Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ Luke 10:3-9

When I was sixteen, I wanted to be a priest. I was a Roman Catholic then. My parish priest thought it was just a passing romantic notion of a young teen. I understand his sentiments. I am not sure how I would have reacted if I was in his shoes then. It doesn’t change the fact that he was an excellent priest. Nevertheless, he was instrumental in helping me discover my home in the Anglican tradition. When I walked into the Anglican Church for the first time, I sensed a profound peace within my soul. It was as if I was returning to a home that I never knew I had. It was the first place where I said, “Peace to this house”. The Anglican minister returned it to me. Ever since then it has been a guide in the spiritual decisions that I have made in my vocation.

The first time I came to this city of São Paulo, infamous for its violence and coldness, I said the words, “Peace to this house” in the streets where the homeless children and teens congregate. They responded with a resounding, “Yes”. They shared the peace that I treasured in my heart. This was twenty years ago and I still sense it in my heart. It is a mysterious thing. It secures us in the place we are supposed to be present. Many could wonder why a middle aged priest with years in seminary and college sits with his wife who is a qualified teacher and wait for the homeless teens and children who never seem to go anywhere. There is no rational answer to this question. It is the peace that passes all understanding. The only compass we have to guide us to the people God has reserved for us. This inexplicable calm and serenity informs us that we have everything we need as we wait for our children and teens.

Jesus was quite specific. His disciples were not to leave the place that received their blessing of peace. This is quite radical. We never think about it. Those who receive our peace may not necessarily be the kind of people with whom we want to have prolonged contact. However, Jesus was quite firm. The disciples were to stay and receive from the first household which accepted them. They may not have much to offer. From the world’s perspective, people don’t believe that the homeless have anything to offer. This is why no one pays any attention to them. Politicians ignore them or maybe acknowledge their presence in the negative sense. People never stop to talk to them except to do certain acts of charity. However, it is not the kind that recognizes that they have something to offer too. It is very rare that someone thinks that the homeless have anything valuable to contribute to their daily lives. The world operates on the principal of a “means to end”. People are encouraged to invest in things or people that help them get a determined goal. The homeless will not help you get to any goal that is worth anything in this world. Perhaps, this is why God chooses the little ones to reveal to us the splendor of His Kingdom. In our case, these were the ones who welcomed our peace and therefore our place is with them. They are the treasure that God has set apart for us. They are the ones who are going to show us why we feel at peace with them.

I saw Ruan robbing someone once. I felt distraught witnessing someone whom we cared for and loved deeply performing such an evil act. It affected our relationship. He could not feel comfortable in our presence for a long time. His life was agitated and the peace we offered was incompatible. A relationship that was lovingly cultivated over years was disrupted due to one single act of violence. Obviously we were upset and hurt. However, we still offered the peace. Unfortunately, Ruan could not receive it at that time even though he once received it with open arms. It means that we are connected with him. As Jesus told us, we are to stay with the household that receives our peace. He did not reject us. His actions made it impossible to have an open and sincere friendship with us. Thankfully, he can always change his actions.

It has been almost two years since Ruan spoke with us. He would always be polite and respectful but he would never sit down and have a conversation with us. Then he went missing for a long time. He used to be in a gang of robbers. It did not last long. He tried staying at home. It did not last long neither. Finally, he just disappeared altogether. Then he appeared this week. He looked healthy. When he was involved in crime, he used drugs aggressively. Consequently, he lost tremendous amount of weight. Now, he looked like he gained everything back and much more. He sat next to us. He had a bottle of paint thinner and was sniffing it. We reminded him that he shouldn’t do this in our presence. He looked at us and said, “What is the point?” We were a little puzzled. Then he explained that whether he sniffs paint thinner or not, no one will look at him and say that he is worth anything. He went on to say that everyone assumes that the homeless teens are criminals and no one cares to find out who they are truly. “What about us?” Mary asked. Ruan responded that we are different but most people just see the worst in us and the only thing they care about are things and not people. Then he was silent. He waited for our response. “Unfortunately, you are right, Ruan. However, you don’t have to add to the number of people who care about things more than people. You can be a good person.”. This was best response that I could think of at that moment. Ruan did not expect this answer. I could see that he was seriously pondering over my reply. I asked him if he ever considered it. He said, “No”. He never thought that he could be different from the rest.

He sat next to us and started telling us that he was working now. He works in a recycling company. It was hard work and the pay is very low but it was better than sitting around the house doing nothing, he added. He also assured us that he has stopped all his criminal activities. I told him that crime hurts our soul. I explained that each time we hurt people with our words or actions, we also hurt our souls. He understood. He asked us how old we were. We revealed our ages and he said that we had a good fifty years of life left. It is the same question he asked a few years ago. He always wants us to be alive for a long time. He wasn’t changing the subject. It was connected. Perhaps, it was his way of returning the peace we offer to him. He asked if Mary would make him cupcakes again. It is his favorite sweet. It was also a symbol. We made them when our relationship was strong and growing. He wanted to know if it is still strong. It will always be strong because when he received our peace, he helped us to build a home among these children and teens.

The Peace of God which passes all understanding helps us become the people that God desires us to be. It is much greater than any doctrine or religion. It is God’s presence in our souls. Those who are willing to listen to God’s voice can sense His presence in the hearts of those who do likewise. Ruan went through a period where he tried to stifle the voice of the Spirit. However, the Spirit of God has made His home in his heart. Ruan cannot find peace until he walks in the way of Love. We cannot find peace until we receive him back with Love.

This week was a very peaceful week.

And Jesus sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. Luke 9:52-56

The Samaritans were an easy lot to hate, especially if you belonged to the first century Jewish community. The disdain was, of course, mutual. Historians might tell us many deep-rooted reasons for this animosity. The truth of the matter is that we don’t need much to hate. Anything simple and even foolish can trigger off this passion within us to harm and desire evil for our neighbor. We able to conjure up hate because some people face a different direction than us when they pray. We think that it is justifiable to kill someone because they dress differently than us or organize their economy in a different manner. Unfortunately, I don’t have to dwell on this too long. We understand it all too well. As human beings, we have a propensity for hatred. In a way, we need it. It unites us. When we recognize this weakness in us, we can see why Jesus was quite radical and relevant for all ages. He proposed something different. He proposed to unite us through Love and He showed us how to do it. There was no room in His ministry for hatred.

He wanted to enter a Samaritan village because He had a message of healing and grace to share there. The villagers rejected Him instead because He was going the “wrong” direction. Jesus accepted this rejection whereas His disciples wanted revenge.

A young man who once volunteered with the homeless youth said that he disliked the work. He found them to be ungrateful and disrespectful. He is not wrong but he is not absolutely right. The children and teens are just like any other teens. Being homeless in the streets doesn’t make them into angels but they are not demons either. They are just humans. This young man gave up trying to help them. He is not the only one. There are countless people including missionaries who left this ministry or something similar to it and said that they would never return to it. Some are even harsher in their criticism. They think the homeless are a bunch of good for nothings.

