Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” John 12:20-23

Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. John 12:27

There was a time when I would not have paid made much attention to these words. However, times have changed and now they caught my attention almost immediately. Just like that, they became extremely relevant to us. They present us with questions and demand that they should think carefully of the answers.

It was the Greek-speaking Jews who started this conversation. Jesus’ fame had reached their foreign shores. They were eager to meet Him. Apparently, His message was welcomed in their lands. Most of us would have thought this was good news. Jesus was getting the necessary publicity. However, Jesus responded in a most bizarre manner. I used to think that some passages made Jesus seemed a little aloof. He did not even address the presence of these men. Instead, He spoke about His imminent death. For some strange reason, it has become clearer to me now. Jesus was not avoiding the issue. He was directly confronting it. This new opportunity was a temptation. It meant that Jesus did not need to be restricted to Jerusalem. There were places with safer options available to Him. He responded clearly that He was going to stay on course even though it brought much anguish to His soul.

This time last year I read a book, “The Plague” by Albert Camus. I have read it before. I knew that it was about a city in quarantine. I thought perhaps it would give some insights as we began our own quarantine. Camus, an atheist, was deeply intrigued by the ambiguity of our human nature especially of its spiritual nature. All the characters were atheists except for a much loved Roman Catholic priest. They were forced to deal with tough questions about their own mortality in a time of utter chaos and abandonment. One character in particular, Raymond Rambert, a journalist, who by misfortune, found himself to be trapped in the city days before it was sealed off from the outside world. He had a girlfriend waiting on the outside and decided that he would risk fleeing the city in order to be with her. Everyone including the town’s doctor encouraged him to do it. They thought that love was worth the risk. He bribed the necessary authorities to accomplish his plan. After several unsuccessful attempts, the day finally came when all the necessary factors were in place. It was a perfect day for his flight. At the final moment, he desisted from the whole endeavor. He couldn’t do it. He realized that he was part of the plague ridden town. He could not leave the people behind. He concluded that it was impossible for to find private happiness while others were still suffering.

It was definitely one of the most spiritual books I have read recently. Maybe it even helped me comprehend the words of Jesus in the gospel text above. We tend to interpret these words in the light of our doctrines. We often talk about his sacrificial death for the atonement of our sins. As powerful as these concepts are, they strip Jesus of his humanity. His actions were not to fulfill a doctrinal requirement. They were acts of love directed specifically to a group of people whom He loved dearly. Jesus loved the people whom He healed and taught. They had become a pivotal part of His life. He was not going to abandon them because His fame was able to carry Him to a different and safer venue. He was their Messiah, no matter what it entailed. The people had come to trust Him. Maybe there wasn’t many. We know for sure that the twelve apostles including the one who betrayed Him were precious to Him. There were the women who faithfully kept Him accompanied and supported Him with their means. These people became the fabric of His earthly existence. They had become one with Him. He could not leave them now when things had taken a darker turn. The option was there for Him and with it, a price tag. Jesus refused it. He took the risk and gained something much more valuable and precious.

This is our third venture into Brazil. My first time, I was young enough to imagine that I could change the world. There was a little bit of a messianic complex. It didn’t take long for reality to grab hold of me. I realized things were too complex and ambiguous for any easy solutions that my mind conjured up. I discarded my illusions of grandeur and focused on the homeless youth instead. I realized that despite our limitations, we loved our time with the children. Unfortunately, our failure to meet the necessary visa requirements forced us to leave. Five years later, we returned to Brazil for the second time. I was ordained and had a parish. I thought that I could create a bridge between the church and the homeless community. Perhaps I was a little idealistic and the bridge was never built. I served out my time as a parish priest and then we decided to pack it up and call it quits. We left on our own accord this time. Then about five years later, we were back. Many things have changed. I have been ordained for a while. I have worked in different parishes. I was much older and wise enough to know my limitations and capabilities. There were no projects or visions of grandeur, just an open heart and mind. We just wanted to serve the homeless youth. We realized that we sensed the presence of Christ clearly when we served among these abandoned youth. We felt strongly that God could use us in their lives if only we allowed Him to show us what He was doing in their midst. We spent our years here listening, watching, and, of course, praying. We saw God in their lives. Our lives were so enriched by this encounter that we were able to share this wealth with people thousands of miles away from here. We allowed the youth to show us how to be part of their lives. They opened their hearts to us. They became part of us and we became part of their lives. We did not need to become their messiah nor an innovative church-planters. We just needed to be ourselves and enjoy God’s presence in the midst of these abandoned young people.

