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.

So the last will be first, and the first will be last. Matthew 20:16

“The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner”. Definitely not a very exciting name for a movie. Unfortunately, this was the only movie that was on that Friday night. In my teenage years, my father allowed me to watch TV only on Friday evening. It wasn’t because he was concerned about the content. He was a very thrifty man. The electric bill had gone up ever since we got the new black and white TV. Needless to say, this was quite a while back. TV was simpler back then; two channels with lousy options. Despite the lackluster movie name, I wasn’t going to give up my special time in front of the tube. I was pleasantly surprised. I was completely engrossed in the story. Since then, I must have watched hundreds of movies with exciting and innovative names. However, I forgotten most of them but not this one. The long distance runner remains in my heart till today,

The protagonist grew up in a time when the world was recovering from a war which devastated the country. The poor had become poorer. His father died from cancer as a result of the dangerous chemicals he inhaled while working in a factory. He left his widow penniless with a teenage son. She decided to seek a new mate, much to the chagrin of our young man. Eventually, she married someone whom the boy despised. His house was no longer his home. Instead, he found refuge among his friends who came from similar background. It didn’t take long before things deteriorated. He ended up in the juvenile detention center where he suffered violence and abuse at the hands of authority. His only solace was running long distances which he found to be peaceful and comforting.

His incredible stamina and speed caught the attention of the detention center director. He was an avid sportsman and wanted to acquire funding for an athlete program in the center. He immediately attempted to convince the boy to represent the reform school in a five kilometer race organized by the local private schools. It was his chance to show off to the upper crust of society his capabilities of reforming delinquents into what he considered worthy citizens. The young man accepted the challenge and trained himself to gain the respect of his director. Eventually, he became the apple of his eye. He was rewarded with special privileges and promised many more if he won the race. Everyday, while his fellow inmates worked in the factory, our friend ate well and rested and trained for the race. When the day came, he was by far the best runner. No one could keep up with him. As he approached the finishing line, he had an epiphany about what crossing the victory line meant. He saw his director was waiting at the end smiling with approval. This was his opportunity to gain the recognition of the world. Then images of his friends doing hard labor in the factories popped into his mind, then his father, his mother and her new husband, and the police abusing him mercilessly. He stopped running and just stood contemplating what to do. Everyone was confused. He just stood still as the others ran pass him and crossed the finishing line. The director left the scene disgusted. Our protagonist went back to work in the factories with his mates. I remember being devastated by his decision. I wanted him to experience something good for a change. Alas, he chose not to cross the line. I think I understand now. The first shall be last and he chose not be first in this world.

There is a great shift in Christianity in recent times. It used to be the faith of the “last” and now it has become a faith enamored with the “first” of this world. Our spiritual history is replete with saints who were born into wealth and then left everything to become the “last”. We still have their images etched on our stained glass windows. Unfortunately, their light has been slowly dimmed through our indifference. Today is more common to read Christian ministers quoting Bill Gates or Steve Jobs as an inspiration for successful lives than these saints, something I have been seeing quite frequently. If I shared a story of a homeless youth who lived a good life but nevertheless continues to be homeless and will be so for the rest of his life, there would be sadness and silence among those who hear this. However, if I were to say that a homeless man today is a millionaire and owns several up and coming businesses, there would be applause. I know this to be true because I was one of those who applauded once. I never bothered to consider the words of Jesus when He said that one could gain the whole but end up losing his soul. After all, the message of the gospel is not about helping someone become “first” in this world. It is about the unconditional love of God. Jesus was only concerned to reveal this Truth to us.

It is important to remember when Jesus walked among us He never engaged with the “firsts” of this world. He never consulted the top religious leaders of his time. He never praised the great military leaders and emperors of his period. Their roles and position in life was completely irrelevant to His ministry. On the other hand, he paid attention to the ones considered to be “last”; the ones whom no one wants to pick to be on their team. These are the ones Jesus chooses to be in his party. In fact, He made it a criteria.

“If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” Mark 9:35

Those whom the world admires, the billionaires, politicians, actors, etc. are only admirable for those who want to be like them. They are the finishing line of this era. However, as Christians, they can not be our models by any shape or form.

In our ministry, I used to be like the director in the movie I mentioned. I wanted the children and teens to cross the line. I desired that they become first and be accepted in this world. Now, I realize the wisdom of the long distance runner. Being first in this world comes with a price. The people who are first tend to forget the struggles and suffering of those who did not make it first. They forget that everything they possess was not acquired by their own merit. They tend to believe that they are better than the ones perceived as “last”. Just what we read in the parable when the workers who were hired first complained and said, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” (Matthew 20:12) This is the same argument the older brother used against the father for accepting the prodigal son back into his fold. Those who are “first” in this world forget that they got to be where they are because of God’s grace. Nothing we have is due to our own merits. Everything comes from God. The difference between the righteous and the wicked in the Bible is that the former recognize this truth. Our concern with the children and youth is not that they become “firsts” in this world. We should not desire to the world to applaud them in this life. Instead, we hope to help them become like the long distance runner and stop before they surrender their soul to the false god of this world.

In this world, people are divided into “first” and “last”. In the Kingdom of God, our focus is on the generosity of God’s love which sees beyond this simplistic mindset of this world and loves people regardless of their successes and failures in this world. Just because one is successful in this life does not mean that they are blessed. The opposite is true also. Someone who is considered a failure in this world might be the one for whom Jesus is willing to abandon everything and search. Jesus likes to be among the “last” of this world. It is just the way He chooses to be.