It is easy to hate the people that you are trying to help and serve especially when they don’t respond positively to all your good intentions. I understand perfectly. Some days I feel mad and feel like saying something to these teens and children who appear to just waste their lives away sniffing paint thinner. Sometimes I feel a little offended that they would prefer drugs instead of spending time with us. I get upset. I feel like yelling at them. All these are sentiments are human. I am sure that Jesus felt these sentiments too. It is good to be in touch with such sentiments and recognize them as what they are. They are just mere sentiments that inform us that we don’t like what is before us. The fact is that we shouldn’t like seeing homeless children and teens losing their lives to drugs and crime. It should make us mad and angry to see these things. The disciples were allowed to feel angry that the Samaritans rejected a message of peace and love.
However, the disciples wanted to do something different. They wanted to use the power given to them for healing and use it to destroy the Samaritans. This is something entirely different. It is almost demonic; using something good to commit evil.

The disciples were feeling powerful. Jesus had sent the twelve to go out and preach and heal. They had a taste of the power that Jesus possessed. It was something Jesus used with fear and trembling. Now, the disciples were allowed to participate in it. Their self-confidence was elevated but their wisdom was still lacking. They did not understand the nature of their power. Hatred still ruled their hearts. All the preaching and healing that they performed did not transform their hearts. They did not understand the message that they preached. Unfortunately, we don’t have to look far to find preachers and believers with a similar attitude. They believe in the powers of Jesus, or God. They believe all the benefits that come from the gospel message. Nevertheless, they are not partakers of the ministry of Jesus. In order to participate in that which Jesus is doing through the Holy Spirit, Love has to reign in our hearts. Power without Love is tyrannical and violent. We don’t need any examples or illustrations for these kinds of manifestations of power. They permeate this world. The disciples wanted to take the power given to them through grace and mercy and turn it into something dark and sinister. Jesus rebuked them.

Apparently, nothing is said of the content of this exchange between Jesus and his disciples. We can imagine that the ignorance and evil intent of the disciples must have added to the pain and suffering of Jesus.

When Jesus calls us to serve Him among those who are the least in our society, we are empowered to do this task. God never calls us to do something without first empowering us. However, it doesn’t mean that we will be recognized for it or be immune to rejection. These are all part and parcel of the calling to be a Christian. Most importantly, we should never use this power or influence to promote ourselves or our prejudices. The power does not belong to us. It belongs to the One who would rather die a criminal’s death than strike out in defense for His own life.

We waited in our usual spot. No longer focusing on the rejection but the reason why we are here. We are here to give the Love that we received. We are not here to be accepted or even loved. It goes without saying that we like to be appreciated and loved but these children and teens are not in the spiritual place to reciprocate yet. We just wait patiently, and, perhaps with a renewed mind. Then, Kelly shows up. We haven’t seen her for months. She is one of the most affectionate teens in the street. She came to us and gave us a hug and a kiss. She told us that she had been looking for us for weeks and our paths always crossed. She wanted to try to do something that would help her be more independent and maybe even leave the streets. However, she told us that she lacked the courage to do it alone. She wanted us to do it with her. She sat and talked with us for a long time and then another young boy, Jonathan, came up to us. He saw us and put away his paint thinner so that he could spend time with us. Kelly, before she left, kissed our hands and asked us to wait for her in the same place tomorrow. She wanted to spend more time with us. Jonathan asked us if we could bring different games because he wanted to do more activities with us. It is strange when we took our focus off the rejection and focused on Love, things changed. We were able to see that rejection is only temporary but Love always triumphs.

Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. -Luke 8:35-37

This is quite a disturbing story.

The people were upset that Jesus healed a tormented young man. Obviously they considered him a menace to their society. They attempted to subdue him with chains but he was too strong for them. He was a problem that they could not solve. Nevertheless, they were upset when Jesus resolved the issue completely. Apparently, they did not care about this man. Compassion and love had no role in their attempt to solve this problem. This man was a mere “it”. They did not see humanity in him. It appears as if the whole village was demonized.

The gospels never say anything about this young man except the fact that he was shunned by his village. There is not any mention of parents or relatives. It is as if he was an orphan. He is a lot like our children and teens in the streets. The narrative tells us that he was naked, sick and tormented and homeless. The only place reserved for him was the tombs. In a way, he was imprisoned in this place. It was the only venue where he was not subjected to the brutal treatment of his peers. This young man was all the people Jesus said who represented Him in the parable of the final judgment.

Jesus made an unusual stop at Gerasenes. There was no reason for him to come here. In reality, it would be a place expressively forbidden for any Jewish person, let alone a renowned Jewish rabbi like Jesus. It was a place where they raised pigs, an unclean animal according to the Law. Jesus came to this place for one specific purpose. He came to heal this young man.

I always wondered why the people were upset when they should have been happy. Jesus saved their village from a losing a member of their society. Unfortunately, they had different priorities which blinded them from seeing the good that occurred in their midst. They were concerned that they lost valuable income when the pigs perished in the sea. However, this was not the main reason for their annoyance. If it was, they would have asked Jesus to compensate their loss. They were infuriated that Jesus disrupted their perfect organized society where everyone had their place including the demons. The fact that the demons wanted to remain in this village is an important element in this story. The demons felt extremely comfortable in this society and they did not want to leave this place.

A tourist sat next to me as his family visited the Cathedral. He made quite a random comment, “This place has so much potential but I don’t understand why it is abandoned and ugly.” He is right. The Roman Catholic Cathedral is in the heart of this center square. There are still many active businesses around. All the same, it is abandoned. The steps where we wait for the children lead up to the Cathedral. They look as if they have never been cleaned. There are countless homeless adults scattered around the steps in different stages of intoxication. Those who are not in a drunken stupor are mentally ill and having a conversation with themselves. These emit a stench that is sometimes quite unbearable. Our children and teens are on the side sniffing paint thinner. Besides them, there are aging prostitutes and homeless families and some people who are sitting there and waiting for something. No one really knows for whom or what. This is truly the living cemetery of this city. This is the place allocated for those who do not have a place in society. The place has lots of potential to be something else. Nevertheless, the city needs a place to send the people that it wants to hide from the rest of the world.

Someone might wonder what is the government doing? Well, they have different priorities from Jesus. The city and its authorities are interested in organizing their city according to their priority. They want the city to look prosperous. The broken and tormented people taint this picture and they want them out of sight. Their priority is not compatible with that of Jesus.

Jesus is not interested in creating a well-organized society. He valued those whom society rejected and despised. They were given the priority in His Kingdom. Whereas the local government tries to paint an image without these people, Jesus beautifies His concept of the Kingdom with people that need His healing and compassion. Most organized societies find this disconcerting. It challenges the way they order their society. Then again, Jesus is not interested in these things. He was only interested in healing those who are sick. In this case, it was this young tormented man. For him, Jesus deviated from his regular route. He risked His personal reputation and went to a place that a devout Jewish person would consider unclean and confronted a group of people who were hostile to Him. This young man was worth all this trouble for Jesus.

“Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. “ -Luke 8: 30

Jesus chose to have a conversation with him. He treated the young man as a human being. Others just treated him as if he was wild beast. Some might argue that Jesus was speaking with the demons. I am not going to dispute this here. For all practical purposes, it was the man who informed Jesus of his demons. No one ever bothered to find out what was causing his severe problems. Perhaps, they did not have the time and energy to do this because he was not their priority.