Then came the Pandemic. We were thrust into the unknown. It has been a year. The rest of the world is on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, we are slipping into utter chaos here. For the first time in a long time, we cannot imagine what the future is going to be like. We see signs that are not very encouraging. Therefore, we decided to stop thinking about it. We have the present with us which comes with an option to leave. I am sure that a simple phone call could get us out of here. We would be safe. I am not sure if we would be happy. We belong here. This is where God has prepared a place for us. Many may not understand this. Some might say that safety is the main issue. Well, we tried to establish ourselves here on three different occasions and finally we found our place. Despite the dire state of affairs, there is something valuable here beyond our private happiness. It is too precious for us to abandon. It is like finding the treasure that I have been seeking all my life. Now, we just can’t leave.

Bruno shared a very simple and common childhood experience he had this week. Once when he was ten years old, he wanted to become the president. I am sure many people harbored this fantasy during their childhood. I remember telling my parents about it; they burst out laughing. I wasn’t crushed but I developed a sense of humor. I listened to Bruno’s story and how he discovered that this was an impossible dream. To be honest, I did not pay too much attention to it. It is a common childhood fantasy. However, before I left, he pulled me aside and said, “I hope that you believed my story. It is the truth.” I told him that I had no reason to doubt him. I realized that it was important for him that I believed him. I realized that Bruno never had the chance of sharing this childhood fantasy with his family or father. He never met his father and he grew up in a crowded orphanage. He was sharing a simple story but he wanted me to know that once he had dreams and hopes just like any other child. He has given me something special. He feels comfortable enough to share his childhood dreams with us.

This is why God has brought us here. This is our place.

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14

Thirty people died while waiting to be attended in the hospital on Thursday. On Friday, Covid claimed one life every 4 minutes in this city. Just a few days prior to this, on my way home from the streets, I walked by an area where there were bars and saw hundreds of young people drinking and partying. No one seems to be concerned. We have been having the highest number of deaths these past few weeks. The hospitals are almost fully occupied. We hear daily news of young people dying from the new variant of this dreadful virus. None of these things have hindered people from flirting with death. This is because Life has very little value here.

This is not just my observation. A local doctor known for his work among the prison population shared this in a recent interview. He was essential figure in changing the fate of many during the Aids pandemic in the eighties. He lamented that nothing has changed over the years. Lack of empathy was present then and is still prevalent now. Perhaps, this year all things hidden are accentuated. We are in the worst possible times but no one seems to care. They did not care when they saw children and families sleeping in the streets. They did not care when a homeless man recently walked into a restaurant to ask for help. Everyone ignored him as he laid there in pain and slowly died. Not a single soul called for help. Now, this attitude of indifference is coming around and hardening the hearts of people in regards to their own lives and welfare. An ethical life is not living one’s life for the benefit of others. It is about recognizing and valuing the importance of Life.

Today the streets are almost empty. The local government threatened to impose a fine if the businesses did not cut down their operating hours. I found the children and teens in the same spot, near the Asian grocery stores. Daniel was sitting with William. His first question was about the pandemic. He asked if a lot of people were dying? Our youth are cut off from the world. No one tells them anything. They just sense things intuitively.

