “Frankly, Mr Shankly“

The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. Matthew 22:15-22

My friend was her parish priest. She was an elderly woman with no family members. A little bit eccentric and not quite in tune with reality, nevertheless she needed help. He was the only one kind enough to be there for her. She lost her driver’s license which made her feel even more old and lonely than necessary. She needed to retake her driver’s test and a car. He decided to be her instructor. The test was in the town where I lived. They got there early and decided to have one last practice in a vacant parking lot of a well-known store. He told her to slowly turn the ignition and press on the brakes. She was a little nervous. Unfortunately her foot was on the wrong pedal. It just took seconds for the car to crash through the entrance of the store. My friend reached out and turned off the engine. Everything came to a halting stop in the middle of the store. Thankfully no one was hurt. Only things were destroyed. The police were called and my friend’s car was completely wrecked. We picked them up and drove them to their respective homes. Needless to say, it was quite a tense ride back to his home. When I got back, the local news was on it; hardly anything happens in this small town. People commented on the incident. They made disparaging remarks about my friend. People who never met him felt that they had the right to pass judgement. They felt justified making hateful comments about him even though they have no knowledge of him nor the circumstances. This is how the politics of this world functions. It is a politics of hate and disdain. The Pharisees wanted to entrap Jesus into participating in this vicious cycle. They needed Him to hate so that He would become like one of them.

“We are children of our age,
it’s a political age.
All day long, all through the night,
all affairs–yours, ours, theirs–
are political affairs.”- Wislawa Szymborska

This is not just true for our modern times. It has always been like this for humanity. Perhaps, the word, “politics” is a more modern way of expressing an old practice. It used to be called just plain gossip. Historian Yuval Harari, in his book, Sapiens, stated that humanity developed gossip as a way of unifying themselves. It gave communities an opportunity to have something common to talk about, something against the others. The foundation of gossip is hatred and slander. For some reason, humanity likes to base their common relationship on this sinister foundation. Today’s political language is not very different. When the Pharisees approached Jesus in the above gospel reading, they were hoping that Jesus would engage in gossip too. They wanted Jesus to say something against the Roman Empire. However, Jesus showed a better way. He was, by no means, apolitical in his response. In fact, being apolitical is also a political action. Jesus was completely engaged in this world. You can’t do this without being political. However, Jesus refused to let society to define His political inclinations. He wasn’t going to choose the game of hatred and slander. He belongs to a different Kingdom.

His politics did not create an enemy, or rather, He did not slander nor hate those who disagreed with him. To the contrary, He loved them. He didn’t repay evil with evil. Neither did He defend Himself against them. He did not ally Himself with the powers of His time, be it the religious or political establishment. Yet, at the same time, He was in the temple. He honored the religious festivals. He never disrespected the priesthood. He never said anything disparaging about the Roman Empire. In this passage above, He insinuated that we should pay taxes and in another part of the gospel, He did pay them. Jesus knows that in order to live in this world, we have to engage in the politics of the world. However, Jesus only engaged with it minimally even though He was extremely political but from a different perspective.

Politicians of this world, kings and queens pontificate about the problems of our world from a comfortable perspectives. They do it from a distance detached from the reality of most people. They call this being objective. It seems to me that this is a euphemism for judgmental and inhumane. The people who made judgement on my friend were trying to objectively hate him. They detached themselves from the human element of our existence. There was an elderly woman who had no one in the world to help her. The priest tried to do his part. The so-called objectiveness of modern humanity is nothing but being empty and cold. Besides, no one can be objective but God. On the other hand, Jesus was not objective. He took sides.

As Christians, we believe that Jesus is God Incarnate. Then we must realize that Jesus chose to be born at a time when the lineage of David held no authority nor influence over the nation. He deliberately chose this particular time and space. Then His entire ministry was spent looking at things from the perspective of the sick, poor and the marginalized. He never chose to see things from the perspective of the politicians, the rich, the religious leaders or the powerful. He chose to pay attention to gift of widow and ignored the extravagant giving of the rich. The opposite is true in the politics of this world. I know some left leaning people might think that Jesus is closer to their politics. The truth is that their politics also belong to the world, a detached politics simplifying the complexity of the human experience. We cannot marry the politics of this world with that of the Kingdom. Jesus’ politics is not left leaning. It is people leaning. He worked among the people and He knew their names. In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, He gave the beggar a name while the rich man remained anonymous; the very opposite of the attitude of this world. The politics of this world makes judgment on people and things without having any understanding. Jesus presents a political activism that connects us with real people.

Felipe shared some news with us last week. He preceded the news with a concern. He wasn’t sure how we feel about it. The news, well, his wife is pregnant again. She has been with a child for four months now. They even know the sex of the child. Felipe thought that perhaps we might disapprove. He thought that perhaps we might think like the people who are engaged in the politics of this world. In another time and space, this might be true. Strangely, when we heard the news, we were happy for Felipe. It is because we know him. We are involved in his life.

His first son changed his life completely. We know that he always wanted a daughter. Now, this was going to be a reality. The politics of this world will inform us that Felipe and his wife are irresponsible. I can imagine the nature of the comments if this news were to be published on an internet news outlet. However, people who make such judgment from a distance will never understand what a child means to these homeless youth. Isabel was homeless in the streets for many years. Her life seemed directionless. Then one day she discovered that she was pregnant. She was filled with joy at the news. She decided to change everything. She sought out a relative that would eventually help her to find a place and she turned her life around. Cassia was a ruthless drug dealer. She was feared by many. She had several children and gave them all up for adoption. Then she got pregnant again for the last time and suddenly she did not want to miss out on being a mother. She gave herself up to the authorities and was sentenced to jail for two years. While she served her sentence, her husband took care of their child. When she came out, she searched out for her other children. They were still living in orphanages. She asked for their forgiveness and worked hard to regain their trust and her maternal vocation.