They finally released Danyel from the juvenile detention center. He has been there for almost four months. He looked healthy. He has put on a few kilos. He saw us while he was in the middle of a conversation with another person. He gave us a weak smile and tried to finish what he was saying. We decided to wait for him and then he looked up to ensure that we were not leaving. He wanted to walk with us. He reminded us that his birthday was next week. We always did something together on his special day.

Before he was incarcerated, he was reading regularly with us. He wanted to finish a book we bought together with him. We were half way through it. Mary asked him if he went to school while he was detained. He nodded his head and then added that he hardly learned anything there. When they released him, he was sent to a shelter. However, within two days he was back in the streets. I asked him if he wanted to continue with his reading. At first, he looked unsure and admitted that he had forgotten everything that we read. I assured him that I don’t mind reading from the beginning again. He smiled and said that we could start the next day. He gave us a hug before we said goodbye.

We have known this young man for more than five years. He will turn 16 next week. Even though we have had strong ties with him for a long time, he hasn’t revealed all the names of the demons that torment him. He needs help to discover their names one by one so that they could be driven out of his life. For the moment, we discover the names of few of his demons; abandonment, neglect, insecurity, and rejection. I am not sure the months he spent being locked up in a tiny cell of fifteen other young men with the same or even worse demons brought any healing to his soul. Maybe, a few more demons made their abode in him. Unfortunately, this is the solution that society proposes for these young people. It has nothing to do with healing. Our vocation as Christians is to proclaim God’s healing to these broken and abandoned people.

This is what Jesus is doing in our streets. He is here in São Paulo for Danyel. He is here for Wanderson. He is here for Maycon. He is here for Felipe. He is here for all the children and teens that He brings to us while we wait for them at the steps. Our role is to ask them, “who they are?” They will, in time, name one by one all the things that hinder them from being the person God has made to be. They need someone to help them to cast out all these dehumanizing demons. Thankfully, Jesus is ready to do this here and now. He is inviting us to be His instruments of healing.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. – Rev. 22:12-14

Last year we hardly spent any time with Felipe. It is strange when you consider the fact that we were with him almost everyday for more than three years. It goes without saying, life was the primary cause of this disruption. A young woman threw his life into a disarray. She was his very first girlfriend. We can understand why he was completely enthralled. He hardly had any time for anyone except her. For a moment, we thought perhaps our time with Felipe had come to an end. It was quite sad for us. We had become rather fond of him. He was a positive presence among the teens. He was their conscience and moral compass. Nevertheless, like the rest of us, he deserves to be loved romantically. For this reason, we were happy for him, though, not completely. There is a selfish part in us that wanted to see him more often. Occasionally, he would look for us just to give us a hug. It was his way of letting us know that he missed us just as much as we missed him. Still and all, things have changed for him. Life has beckoned him to move in a different direction and it was a path away from us. It is a positive change for him and we have to admit this. It was time for us to allow him to find walk away from us.

Over the pass six years, we have been building close and intimate relationships with children and teens and then learning to let them go in the direction they choose. In Felipe’s case, it was something hopeful. Unfortunately, there were many relationships that slowly withered away because of drugs and crime. Young people we wrote and spoke about affectionately are now absent in our narratives. Hopefully, it is not permanent. They still linger strongly in our hearts and minds. There was Igor, Ruan, Gabriel, Bruno, Danyel, Dreyson and the list goes on. Some of them are incarcerated. Some have given themselves over to drugs. Some have become hardened criminals. Some have just disappeared. There are those who are still around but they are completely lost in their own world. They wander aimlessly not realizing that life is just slipping by. In spite of all these changes, our vocation remains the same. We wait for them in a place where they can find us. This is where Felipe came looking for us in the beginning of this year. There were some radical changes in his life. He is a father now of an infant child. He has spent most of life sniffing paint thinner and begging because he had no one but himself. Sometimes, he would deliberately contort his body to look like a little child to gain the sympathy of his donors. It was quite a fit because he is 6 feet tall. Now, he has a woman and her children and his infant child under his wing. He wants to be a good and responsible father to all the children. Unfortunately, he never had a father in his life. He doesn’t even know where to start. Everything was strange and new to him. He came to us and asked us for help.

It wasn’t for parenting skills that he need our help. He was intimidated by the common everyday things in life. These were things and requirements that he never knew existed. On the other hand, we just assumed that everyone knew how to deal with these things. I can’t remember anyone teaching us how to do these things. This is because we don’t remember. It was our parents who taught us how to do these simple and mundane things.

He found a job but he needed help to open a bank account. He did not even know where to start. His job hardly pays for a few week’s grocery. Nonetheless, Felipe wants to save something for his infant son even if it is a small amount. The bank officer asked him for his marital status, Felipe responded, “São Paulo” because in Portuguese, the term used is “civil status”. Even though he is ignorant of the term, his reasoning makes sense. Naturally he thought that he was being asked about the city of his residence. Felipe then laughed about it when we explained it. He is not embarrassed about his mistakes. He knows that we don’t judge him by his lack of understanding of bureaucratic jargon.

He doesn’t make enough to survive. His wife still needs to go out and beg for money to supplement their income. They make it with the little they have. All the children are fed. They keep their house organized and livable. Felipe teaches the other children everything he learned like drawing and even an interest in the Japanese language. They learn to have fun and laugh. The other teens from the streets occasionally come by his house to visit him. They see that Felipe has a sense of direction now in his life. He hasn’t changed. He is still the same kind hearted young man that used to be homeless like them. The major difference is that now he has to think about the little infant he holds him arms. He named him David, after his favorite personality from the Bible. Felipe used to read the Psalms together with another young man before they went to sleep in the streets. Today he holds David and kisses him each time he leaves for work.

Opening a bank account is not easy in Brazil. It takes several attempts and lots of patience. Thankfully, the endless time spent waiting gave us an opportunity to reignite our friendship with Felipe. The old friendship in the streets has died. Now God has resurrected new relationship that still bears the marks of the old. Nevertheless, it is completely new. Now, we have a different role to play in his life. He is no longer a homeless young man even though he still doesn’t have a home yet. His family are squatters in an abandoned and squalid building. It looks like a nightmare for us but it is home for him. Felipe has a different way of looking at things. His tiny room is a spark of hope. He is moving forward. He is right whereas we are just too used to luxury to see beyond precarious conditions.

Felipe looks at life from a different perspective. He once had nothing and now he has a family and meaning in his life. He wants us to be part of this new beginning in his life. We are the one of the few things he wants to take with him from the streets. He wants our friendship to accompany him as he walks into this new world that awaits him.