I commented that it is amazing that none of the homeless have been infected. I asked them if they knew someone in the streets with the virus. They thought about it hard before responding. Apparently, no one in their immediate group had the virus. It is strange and good at the same. I don’t want to make precipitate judgments and say that it’s a miracle. Besides, many people have died. Many good and kind people lost their lives. Their families would be wondering why God did not act in their situation. We can be grateful that nothing has happened to our children and teens. However, it is not over yet. We still have a long road ahead. For now, we are still intact. I remember Felipe once shared that he believed that every time we escape a close brush with death, it is a reminder for us that we should not waste opportunities and seek to to do the truth always. Felipe is a simple young man. When he understands an aspect of the Truth, he applies it immediately where as most just stop at the knowledge of it.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:21

There were less people in the streets but I met more of our youth whom I haven’t seen for months. Unfortunately, there is a baby in the streets too. In the past year one of the older girls gave birth to a child. We are thankful that Felipe and his wife have a place to stay even though it is quite precarious. They have an infant child just a few days old. The streets is not a place for anyone much less a baby. This baby is not so fortunate. He doesn’t sleep in the streets but he is homeless. His mother spends her day in the streets and she finds some shelter in the evenings. Nothing permanent. Her baby was all smiles because he was surrounded by the youth who are constantly showering him with attention. I was disturbed and I want to be disturbed. I don’t want to get used to this scene. At the same time, I cannot let this distract me. This is their reality. They are not being irresponsible. They have lost everything. There is no gospel in trying to find someone to blame. It’s an exercise in futility. Nothing is going to change. I have to find hope in this seemingly hopeless situation. Some days it feels hard to find it. Thankfully, today wasn’t one of those days.

Actually, Hope found me. It came into my living room in the night before as I was reading into the early hours. I heard it strange buzzing sound of an insect. Initially, I thought it was a cockroach. Like most human beings, I find them repulsive and a little bit afraid of them. I grabbed something to squash the revolting thing. Then I realized that it was Hope. She landed close to my desk. Maybe it was a “he”. It doesn’t matter. She is a beautiful and charming little insect probably in the same species as a grasshopper. The locals understandably find this creature to be endearing. It is a nocturnal insect and not very commonly sighted. Brazilians have nicknamed it “hope”, or rather, “Esperança”. They believe that when they visit you, they bring hope to the household. I have never been superstitious and I am not going to start now. However, I do appreciate symbols. Seeing this gentle insect and saying its name out loud to myself brought a strange sense of peace to my heart. Hope comes when we least expect it. It is not something we can create within ourselves. It is not an illusion nor a defense mechanism. It is as real as this tiny creature and brings a sense of delight to our souls. It cannot be control or domesticated. It choose to come as it please and when it does, it comes to remind us. I can’t really say of what exactly. I am not convinced things are going to get better. This would be wishful thinking, almost a cliché. Besides, Hope is much morenthan this. It makes us look deep into a hopeless situation and discover something. I am not sure what. I just cannot quite find the words for it. In the meantime, my little “Esperança” was quite comfortable in my apartment. I have ample supply of plants here. However, her place is out in the world. She was looking for a way out. She has many homes to visit tonight. I gently picked her up and she rested in the palm of my hands and I brought her to the window. She flew and then came back briefly to rest on my head. Just for a second or two, then she left to visit some other soul. I am sure that her presence might bring joy to many even though everyone knows that she is just an insect. It is not what she is but what she represents. She is Hope. She needs to be out there in the world. She doesn’t belong to me. She belongs to everyone.

Jesus said that the Son of Man must lifted high so that everyone can see and believe that eternal life is given to them. Many have reduced this to life after death. Our children and teens who live so close to death on daily basis don’t think about eternal life in the same manner. Perhaps they don’t think about it at all. For them, they learn everything intuitively. Daniel was keen to change the subject. He had enough talk about death. H wanted to share something he saw recently. He said that there was an artist who used trash to make a sculpture. He was really impressed with it. He liked it that things which people throw away are used to make such beautiful art. He asked me to look for it on the internet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it. It doesn’t matter. I saw its magic in the eyes of Daniel. Our youth always find something to remind them of the beauty of life. Nothing is considered trash. Society might think that they are worthless. Yet, an artist can see beauty when others see nothing but problems.