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if a brother sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22

Two brothers; one was 8 and the older one was ten when it happened. Their home life consisted of an angry violent father and the rest of family living in constant fear. Strangely, drugs or alcohol were not involved. One day he grabbed a rubber hose and attacked the brothers with it. Obviously, this was not the first time but definitely the most violent. The older brother did all he could to protect his younger sibling. His whole body was covered with welts and the father just wouldn’t stop. The mother was powerless to protect her boys. She was always the first to suffer. Their only chance of survival was to run into the streets and plea for help. They managed to escape and the police were called. The father fled the scene. The bruises on the older boy sufficed to anger the arresting officers. They were determined to apprehend their abuser. The brothers saw their father subdued and handcuffed. They felt relieved. Then, the younger one overheard the police officer telling the father, “You are going to get a taste of your own medicine in prison.” He told me that he would never forget those words. He wasn’t sure what to make of them. He did not want anything bad to happen to his father. He still loved his father despite everything. They lost him on that day.

The brothers eventually ended up in the streets. Even though the threat in their household was gone, something had radically changed within them. They realized that their home would never be a safe place for them. They loved their mother but also knew that she was incapable of protecting them. They decided to search for their own safe space. Ironically, living in the streets was the best option. Unfortunately, the older brother got involved with the wrong crowd and landed up in the juvenile detention center soon after. Regrettably, this brought him in contact with other teens involved in crime. By the time, he reached adulthood, he was already a seasoned criminal. He is presently in prison. The younger brother was different. He went to the streets only because of his older brother. He was the only person that made him feel safe in this world. When his brother was taken away from him, he found himself once again abandoned and alone in this world. He had to carve out a safe place for himself on his own. Thanks to his older brother, he never lost his belief in humanity. He always appreciated his brother’s sacrificial love for him. He was always open to trust people. Soon, he made friends in the streets who became just like his older brother. They gave him a sense of security. This is all he wanted. There were many like him in the streets. They wanted a safe place. Some of were young girls were raped or sexually abused by the very ones who were suppose to protect them from rapists and other sexual predators. There were those who struggled with their sexual identity and they suffered the most. There were those who don’t even remember the names of their parents. They were there in the streets wondering if there was anywhere in the world where they could feel safe and at home. There was none so they decided that the streets was their only option. They made the best of it and kept each other safe.

I thought reading the above gospel text about forgiveness among the children and teens was going to be interesting. I was curious to hear what they thought about Jesus’ radical views on the subject. The younger brother, when he read the text, was somewhat taken aback. He looked at me puzzled and asked, “Does Jesus expect us to keep constant track of the number of times we forgive? Seventy times seven! That’s too complicating! I would rather just forgive and then go on with my life.” It was interesting. He did not have a problem with forgiving. He just did not want to keep track of it. I told him that Jesus meant exactly this. We should forgive without keeping an account. Then he laughed. When you think about it, Jesus did give a humorous answer back to Peter. Forgiveness is essential for survival in the streets. I had never thought about it. The homeless don’t have the luxury of holding grudges even though there are some who do. They are the minority. Most of the time, these ones don’t survive. Their hatred consumes them to the point that they either kill or get killed.

The younger brother told me that the homeless teens need to let go of their past in order to survive in the present. Unfortunately, in their case, it also means not expecting their families to be their families anymore. They don’t hate them. In fact, many of them still speak fondly of their families especially their mothers or grandmothers. He told me that he saw his father after 10 years or so. He was genuinely happy to see him. The father is now married to another woman and has three children. He even met her and his half siblings. He thought that she was a lovely person and his father seemed to have overcome his personal demons. He was genuinely happy for him although he knows that the paternal relationship between them is gone forever. He realizes he cannot have that kind of expectation anymore. He has forgiven him unconditionally and part of this means not having any expectations.

Forgiveness cannot undo the past. It means just accepting it. It is also realizing that the people who hurt and disappointed us are broken people. Sometimes they can do great evil to us. However, when we forgive them, we are choosing to believe that they are not intrinsically evil. At least, this is how our homeless youth deal with it. For them, forgiveness is choosing to believe that the person who harmed them is not beyond redemption and they believe that he or she can change. They forgive because they want to be able to receive the person back into their lives in some shape or form. The younger brother received his father back but not in the same manner as before. Things have changed and forgiveness also means that we accept these changes.

I have known the younger brother for many years. This was the first time he shared his story with me because the subject of forgiveness gave him this opportunity. He has his fathers number with him always. I asked if he called him recently. “Not yet.” He responded, “ I have learned to live my life without him and besides, he has his own family now. I am just glad that we have some contact.”

Perhaps some might say that he is just saying this but deep down inside he might be bitter about what his father did. It has to be quite deep if no one can notice. There is no sign of hostility or bitterness when he talks about his father. I can say the same for the other children and teens we know. Danyel’s mother is cold and unaffectionate. However, when she suffered an accident, he went home immediately to help her. He loves her deeply even though she is emotionally and mentally incapable of reciprocating this love. Gabriel told me once that he was in the streets because he was helping his mother. She will have one less mouth to feed. He has her name tattooed on his fore arm. The list goes on. Forgiveness is something our children and teens have embraced. Not because some religious leaders told them to do so or a psychoanalyst recommended it. They did it because it was essential for their own humanity. It was the only way they could move forward in this life. It doesn’t mean that they have been healed from the emotional and spiritual injuries they sustained from their suffering. Forgiveness just opens the door for the healing process. This might take the rest of their lives. Perhaps, along the way they still might need to revisit their friend, Forgiveness, and hold her hand as she guides them through the healing process.