On Monday, we met Felipe in front of the public library to pass some documents to him. We asked him if he wanted to enter the library. He told us that he was walked pass this place all these years and never had the courage to enter. We walked in and Felipe was amazed at the number of books. He started looking at all the titles and found the Reference section. He asked if he could borrow any of these books. We told him that he could take out anything except for the books from the Reference section. “But those are the best books!” I was quite surprised to hear this. Usually, people would hardly look at this part of the library unless they are required to do so. Felipe spent most of his flipping through pages of books on languages, biology and everything that caught his attention. Afterwards, he told us that he would never entered this place in the past but now it was clear to see that he has discovered something new and special. He is not alone. We discovered something new and special this week too. It gives us hope that there are many more special things awaiting for us as we sit and fulfill our vocation that God has given us.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Sometimes we sit at the steps of the cathedral where we meet the children and nothing happens. Some of them are around but they don’t seem to be interested in us. They are too “busy”, the kind of busyness that has something to do with drugs. It is best to leave it at that. It does leave us on the steps where nothing is happening. I sit and wonder what am I going to write about this week. I don’t write to report about something. This is not my vocation. I write to reflect on God’s presence in our midst. Unfortunately, it is hard to reflect when nothing happens.

This is not entirely true. Something always is occurring. The problem is that my mind is focused on what I want to see. No doubt this is the problem. I am so fixated with one thing that I miss the obvious. Jesus warned us about this, “Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? “ There are people all around me. They have always been here; the homeless adults in their different stages of intoxication, countless of “regular” people hustling to accomplish their mundane activities, a makeshift poor person’s fair where everything from old shoes to stolen cell phones are sold, tourists looking painfully foreign and vulnerable walking up and down the steps of the Cathedral and not to mention, the few dogs that belong to all the homeless but to no one in particular. Where there are people, there is always something happening. Jesus also told us when two or three gathered in His Name, He is always present. It can be argued that none of these people are gathered in His Name. It is true that they did not make a deliberate decision to meet at the steps for religious purposes. Most of the homeless are here because they have no where else to go. However, we are here because of Jesus. We are two people and so, Jesus must be here. I just need to stop looking for things that I want to see and open my eyes and ears to sense what God is doing in our midst.

Wallace came up to the steps. He had two huge bags. They have been gradually increasing in size over the past few days. He has been slowly accumulating some donated clothes and even bought a pair of old tennis shoes from the poor person’s fair. He sat himself next to us. He has been doing well this past few days. He is not allowing drugs to dominate his life like he did a few weeks ago. He has been doing his writing exercises faithfully. Albeit, he does it only for a few minutes a day. Today, he just wanted to rest. He was tired. The homeless are always tired. They have no place to rest their heads. Every place they choose to lie down permeates with noise and danger. They can never rest peacefully. Drugs help them to shut out all the fear and anxiety. Unfortunately, it also turns away everything that edifies their souls.

Our eyes rested on a woman who walked passed us. She always passes through at the same time. She is blind. This made her stand out to us although, for many, she still is one of the countless anonymous people that walk through this area. She manages herself so effectively that one could easily overlook that she is visually impaired. She has become so familiar to us without knowing her. Strangely, we also sense her absence on certain days. She has become part of our life without her knowledge. We noted some changes in her life. Soon, she will be taking care of a baby. Of course, we don’t know if it is going to be for the first time. We have never spoken to her. Wallace blurted out that she was not completely blind. She could see images but they are just blurry to her. In spite of this, she is able to do a lot of things on her own. I was astonished that Wallace knew so much about this woman, at least more than me. Apparently, she was not a complete stranger to him. The children and teens have spoken to her. We watch her walk by everyday. It is unlikely that we would ever speak to her. Wallace, on the other hand, refused to allow this woman be anonymous. He reached out to her.

Next day, we sat by the steps again, same as the day before. Nothing was happening initially. A young man came to us and asked us if we wanted to buy some candies that looked extremely unappetizing. He wasn’t disappointed when we refused to buy any. He knew that the quality of his product. He sat close to us and looked a little depressed. A homeless man walked by and asked us if he could sit next to us. He said that he was tired and just wanted to rest. He sat down next to me and said that there is no place to rest in this city. I am not sure if his statement was to be taken literally or spiritually but it is true in both senses. The young candy seller stood up and commented that there is so much injustice in this world that it is hard to find a place for any of us to rest here. He started talking about his life how he has to work a regular job and then sell cheap candies on the side to pay rent and eat. The homeless man added that he worked for a long time and now he has absolutely nothing except the clothes on his body. Two anonymous men with a tragic and difficult life who have no one to share their story. They turned their attention towards us. They did not want anything from us except for our attention. We had nothing concrete to say to them. Again, the word, “nothing” manifest its presence in this post. These two men wanted us to say something, anything. They were just tired from being alone and anonymous in this city. They just wanted to find a place to rest. They did deserve some words from us. We just agreed with them that life is unjust. Our accent gave us away and they turned their attention from their tragic life to our countries of origin. They shared that once dreamed about going to foreign lands. The homeless man even shared that he lived in Paraguay once. The situation was there was worse than Brazil. He married someone from there and she turned around and cheated on him. Now, he has nothing to dream about anymore. The younger man was just confused why we were living in Brazil when we could be in the States. For him, anywhere but Brazil was paradise. He was a simple young man who comes from the interior of the State of São Paulo. He came to the city hoping to find a better life for himself and his family. Now, he is on the steps of the Cathedral trying to sell enough candy so that he could eat and rest.

They did not expect to say some magic phrases that would make all their misery vanish. They know that there are no simple solutions in this life. Nevertheless, they seemed happy to just have a genuine conversation with someone. The homeless man said that one day he is going to make it. I am not sure what “it” meant for him. That wasn’t important. For a brief moment, he was someone to somebody. The young candy seller still looked depressed. Then, Wanderson showed up. We said our goodbyes to our new “friends” and went to do some activity with him. The homeless man was sincerely happy that we conversed together and he stood there for a minute trying to find something significant to say. Finally, he said in the little English he could conjure up; “bye-bye”. These simple words was his gift to us.

Jesus gives us a new and final commandment; “Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.” The “other” is the person who spends his or her life in anonymity. This is really greater part of humanity which includes you and me. The media and even churches focus on the famous and influential people. Jesus dwelt among the anonymous ones like the blind lady who walks pass us everyday or the homeless man who has no place to rest. These people are the “other” that we are told to love the way Jesus loved us. These are the ones who need to know that even though they are anonymous, they are not insignificant. After all, this is the most important thing. I like being anonymous but I don’t want to be insignificant. Wallace made sure that the blind woman knew that her presence marked his life. She was a stranger but she did occupy a space in his life.

Jesus was quite specific. He did not say to love in some ambiguous manner. He is the model. He sought people who were anonymous: the “regular” people who are just trying to find a place to rest. Jesus went to where these people were and loved them. He did not wait for something to happen. He just loved them by letting them know that they are someone to Him. I have been waiting for something to happen but actually, God just wants us to love the other when absolutely nothing happens. Nothing occurs everyday. Love is not a tool for us wield in a moment of crisis. It is a lifestyle that brings healing and joy to those who trying to find their way in the everyday drudgery of life.

There is much to learn when nothing happens. There is much to reflect on God’s presence in the nothingness.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15)

It was one of those days.