Perhaps this is what hope is all about. Recognizing beauty in the midst of death and destruction. Seeing hope in the presence of an insignificant creature. Seeing eternal life in a man hanging on a cruel instrument of death.

He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. John 2:16-21

We hadn’t seen Daniel for almost a year. I asked him to stand up. I heard rumors that he had grown taller. He smiled and immediately stood next to me. He was almost my height. He will be 18 this year, legally an adult. Hard to imagine. We always picture him as a petite scrawny kid who was always open for an adventure. Among all the teens, he was one of the few who went out on excursions with us. Consequently, we have taken many pictures together which coincidentally we were just looking at recently. He looks older now but his face still radiates with childlike innocence. It was obvious that he missed us as much as we missed him. Mary commented about his pictures. To our surprise, he remembered every occasion when the pictures were taken.

I asked him what he thought about the pandemic. He misunderstood my question. You know, words often get lost in the fabric of our masks. Daniel thought that the question was about life in general. He had an answer ready. “I want to meet people and have experiences and then share them with others just like you, and maybe even write about it.” I am not sure if he knew that I write about them. Maybe he did.

He mistook my question but perhaps he gave me a better answer that I expected. It’s possible that he did hear my question. The Pandemic has made many think about their lives. Daniel wants to do something which he believes will make his life meaningful. He remarked that he often goes off by himself to pray and think about life. Actually, most of the teens have been asking serious questions about their lives. It has resulted in some significant changes. Bruno told me the other day that he was done with lying about his life. Well, he does not really lie but his stories were often mingled with fantasy. I understand what he means. He is no longer afraid to face the reality of his past. This was just a preface; he wanted to share his first experience eating out. It was in a fast-food restaurant. For most of us, this is quite a common boring experience. Young Bruno thought that only wealthy people ate at these places. A kind lady whose house Bruno’s mother cleaned weekly decided to treat him on his birthday. She brought him to the restaurant and asked him to pick anything. He froze. He told me that he couldn’t do it. He felt that everyone knew that he had no business being there. He was only ten then. Finally, the woman ordered a huge hamburger with fries and a sundae. She sat with him while he ate. It was an experience that he will never forget. This story did not go anywhere. It wasn’t that kind of story. It was something that he wanted us to know. He thought that we would understand. I think I do. If not, one day it will be become clearer to me. As for now, I have treat it delicately because it is a precious gift he has given to me.

All these conversations took place in a busy business area. The children and teens have migrated to a new area. It is known as “Liberdade” which means “freedom”. It used to be where the Japanese community lived. Today most of the Nippon-Brazilians have moved into the other neighborhoods. However, the business and the grocery stores have remained here. They have many street food vendors. It is one of the most busy areas despite the Pandemic. Thankfully, most people do use masks but no one really respects social distancing. Here the major thrust is commerce. Everyone is either busy spending money or making it. In the midst of this, our homeless youth have found a temporary home. They represent the other extreme. Some people walk by and despise their presence. They don’t hesitate to show their disdain. Others find solace in their presence. The children and teens are like a temple in the middle of the market place. They have invaded a place and live a lifestyle completely contrary to its values. They are disrupting something in this place just the way Jesus disrupted the market in the temple.

Bruno sits outside a bank and…I can’t really say that he begs. He just sits there. He doesn’t say anything. People give him some change because it is obvious that he is homeless. Daniel and Wanderson run errands for the food vendors. I saw Wanderson helping to unload food from a delivery truck. They get some food and cash for their errands. The food vendors have taken a liking to them. Bruno does something different. He likes talking to people. Sometimes during their break, the employees of the stores chat with him. Bruno is not from their world of commerce and office politics. Consequently, their conversation is different from that with their colleagues. Perhaps different enough for them to keep coming back to him. There are some significant changes in Bruno too. When we first met him about seven years ago, he was constantly drugged out. He always sniffed a bottle of paint thinner while he sat and begged. Nowadays, he sits and reads and whenever someone approaches him, he gives them his full attention without asking for any money.