The politics of the world will look at these young people from a distance and judge them as unworthy to be parents. They will refuse to see them as anything else but homeless criminals and a burden to society. However, we don’t belong to this world. We live in it. Therefore, we have to discern how to live the politics of God’s Kingdom in this world without contaminating ourselves with the politics of this world. As Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.” (Matthew 5:13)

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ Matthew 21:33-37

When I was young we lived in a public housing project in our country. It was an apartment complex. There was no security system or gates. Therefore, anyone could walk in and out freely. Sometimes complete strangers would knock on our door to ask for assistance, be it financial or food. Other times, it was young Protestant evangelists. My parents had a strange policy. They entertained anyone who knocked on their door even when it was inconvenient. My father usually did not like to be disturbed when he was at home. However, he always ensured that no one who came asking for something went away empty handed. There were times he would give something to a stranger and then jokingly turn around and comment to the rest of the family that the stranger was most likely a scam artist with tons of money. Other times my mother would invite the evangelists and make us sit and listen to them while she made tea for everyone. We were practicing Catholics but she wanted these young people to feel welcomed. This extended even to animals. Once a white stray cat entered our apartment and made itself at home. My father refused to chase it out. He was not really a fan of having pets back then. He loved animals but did not want an extra mouth to feed. He strategically left the door wide open everyday so that the cat would leave on his own accord. He never once tried to frighten it away. He even fed it. He said that we needed to be hospitable even to our uninvited guest. Then one day my father explained his reason for his peculiar practice. He believed that God sends His servants to visit with us. They come in all shapes and forms and we must always be ready to receive them. It made sense when he explained it to me. I was just a young lad then. At that age everything my father said made sense. However, later on in life, I begin to wonder why God needed to drop in on us unexpectedly. No doubt He can see all things pretty well from His perspective. However, Jesus seemed to have answered this question in the above parable. God is not checking up on us. We just need to be reminded that we are mere tenants in this world. We are not the Landowner. It is very easy to forget.

Perhaps this is the most violent parable. At the same time, it is also the most realistic. It reveals to us our human nature. In a sense it is actually the story of the Fall retold in a different fashion. It begins with the landowner ensuring that the land was perfectly suitable for the tenants. He was a just proprietor. He did not make unreasonable demands. Even when he sent his servants, there were no signs of violence or threats. He simply wanted to remind the people that they were tenants and they had an obligation to Him. Unfortunately, the whole parable is exposition of our human nature. Its violent nature was necessary because it reveals how we, as humans, assert our will against God. We want something that does not belong to us and we use violence to attain it. However, it will never change the fact that we are not the landowners. As long as we don’t accept this Truth, we will continue to resort to violence. God will continue to send His servants.

The servants are not there to suffocate our freedom. They are here to remind us who we are so that we can be free from the tyranny of self delusion. Instead, humanity choose to use the language of violence to remain in this unfortunate state. Then, the landowner sent his son. Everyone listening to the parable knew the outcome. Despite this, the son was sent and he was killed. When Jesus asked what should be done to these tenants, the response was the same as that of the tenants. The listeners demand a violent response. God refused to act this way. The Son was killed but God did not react with violence. Instead, He responded with grace. The former is only used when someone wants to assert something that does not belong to them. God has no use for violence because He always knows who He is. He continues to send His servants today. They come in many shapes and forms.

Jesus always seems to stress that if we don’t recognize the servants and then we will definitely not recognize the Son. If we mistreat the servants, then we definitely will do the same to the Son. We see an example of this in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Therefore, my father was right after all. It is safer to assume that anyone that comes to us and asks for something, be it shelter, food or just our time, might be the servant God has sent to us.

We have many crack addicts in the streets here. We live not too far away from the notorious “crackland” in this city. Some people despise them. Most people ignore them. They are broken people and their addiction is a mere symptom. We see them all the time. I used to ignore them just because there was just too many and it was overwhelming. It was more a question of learning to live in such environment than any personal disdain for them. We used to work in this area a long time ago. Then there is also the moral dilemma. If I help them, maybe I am enabling them in their downward spiral to self destruction. However, whenever one comes up to me and talks to me, I am gently reminded of my father’s words. This person could be God’s servant. After all, I am mere tenant of the things I own. God is the one who provided everything I have and now He is sending His forsaken child to collect what is due to Him. I am sure that he will use drugs but he still needs to know that he is loved. Receiving God’s servants is not easy. There is no one answer that works for all situations. No matter what we do, our response should be a payment for being God’s tenants. However, this is not about earning our salvation. It is more about understanding our salvation. The biblical notion of salvation is to be healed. Therefore, those who appreciate their own healing show it by being an instrument of healing in the lives of others. This is how we pay our rent. Violence is the opposite of healing. Ignoring or pretending someone doesn’t exist is the worst form of violence.

As usual, I talked to the children about these verses. I asked them what they thought when someone ignores or refuses to help them. They don’t have much to say about these people. Actually they simply forget about them. However, they remember when someone goes out of their way to help them. One of them told us an interesting story about a couple. The husband wanted to give some money to the boys begging outside a bakery but the wife was very much against it. She had her arguments and the boys saw a spousal dispute unfold before their eyes. Then the couple walked away and a few minutes later the husband appeared again. He made a quick escape from his wife so that he could give the boys some money. It wasn’t much but enough for them to see God’s love manifest itself in this man. They said that they will never forget the kindness of this man. It made them happy to know that there are people like him in this world. This happened a few years ago. The man’s money did not change their lives but it gave them hope. These kind gestures of people who have genuine love in their hearts reveal to these abandoned servants of God that there are still tenants who are willing to pay their dues of love to the Heavenly Father.