We made our way home feeling like we did something significant. We heard a “Yes” after enduring weeks of “No” from the children and teens. It has been a long time. It seemed like they forgot that there is life beyond drugs. For the past weeks, we only saw them staggering around with a plastic bottle containing paint thinner protruding out of their mouth as if permanently attached to it. This has become their drug of choice at this moment. Their lives revolve around this toxic substance. It provides an easy escape from the brutal reality that confronts them. However, not everyone or everything is against them. We don’t want them to reject the good together with the bad. We couldn’t help feeling that our long talks and valuable times we once had with them was slowly becoming a distant memory. Fortunately, we know that this is not true. They are saying “no” for now. Thankfully, their “no” does not have to strength to resist Life. Eventually a “yes” will spring forth. This is our hope. Today, we heard Wallace say it.

A few weeks ago, we could not even have a coherent conversation with Wallace. He appeared as if he just gave up on everything and completely surrendered himself to drugs. We felt like helpless spectators watching a scene of self-destruction. We did not have the tools or words to remedy the situation and we are supposed to be the healers here. We just stood there and watched him slowly slip into perdition. I made a feeble attempt and muttered some cliché like “don’t allow drugs ruin your life”. I wished that it was something deep and powerful. This was the best I could say at that time. It did bring a smile to his face. He understood what we were trying to say. Maybe this is more important that the content of the words. Today he came to us, all sober and clean. We almost had forgotten how good and pleasant he looked without the cursed bottle of paint thinner attached to his mouth. He had a peaceful semblance and accommodated himself next to us. He told us that he wanted a safe place from drugs. We were this place for him.

Wallace just turned 24 a few days ago. Maybe this has something to do with everything. He was given an opportunity to think about his life. He is an intelligent man. Even though he has spent most of his childhood in the streets, he never lost his innocence. He refused to engage in anything that would hurt another human being. He survives by begging. Wallace cannot imagine himself being anything else but a homeless person. It is not something anyone chooses voluntarily. It was something imposed upon him since he was a child. He never learned to read or write. On many occasions, we tried to convince him to learn to write his name. He would recoil in fear. He did not want to feel stupid or incapable. It wasn’t a question of pride. He just couldn’t stand another humiliating experience. This was the greatest obstacle in this young man’s life.

Today, however, was different. He told us that he was tired of feeling nervous writing his own name. He had enough of feeling stupid or inadequate. He asked Mary if she would teach him. This is the first time he has asked anything of this sort. It was as if he was the prodigal son who saw the pigsty for what it was and now has decided that it was time to make his way back home. Perhaps, some might think that I am exaggerating here. After all, he just wants to learn to write. This is just a simple thing for many. For Wallace, it is something significant. He wants to take a big step into the unknown. Something has given him the courage to take this step. Being here to see this unfold in his life ignited a joyful sensation in our souls. We don’t actually know why and can’t explain it.

Wallace stayed with us until it was time for us to go home. He seldom spends such a length of time with us. There was something special about everything today. Finally a “Yes” after a dry period of “No”, this was enough to make our walk home a joyful one. For some reason my eyes focused on a young man devouring a churro with exquisite joy. Personally, I can’t find anything pleasant about this elongated donut stuffed with sickeningly sweet fillings. However, I was mesmerized by this young person consuming it with such childlike pleasure that I almost did not recognize him. He was our friend. Our eyes met at the precise moment the last piece of churro was in his mouth. His reaction was one of embarrassment and surprise. He desperately tried to swallow the pastry so that he could utter something to us. It bought me a few seconds to appreciate the miracle standing before us. He has terminal cancer. He is going through some experimental treatment as a last resort. It has been a tough period for his wife and two year old child to adjust to this dreadful situation. However, standing before us was a young man far from death’s door. It has been months since we last saw him. There was so much to talk about over a cup of coffee.

He could live for two or twenty years. This is what the doctors told him. No one knows for sure how this treatment will work. This is his reality and he has accepted it. He is an artist and it was the chemicals that he worked with that caused his cancer. Now, he still paints without the death-inducing materials. The proximity to death has brought much life to him; one of life’s paradoxes. His faith has deepened and broadened through this experience. He is seeing the face of God in people especially in those whom he least expected. He shared about one particular artist who called him up unexpectedly. She was never close to him and did not even know about his condition. Her call was quite random. They went for a meal together where she shared with him about her encounter with God. My friend was taken by surprise because she was not the religious sort. Now, she goes to a church that is rich with rituals. Besides this, she has stopped doing art altogether. She had been a successful artist previously. She elaborated that her art was her attempt to create windows in the world to seek for God’s face. Now, she can see Him clearly in the lives of those around her. Her art has fulfilled its purpose.

Windows…This resonated with me. Perhaps it would be a perfect name for the ministry we do in the streets. There is a difference. We don’t create the windows. We discover them. Wallace, the children and teens, my friend, everyone around him that makes life beautiful and rich are windows. God opens a window in our world to reveal His Love to us. There are many open windows in this world. We just walk pass them without noticing it. A young man believing that he can learn new things even though he has been told otherwise his whole life. A dying young man living his life to his fullest and discovering joy despite the news of his imminent death. A former artist discovering beauty in things beyond her own artistic creations. Who knows how many windows I have walked passed without peeking into the beauty revealed.

It has been one of those days. We went to streets a little sad about how things were going in our ministry. We return home like the prodigal son with a new understanding how God reveals His love to us. His love is always there. We just need to recognize the windows and gaze into their beauty.

Of course, the greatest joy is then sharing what we see with the rest of the world.

 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

There is a tendency to rush to Easter. People are saying, “Happy Easter”, already which almost sounds inappropriate. Easter is meaningless if we don’t spend time at the foot of the Cross. Christmas is just another commercial event if we don’t understand the Cross. Everything Jesus said and did culminates on the Cross. Easter points us back to the Cross. Christmas points forward to it. If we ignore this event today, then we will never understand the person of Jesus or His ministry.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. This is where we begin our walk to the Crucifixion. Jesus was a populist leader. The people adored Him. The gospel tells us that the people wanted to make Him King by force ( John 6:15 ). In a sense, Jesus had the people in the palm of His hands. He was the leader that they desired. However, unlike most populist leaders of this world, Jesus refused this power. This was not the first time he had done this. His whole ministry is marked with his constant rejection of power that the world offered him. It was a constant source of temptation. In the desert, the devil proposed to give Him all the kingdoms of this world if He worshipped the devil. Jesus could have had all the power that he needed to establish Himself as a king. Maybe He could have been a successful leader in this world. Jesus never once said that the devil was lying when he proposed this to Him. Instead, He chose the way of suffering. The crowd would have done anything for Jesus if only He had agreed to be their King. However, this King was not interested in an earthly kingdom established by blood and violence. The disciples offered Him their gift of violence. Jesus shattered their desire to fight for Him by saying, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)

Countless of kingdoms have come and gone because they established themselves through the sword. Power in this world is gained through violence. Jesus refused this power. It goes beyond non-violence.He lived out a lifestyle of non-power even though power was within His reach from the very beginning of His ministry.

The people felt useless when Jesus refused their offering. They turned away from Him. His disciples reluctantly abandoned Him. Judas thought perhaps a betrayal might provoke Jesus to see things differently. He was gravely disappointed. He could not bear the fact that this King whom he loved and followed was not the kind of leader he desired. Once again, Jesus successfully defeated the temptation of the devil. He refused to bow down to his ways to win the world over.