There is a young man who works in one of the biggest stores in the area. Everyday he sits next to Bruno on the ground and chats about everything and nothing. It was later revealed that he is the son of the owner and next in line to inherit the business. In the eyes of the world, this is a bizarre friendship. In reality, it is a very normal thing between two young men of the same age. Bruno does not expect anything from this man. This man has found something different and unique in his relationship with Bruno.

There are others too. Bruno is constantly introducing us to them. I can’t remember who is who. However, it is very uplifting to see Bruno overcome the obstacles of being considered just a homeless person. He is just Bruno to these people and he happens to be homeless. Perhaps this is what Daniel meant when he said that he wants to meet different people and become friends with them. In a strange way, these youth are providing something for people who are exhausted by the demands of the commercial world. They see someone in a situation that is the stuff of their worst nightmares and yet, they discover something beautiful and meaningful in them. They are a reminder to these people entrenched in the market that there is life beyond this world of buying and selling.

The temple provided a place where people could be free from the pressures of the world to ask themselves the deep questions of life. Unfortunately, in Jesus’ time, the temple succumbed to the market. Today is not any different. However, the good news is that the temple is no longer a place nor a building. It is a person. He is present and manifests Himself in the people whom we least expect. For now, God is using these homeless youth to be a temple in the market place known as “Freedom.”

Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Mark 8:31-33

Previously, Peter had proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ. In Jesus’ time, the people had suffered one oppressive regime after another. They exhausted all human efforts to overcome the tyranny. Cruelty and injustice had become the norm for them. However, the people knew that the Christ would change this scenario for eternity. After Him, suffering and injustice would be history.

We can understand how disappointed Peter must have felt when Jesus predicted the future that awaited Him. There was no mention of political takeover. The world was going to remain as it was. The Christ was to suffer, just like the oppressed and humiliated. It wasn’t exactly what the people wanted to hear. If we are honest, it is not what we want to hear as well. Jesus was supposed to be the answer to all of life’s problems. There was nothing else after Him. If He is not going to change the order of things, then who is going to do it? Peter felt that it was his duty to redirect the Christ to do what he believed was necessary, an attitude that is still prevalent today. It is a satanic one according to Jesus. Even then, we still persist on holding onto to it. We still believe that we can guide the Christ in His actions in this world.

A couple weeks ago something tragic happened. It left me feeling rather revolted and somewhat bitter. In reality, it is not that interesting because evil is dreadfully boring. Wanderson was falsely accused of something serious. I know that he was completely innocent because he was with me. He was standing next to me when it happened. We were watching a cultural presentation together. It was a Chinese lion dance in honor of the Lunar New Year. Growing up in Singapore, this was one of my favorite cultural spectacles. I invited the teens to watch with me. It was a good educational opportunity, plus I could share one of my favorite childhood experiences with them. Bruno and Guilherme were with us. Usually, the young people would avoid watching such events. They usually think that the rest of people dread their presence in the midst of them. However, today, they were with me. They felt safe.

The presentation was mediocre and somewhat unintentionally humorous. Wanderson was making some funny remarks about it. Then, for no apparent reason, a young man approached and punched him in his back. It was so random that we thought maybe it was a friend fooling around with him. The young man said something that visibly upset Wanderson and he left immediately. We were little confused. Then we overheard the man telling his friends that we were a suspicious bunch too. Bruno confronted the man, who recoiled. He was trying to intimidate us for some reason. We were still little disoriented. The young man grabbed his wife and went to two policemen who stood close by. He claimed that Wanderson had sexually assaulted his wife. The officers took out their guns and approached Wanderson. Needless to say, he was manhandled and handcuffed. Throughout this time, the poor boy was pleading to the police saying that he had done nothing. We went to his defense. The officer told me that I could be his witness but if they proved Wanderson was guilt, they would arrest me for being an accomplice. To be frank, I was afraid to get into the patrol car where I knew more injustice and violence awaited me. To my surprise, Bruno offered to be taken with Wanderson but the police ignored him and drove off.