The religious leaders demanded a sign from Jesus throughout His ministry. Herod wanted Jesus to perform miracles. Pilate wanted Jesus to say something to defend Himself. Jesus who was known for his miracles, healing and powerful oratory was silent before all his tempters. It was the same temptation the devil proposed when he asked Jesus to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple. The religious and civil authorities were asking the same of Jesus to prove His divine election. He gave the same answer with His persistent silence; “Do not put the Lord your God to test.” (Matthew 4:7)

Jesus had the power to do all the things that the religious and civil authorities demanded. He refused to use this power. Again, He opted for non-power because He refused to succumb to the way of the world which wields its power to convince people of its authority. Jesus did not need to prove Himself to anyone. He could have done it and His life could have changed. Instead, He chose to suffer.

When He was hanging on the Cross, the people mocked Him. Mockery is perhaps one of the vilest sins that exist. It has become a fashionable sin in recent times. It has no place among those who desire to walk in the path of righteousness.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (Psalm 1:1)

The people mocked Jesus asking Him to use his healing powers to save Himself from the Cross. It was true that Jesus could heal people and even calm storms and raise the dead. However, He wasn’t going to save Himself. Again, this temptation is an ongoing one in the ministry of Jesus. The devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread to meet His physical need. If Jesus had done this, it would be justifiable. On the Cross, Jesus was faced with the need to defend Himself against this crowd of despicable and ungrateful people who take pleasure in the torture and imminent death of an innocent man. Enjoying the torment of someone guilty is abominable and disturbing in itself but these people were beyond redemption. Jesus had the power to pass judgement on them. No one in the past, present or future would blame Him if he unleashed the dormant desire of his disciples to strike in violence against all these people. He had the right to defend Himself. Instead He refused to pass judgement on them to save Himself. His needs were not above God’s will.

“Man does not live on bread alone but every word of God.” (Luke 4:4)

Jesus never put His needs before anyone. Even when they jeered and mocked Him, He did not allow His need for self-preservation or revenge to dominate. It wasn’t because He did not have the power to do it. He chose non-power instead.

On the Cross, Jesus was stripped down literally and spiritually to nothing. The people who followed Him because He was a healer and miracle worker were disappointed. The people who were enamored by His power teachings were disillusioned. The people who wanted Israel to be the center of the world, saw a stumbling block hanging on the Cross. There was nothing left in Jesus. He was just a broken man without any influence or authority in this world. He was just a man who loved and served people with all his heart. He was a man who refused to act like a powerful King and pass judgement on all these wicked people. Instead, He said. “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Most of us would beg to differ. They seem to know what they were doing. They were determined to destroy life of an innocent man. However, Jesus spoke the truth from the Cross. These lost souls thought that they were doing something “good”. It happens today still. People act and do despicable things to each other thinking that they are doing something “good”. Some say that it is necessary to do some evil to achieve some good. Truly, we, humans, don’t know what we are doing. The sooner we realize this, the better. Unfortunately we have eyes but do not see, we have ears but do not ear.

The naked man and the naked God hangs on the Cross. A stumbling block to all those who invest their heart and souls in the power that this world offers. Jesus revealed a God who opts for non-power. For many, this God is useless and irrelevant in this world. Perhaps, God does not want to be relevant to this world. However, Jesus was relevant to the Good Thief who suffered next to Him on the Cross. He saw that the non-power of Jesus was truly the only power that prevails in the eternity. All kings and queens and kingdoms and authority will pass away. Their names will be erased and their actions will be forgotten. The Naked Messiah on the Cross will be relevant to the Good Thief for eternity. He only wants to be remembered by this so-called defeated King. The centurion who had spent his career wielding the power of violence was able to see something powerful in the King of non-power that hung on the Cross. He will always be the first and only one to confess the dying King is the true Son of God.

The women and the young disciple at the foot of the Cross only wanted one thing. They wanted the Man whom the loved to be always present in their lives. They did not follow Him because He was a healer or the messiah. They just loved Him. They saw God clearly in His life. Now, they saw God hanging on the Cross. God who chose to suffer rather than wield His power like the political entities of this world.

This is the God that Jesus presents to the world, we either follow His footsteps or join the rest of the crowd and shout, “Crucify Him! “

“For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” Romans 7:19-20

Nothing reveals the true nature of humanity like the liturgy of Palm Sunday. We are complex beings that vacillate between good and evil.

When Jesus walked into Jerusalem, the people rejoiced because they saw the goodness in Jesus. They saw the hope in Him and danced for joy. They saw in Him everything that they desired a King to be. He was the answer to their prayers. The enthusiasm was real. People loved Jesus because He was the symbol of goodness for them. Even today, almost everyone loves everything about Jesus, even atheists. Well, not just Jesus, they also love Buddha, Gandhi, Socrates, …..anyone that is a symbol of goodness and truth. As humans, we need these symbols. They inspire us. They appeal to the goodness that is within us. We desire to be good because instinctively we know our true nature lies in discovering everything that is good and beautiful in this world. Unfortunately, the liturgy of Palm Sunday doesn’t stop here. It leads us to the Passion where the same people who rejoiced in Jesus cast Him out of their lives. They wanted to extinguish the fire that He sparked in their hearts. It is not just Jesus but most of the symbols of goodness have suffered a similar fate.

When the crowds heard everyone shouting, “Crucify Him!”, they had a choice laid out before them. They could have chosen to follow the good that they desired to do or they could have just gone with the flow. We know how the story ends. The ending would be the same if it happened today. The people who yelled, “Crucify Him!”, are just like us. We are weak just like them. We share the same nature. They did the evil that they desired not to do. We do this today constantly. Palm Sunday is a living reality for all peoples. We are always choosing the wrong road.

St. Paul said that it is the “sin” that lives in us that detours us from doing the right thing. The Biblical word for “sin” means “missing the mark”. It is not about offenses that we commit. It exposes a lifestyle that convinces us that we are on the right path even when we actually living and doing things which cloud all things good and beautiful in this world. We embrace lifestyles today which cause us to detach ourselves from those who make our lives rich and wonderful. Our life choices make us suspicious of everyone. Our neighbors are no longer images of God but enemies who want to deprive us of our material gains. At the same time, we desire their fellowship and presence in our lives. We need friends and people to enrich our lives. We resort to drugs or medications or meaningless TV programs to dull the pain of loneliness. We watch movies that promote the beauty of friendship and love in an environment completely isolated from human companionship. Modern people spend so much time and energy in creating a future of contentment while rejecting the joys and wonders of the present life before them. The contradiction of Palm Sunday is not an isolated biblical event. It happens constantly.

If Jesus was here today, He would suffer a similar fate. However, it wasn’t the torture and rejection that made Jesus suffer. This was a small part of His suffering. His major pain came from knowing that the people would choose the worst possible option for their lives in order to go with the flow of the world. He knew that the majority of the people would to choose to ignore the Truth that they sensed in their hearts. They would opt for the lie instead. Jesus suffered because the people whom He loved would prefer death rather than Life. He still suffers today because we still choose death. It is because of sin which dwells in our hearts. It clouds our way of thinking. We are constantly making the wrong decisions. No one is free from this. There are no enlightened ones. We are not better than the rest because we are religious. Most of the people who yelled, “Crucify Him”, were religious. It did not stop them from making the wrong choice.