Everything was resolved in a few hours. There were surveillance cameras and high tech finger print detectors involved. Wanderson was no where near the woman and his prints were not on the woman. I knew this already because he was standing next to me. The woman did not even know what was going on until her husband told her she was supposedly assaulted. There was nothing that provoked the incident except hatred and prejudice. The man could not handle the presence of poor homeless youth enjoying a public event. Bruno and I noticed that this man had a religious t-shirt on which had a biblical verse about Jesus. Apparently, he believed in the Christ but not in His love and grace.

At the end of the day, the couple went home without any consequences. Wanderson was released immediately but suffered public humiliation for no rhyme nor reason. He came back and went on with life as usual. He has grown accustomed to this kind of treatment. Bruno told me that this happens all the time. People can say all kinds of lies against them and they can’t say anything in their defense. None of them have any criminal record but they are always treated as if they are guilty before proven innocent. Bruno asked me why is the norm. I had to restrain my instinct to say that this wasn’t the norm. It would be an utter lie. This is how things operate here. One side has the power to dominate and humiliate while the other is helpless and has to endure everything that is at thrown at them. I came home feeling a little sad and very angry. I wanted God to do something. I was on the side of Peter. I wanted to rebuke God for not changing the way the world functions.

It was obvious to Peter. Things cannot go on as they are. Jesus never disagreed with Peter. However, He was not going to participate in the evil system to change it. He did not come to improve things. This would require Him to work in partnership with sin. This was the proposal of the devil in the desert. It was a partnership that came with a price.

The devil said to Jesus, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ Matthew 4:9-10

Jesus came to establish the New Creation. The Old is incompatible with the new. The former does everything from top down. God chooses to establish the New Creation among those who are humiliated and oppressed constantly. We want a Christ who comes wielding with power and might. Jesus reveals to us a suffering servant. God chooses to establish His Kingdom from the perspective of those whom the world neglects and rejects. The New Creation begins here and it is well established here. However, we are not going to see it until we give up our idea of how things should function and allow God to reveal His ways to us.

Bruno had a similar experience. He was taken to the police station falsely accused of something which never happened. The commanding officer found nothing incriminating and it was clear that Bruno was innocent. He reprimanded the officers. He demanded that they release him immediately. However, the arresting officers took him to a hidden corner in streets and beat up before letting him go. Bruno said that he did not mind the unjust beating that he received. This always happens. However, he was happy at least one person recognized that he was falsely accused. He was satisfied with this. I would have demanded more. Then again, I live in a different world where I am fed with lies on how this world functions. Our homeless youth see a different reality. It is closer to what Jesus experienced. Perhaps, they see the Kingdom of God in a different light. Maybe, I am the one who needs to leave my “satanic” ideas of how the Christ should act in this world and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to me through these young people.

The New Creation is here. We may never see it if we insist on looking for it in the old.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-20

It wasn’t exactly strange but definitely unusual in these strange times. Our Sunday afternoons are spent reading the gospel of Matthew together with Felipe in a “park”. This “park” is really a highway which is closed on the weekends and the residents of this city treat it like a “park” even without the trees, benches and anything that actual parks possess. We are a people desperate for any space to walk and just hang out in small groups without violating the restrictions. This is where our tiny church meets to study the Bible and pray. There is always a large movement of people in this place and strangely, we never ran into our friends for the past year. However, on Sunday, we ran into two friends on two different occasions. One in particular had expressed a keen interest in participating in our little church. However, the pandemic got in the way of her plans. It was nice to finally introduce her to Felipe. Surprisingly, he did not seem to be awkward or reserved like most of our homeless youth when they meet someone outside their circle. It shows how much he has grown over the past year. For a moment, I had a glimpse of all our friends from different worlds coming together to share a meal in our home. It is going to happen one day.