Thankfully, all is not lost.

No matter how hard the world tries, it cannot silence “goodness”! No matter how much sin tries to deviate us from the path of goodness, it will never have the final word. Goodness is much larger than us. It is more powerful than our will. We cannot domesticate goodness. Death cannot erase the memory of beauty and joy. We still commemorate Palm Sunday even though we know that it is followed by the torture and death of our Lord. It is because we know that torture and crucifixion cannot triumph over Goodness.

This week, we had heavy rain for the most part of the week. Since everything we do in the streets is out in the open, rainy days means that we cannot be with the children. We took this opportunity to visit with Filipe. Just to remind some readers, this is the young man who recently became a father and decided to change his lifestyle completely. He lived in the streets since he was nine. Now, he is working but barely makes enough to support his child and the children of his wife. We visited with him to find out how things going. The first thing he asked of us was if we could be the godparents of his newborn son. This, of course, made our day. However, this is not the main thrust of our conversation. We talked about his time in the streets. We asked about the period of time when he went through depression. He said that during these periods, he felt that there was no meaning in his life and drugs was the only way to numb this feeling of emptiness. He ran away to the streets looking for something better than what he encountered in his home. Unfortunately, he found himself walking down the road to self-destruction. He told us that there were several occasions when he cried out to God to help him find a better way. There was a time when he was so sick that he thought that he was going to die and he pleaded to God to allow him to find some meaning in life before he dies. Everything seemed hopeless and lost for Felipe and then, suddenly a tiny baby gave him a new meaning. He saw something real and concrete before him. He saw God’s goodness in the face of his tiny child. Now, he is the path of reconciliation. He learned to forgive the trauma he suffered in the hands of people who were supposed to protect him. He is listening to the voice of goodness that is present in his soul. Sin is still present but it is weak. It is losing its appeal because it has nothing to offer. However, he knows that he needs to listen to the voice of Goodness to continue in this path. He cannot do it alone. However, he knows that he is never alone.

The next day we went back to the streets. We saw our children and teens sniffing paint thinner so much that they were completely oblivious to our presence. It was a day we spent without anyone approaching us. They preferred self-destruction rather than relationship. Some seemed like they had regressed to a worse state. It seemed like a day that was completely gone and hopeless, like nothing would ever change. Like the day when the sky grew dark and a small group of women stood before a bruised man hanging on Cross. They thought all was lost. However, nothing can overcome goodness.

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:1-8)

There was really nothing to say. It was really a confession. He told us that he has turned his back on everyone that was precious and important to him. His family and his friends have been hurt and disappointed one time too many. He has made too many empty promises. They have moved and he is still here alone. He misses them dearly. He wished that they were still there for him. He has created a world of lies and illusion and now he feels trapped in it. Drugs and alcohol keep him from seeking help. They numb him into accepting his state of perdition. He always believed that God was with him. However, now he feels that God is silent too. He think that God has given up on him. “I don’t feel like God is with me anymore.” His eyes filled with tears as he shared this. He found it to be unbearable. His tears were for the God who is silent.

We did not want to say anything that would sound like a religious cliché. The moment was too sacred for pat answers. His cry comes from his soul. He needs an answer that can only come from God Himself. We lacked the words that could satisfy his soul. We sat and listened. Maybe it was a time for us to be just there with him and suffer with him in silence, although we cannot imagine his suffering. He feels trapped in a world that he doesn’t understand. He has not found anything that would give the strength he needs to overcome the obstacles before him. Drugs and alcohol are symptoms of a tormented soul looking for meaning in this world. He always believed that he would find what he is looking for one day. He believed that God will reveal it to him. Now, he thinks that even God has given up on him. We were tempted to say, “God would never give up on you.” However, for him, these are just words. He needs something more concrete.

He has been to several drug rehab centers over the years. Every time he believed that he would overcome the addiction. He eventually stopped saying this to himself. This was how we met him the first time. He is a familiar face among the homeless adults. He is young but he is different from the young adults in our ministry. They grew up in the streets. He became homeless in his early twenties. He asked us to help with the bus fare to go to the rehab center. He did not want money. He was honest enough to say that cash in his hands would be converted to drugs or alcohol immediately. He has been always honest. He spent a week in the center and then gave up. To be honest, we knew that he wasn’t going to last in the program. He needs more than a program. He needs a meaning for his existence. Until he finds it, life is going to be unbearable for him.

It is going to take more than a drug rehab program or some method to give anyone living in the streets a reason for living. We have done this ministry before in the mid 90s. We have tried programs and different approaches. They have all failed. Before we returned to this ministry in 2013, I used the above gospel passage as our preaching text. We went to many churches where I boldly proclaimed that Mary, Martha’s sister, was the model for our ministry. She anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume so much so that it’s fragrance filled the room. All eyes were focused on Jesus at this moment. Until then He was a mere guest. Albeit, He was the guest of honor but the attention was not on Him until this moment. Then, I imagined ourselves to be like Mary going to the streets of São Paulo and anointing Jesus’ feet so that all attention would be focused on Him. He is the only one who could give meaning to the lives of these young people and adults in the streets.

When we came back to the streets, we discovered that there were tons of people with the same idea. They were yelling Jesus’ name. They made promises in His name. They said that he could heal. He could restore families. He could perform miracles in the lives of anyone who comes to him. None of these are lies. Jesus could do all these things. They are all promises for someone who wants to look to the future. For those who are suffering, the present and the past are reality whereas the future is a mere dream. Our young man wanted to know the Jesus that was going to be with him in the here and now. He wanted Jesus to say something in his suffering but Jesus remains silent. This is the Jesus whose feet we wanted to anoint. People need to see that even though He is silent, it does not mean that He is absent.

Mary anointed the silent Jesus who contemplated His own pain and suffering. He was preparing Himself for a moment where all would seem as a complete loss and waste of time. He was preparing Himself to experience the sense of hopelessness that haunts those who are abandoned and trapped in a cycle of pain and misery. There are tons of people who want to bring attention to the victorious Jesus. We live in a world where everyone is looking for a formula for success. However, Mary anointed Jesus who was preparing His heart and mind to embrace what the world would consider a complete and utter failure.

Jesus was silently suffering when Mary anointed His feet. His pain was exacerbated with Judas’ false concern for the poor. “You will always have the poor with you”
This is not a license for us to say that it is useless to help the poor. This statement is a sad resignation to the state of the world. It served to add to his pain and suffering. No matter what happens, there will always be people in this world who suffer and are rejected. Even when a large portion of the world claims to be His disciples, there are always people who are constantly being rejected and despised. All these facts confronted Jesus and intensified His suffering. He was silent during the dinner that was held in His honor. He had nothing to say about His imminent death. He only opened His mouth to defend the one person who brought some comfort to His painful soul.

We have been here six years and Mary is still the perfect approach for this ministry. The streets are replete with preachers who proclaim Jesus, the key of successful life. Our down and out children of God are not sure if they can believe in this Jesus. They have heard many formulas of success in these world and the victorious Jesus just sounds like one of the many. They want a “Jesus” who understands the deep sense of hopelessness that they feel in their souls. They want to know the “Jesus” who knows the sense of being trapped in a world that is hostile to them. They want to know the “Jesus” who is vulnerable and suffers with them. They want a savior who knows how to walk with them through this valley of shadow of death.

Alcohol and drugs give a person an illusion of happiness and relief. Most of the homeless adults and children are silent when the effects of these chemicals wear off. Silence is the only way to endure pain and suffering. The young man mistook silence for abandonment. It is understandable. Everyone who speaks about God seems to be always shouting. They make promises that I am not sure God will keep. The only person who broke the silence in the gospel story above was Judas. Mary silently anointed the feet of the One who knows what it means to suffer and face hopelessness. She did not have the answer to the problems of poverty in the world. She knew that the money she spent on the expensive perfume would not resolve the problem of injustice in this world. Therefore, she did what was best for the moment.

We still follow her example. We see the pain and isolation of these young and old people in the streets. We don’t have any magical formulas to solve their problems. We do have one thing. We know that there is One who suffers with them. For many, this does not sound like something practical or concrete. Usually these are the ones who have not experienced desperation and suffering. Judas thought that Mary was wasting valuable resources. However, she was setting an example for the rest of us. We should use our limited resources to draw attention to silent and suffering Christ who is able to give hope to those who suffer in this world.

So the younger son set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.  Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.(Luke 15: 20-28)

I am the older brother in the parable.

Like most people, I like to imagine myself to be the prodigal son who was received openly and lovingly by the Father. Alas, it is too beautiful an image to forgo. There was a time when I was that son. However, I cannot be the perpetual prodigal son. I came home to be with the Father. Now, I have been living in His household for a while. I enjoy all the benefits of being His child. I also serve in His household. I have more in common with the older brother in this parable now.

It would have been great if Jesus ended this parable with the estranged young man returning home; a perfect happy ending. Instead, Jesus brought the older brother into the story. An happily ever after story becomes a sort of tragedy. The older brother wasn’t happy with the Father’s standard. It seemed to him that his father had none. Before we judge the older brother, we need to ask ourselves how we would feel if God received someone whom we know to be an ungrateful egoistical person as if he was a saint returning home. I am not sure that I would be very enthusiastic with such a reception. The older brother was upset that His Father welcomed with open arms his self-centered younger brother without any conditions. It almost sounds like the Father was into “cheap” grace. The older brother might have done things differently. Unfortunately for him, he was not the owner of the household. He just happened to be privileged to live in His Father’s household; just like anyone of us.

Since the beginning of this year, the number of homeless teens and children has increased. I would say that the numbers have doubled. Unfortunately, many of the newcomers are not necessarily agreeable or charming. Some of them are intimidating and aggressive. They have grown accustomed to the tough life in the streets and adopted a persona that helps them survive in the streets. I understand why they do it. Nevertheless, it makes it hard for us to have any affection for them. To be honest, I don’t really want to spend time with them. I would rather have quality time with the ones we have known for years. They are pleasant and nice; qualities which are lacking in these newcomers. We wait on the steps of the cathedral for the children and I secretly hope that none of these new aggressive ones come to us.

Eric approached us and asked to play a game. He looks like a ten year old but he is at least fifteen and has a face of an angel. A few weeks ago, he tried to set a boy on fire with paint thinner. Then, on another day, he threw paint thinner at random people who walking pass the Cathedral. This chemical is dangerous and can cause serious damage to the skin and eyes. Eric is quite unpredictable and dangerous. He does not show any remorse for his actions. We suspect that he has mental illness. However, we can never be sure because we are not mental health professionals. Today he wanted to spend time with us. Obviously, he is not our first choice. We were waiting one of God’s children to come to us and Eric was the first to approach us. During our time together, I saw some of the other “more pleasant” teens walking by. I was tempted to call them over and then I realized that today God brought Eric to us. Therefore, he deserved our full and undivided attention. We sat and played with him. He stayed with us for a long time, almost our whole time in the streets. This is the first time he has done this. He was calm and peaceful. I know a little bit about his background. I met his mother some years ago. Back then, he used to come the streets occasionally. Recently, the streets have become his permanent home. His mother suffers from severe mental illness. She has two sons and they suffered neglect and abuse in their homes. Both are in the streets. For a short time today, he spent quality time with us. Perhaps God wanted him to know that there are people who would still give him the time and attention that he needed. I was waiting for the teens that I liked but the Father sent Eric to us instead. Maybe, Eric will not remember this time together. With his mental state, it is very possible that he will forget everything. This is not really important in a way. We were given an opportunity to see Eric the way God sees him.

The next day was not any different. Our usual group of teens and children were nowhere to be found. Instead a teenager named Maxwell came up to us. We have known this young man for many years. He always looked grumpy and unfriendly. He never spoke to us all these years but today he wanted to do an activity with us. He asked if we had something to do together. We played a game. He wore his usual grumpy face for a while until Mary said something that made him smile. He stayed with us throughout our time together. He has been in the streets most of his life. He is one of the young people whose whole family are connected with the street life. I know that a documentary crew made a movie about him once. Now we sense that he is tired of being homeless and is looking for something different. As we playing with him the other teens approached us and Maxwell warned them that they need to behave in our presence because we deserve their respect. He was trying to say something to us indirectly.

This week was characterized by interactions with teens and children that I would consider unpleasant. They are people that I would avoid in a normal circumstances. It is easy to only see the negative aspect of these young people because they refuse to show their more vulnerable nature. However, the Father waits patiently for all his children to return to His household. It is open not only to those whom I like. This is not my house. The Father is very indiscriminate. He loves all those who come to Him without imposing conditions. This is our God that Jesus portrays in His gospel. If we live and serve in His household, then we have to learn to love the way He loves. If not, we are just lost souls living in the Father’s household like the older brother of the parable. He was worse off than his young brother who was lost in the world. He was lost because he did not understand His Father’s love whereas the older brother did not want to understand or participate in His Father’s joy.

To my surprise, I enjoyed all my interactions with these difficult teens and children. I saw that Eric was a lost and confused child. He might be unstable but he still desires to be loved. Maxwell is unhappy with life. He was born into this situation. Perhaps there was nothing in his life that brought him joy. All these young people have been nurtured in hatred and anger. Their lives look bleak and empty. The world judges them according to what they see on the outside. I am just like the rest of the world but I do serve a Father who sees the hearts of these teens and children. The Father knows the thoughts and struggles of these difficult children. When He rejoices the return of each wayward child, then we have to trust in the Father’s judgment and rejoice with Him. It is like taking a leap of faith.

In the parable, Jesus never tells us why the young man left His father’s house. The Father never asked why he came back. He was just happy that the younger son realized that His Father’s love is generous enough to receive him. I am the older son. I don’t have to become like the older son of the parable. However, it is important to recognize that the potential is there in me to be like him. It is also good to remind myself that I am just a mere servant in the household of an extravagantly generous God. I cannot change God and expect Him to be only kind and generous to the people that I like. I need to allow God to be God and celebrate His generosity. In doing so, I might also come to realize that it is very generous of God to allow me to participate in His joy of receiving a wayward child back into His home.

I am thankful that Jesus ended the parable with the story of the older brother.