Our friend wanted to see us the next day. We met outside in an open space not far from our home. She was overjoyed to see us. It has been a year since she talked and laughed with her friends.
She works in the medical profession and everyone around her is going through a stressful time. After work, they just want to go home. They don’t have an outlet to share and talk with anyone. It has been a lonely and depressing year for her. Our conversations zigzagged around countless topics and then finally rested on the subject of Lent. Our friend is an agnostic. She was brought up in a pentecostal church and spent much of her youth actively involved in its religious programs. When she started working in Jewish social center for people who have suffered trauma, she saw that things which she was taught in church did not match up with the reality she faced. She found herself slowly drifting away from her faith. However, she never ceased to be interested in God nor religion. In fact, our conversations often times ended up on the subject of God.

Even though this is a predominantly Catholic society, our friend never heard about Lent until recently. She is not the only one. Most people here think that Ash Wednesday is the end of Carnaval and not the beginning of the Lent. The Protestant churches consider everything Catholic suspicious. They avoid adopting any of its traditions. Her Catholic friends were quite disappointing too. They told her that Lent was about giving up alcohol or chocolates. In many places, people talk about Lent in this way. It is an impoverished idea of a great tradition. Fortunately, our friend sensed that there was something more to it. She asked us about it. For her, the idea of having a special time or period consecrated for something specific was appealing. She wanted to know the purpose of this special season.

The Bible has many examples of periods of fasting. However, it is never about giving up food. God does not delight in depriving us of our natural sustenance. On the hand, we spend a great deal of our time on food; preparing, thinking about it, organizing our day around our meals. Fasting does free up our time. Lent is about consecrating our time to reflect.

We begin Lent with the story of Jesus going into the wilderness. Before this, He was a carpenter; His time and energy and identity were contained in this role. In the wilderness, He was free from everything. He had time to reorganize His priorities. He needed time to change His mindset from being a carpenter to someone whom God had called Him to be. We need forty days every year remind ourselves of our vocation.

Every year is different. Therefore, we cannot apply what we did in the previous years to this year. We have a Pandemic. It is not going to end soon. In fact, in many ways it can help us go beyond our superficial Lenten practices. The situation has deprived us of many of favorite activities. Most of us have given up way more than chocolates this year. Many have lost friends and families. I have lost some friends this year and never had the chance to say goodbye to them. Many are isolated and lonely. Many are afraid with no one to console them. The political situation is moving from bad to worse. No one can say that things are getting better, even with the vaccine around the corner for some. We are living in the wilderness. When Jesus came out of the wilderness, He became a healer. Remembering the story of His temptation, Jesus was given the choice. He could have walked the way of the devil. The devil’s arguments were reasonable. Jesus listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

During the past year, names of many came popping up. Some of them are our homeless youth that we haven’t seen for more than a year. There were many that were once dear friends who left a distinctive mark in my life but unfortunately time and space have kept us apart for many years. I often wondered if they were fine or how they were dealing with this time. It never occurred to me that perhaps they were brought to my memory because the Holy Spirit wants to use me as an instrumental of healing. Maybe they can bring healing to my soul too. This Lent I am going to listen to these gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit. Many times I have disregarded them, considering them to be fleeting thoughts because I was busy with my life here. I was very concerned about the state of the world. I was disturbed by the political situation. I was occupied with things that I was powerless to change. Thankfully, Lent is here. I am given the chance to reorganize my priorities. For Jesus, healing and restoring souls was His priority. Lent is about following in the footsteps of our Lord.

We were able to spend just an hour with our friend, mostly because it was getting dark and she had a long bus journey home. It was a short time after a year of absence. However, there was a sense of healing in our souls. Our meeting with our friend has made me realize that our simple and genuine contact with another human being brings so much joy to our souls. It doesn’t take much to bring joy into someone’s life. All we need to do is to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit who brings names of people to our attention. People who might feel forgotten but a simple note or a phone call might bring them the joy and healing they need. I haven’t paid attention to the Holy Spirit. Lent is giving me a chance now. I am going to start looking for the people whose names pop up in my my mind. Maybe we will never restore the friendship we once had. However, this is not the priority. It is just important for them to know that their lives have left a permanent mark in our souls. The love which they shared with us has an eternal place in our hearts. Knowing this in a time where uncertainty reigns helps us to anchor ourselves in what is the most important treasure in this world.

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.