homeless children and teens

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Things Received

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” -Mark 8:31-33

When I started doing this, the blog I mean, my intention was to be connected with people who are interested in this ministry. Its original idea was to update our weekly experiences with the children and teens. Now, it has evolved into something else. The development was natural and perhaps, we can say that it was Spirit-led. It has become a place where I can share things that I have received from God. Sometimes I don’t even realize what I received until I begin to write. The words usually speak to my soul first. Sometimes what I write turns out to be mere reporting or writing for the sake of writing. I don’t do anything with these efforts. They remained hidden in my archives. They need to speak my soul before I can share them with everyone else. In a way, this has become something selfish in a positive way.

There is another selfish reason. I am afraid of losing the things that I received. Our capacity to remember things loses its reliability over the years. There are precious encounters that I don’t want to ever forget. However, sometimes I don’t really understand why they are special. It is as if I stumble upon a hidden treasure but I am not exactly sure why it is a treasure. They just find a place in my soul and refuse to leave until I give them their due attention. Many times they are things that would seem truly mundane to a casual observer. There is nothing spectacular or sensational about them; just plain and simple everyday things.

Wallace came up and sat next to us a few weeks ago. He was in the mood to talk. He just started talking about his family. It was something he wanted to share. He mentioned his mother. He told us that he cannot remember what her face looks like. This was the second time he shared this with us. The first time was in an office where we were getting his documents. He just sat there, lost in his thoughts, and then blurted out that he has absolutely no recollection of his mother. Then he went back to his silent reflection.

This time was different. He shared that he had an older sister and his aunts say that she looks like his mother. Unfortunately, he has never met her before. He has brothers and sisters that he has never seen. We did not probe him with questions. Asking questions interrupts the flow of the conversation. Sometimes it creates a distance between him and us. Wallace wants to be closer to us, not further. We discarded the questions and just listened.

He has an older brother who also lives in the streets. They occasionally go home to be with their father, only for a few days at a time. He has a strange relationship with his father. There wasn’t any bitterness or anger in his voice. He just talked about his normal day-to-day relationship with his father. Something was clearly evident in what he shared. His father unintentionally always thought the worst of him and Wallace spends most of his time trying to prove that he is innocent of most of the accusations. Even in the streets, he avoids all criminal activities. He doesn’t try to exploit people. He begs for money just enough to pay for his food and nothing else. The thing that he desires most is peace and quiet. He is a simple young man who has simple goals. He wants to work as a trash man because he would be allowed to do his job without anyone looking over his shoulder.

He talked with us for a long time.The conversation was absolutely interesting for us, not because of the content but the person who was sharing his story. Wallace hardly shares anything about himself. He is one of the most reserved youths in the street. However, today, he wanted to give. We listened and we sensed that this young man was offering something precious to us.

As with the most valuable things in the world like precious stones or beautiful art, their value is only recognized when they shared and appreciated by others. Most of the breathtaking and gorgeous things of the world have no practical value. They just help us see and appreciate beauty in this world.

Wallace’s simple interaction with us is fruit of years of excavating into the heart of this young man. He shared what was valuable to him and now I feel like I stumble upon something that needs to be shared. I don’t share every conversation we have in the streets. Some are private and most of them are just plain boring and lifeless. These are usually conversations tainted with lies and fantasy. However, there are special encounters that take root and grow in our hearts and eventually they need to be released into the world. These are moments that do not belong to me or any person who receives them. They are too precious and beautiful for us to keep them to ourselves. We have to share them.

Often I stumble around in my thoughts trying to find the precise words to allow these encounters to flow out of me. Sometimes I can’t find the words until the right moment, then they flow out of me. It is as if someone planted the words in my mind. When this happens, my heart is filled with a deep joy. There is a profound happiness in sharing what is given to us. For the first time in my life, I can read the gospel where Peter responds to Jesus’ pivotal question, I understand the profound joy Peter must have felt confessing Jesus’ true nature. Finally he was able to put all the encounters he had with Jesus into the words; “You are the Christ.” I can also understand why he become the “devil” immediately after this fact. In fact, it was this second part that inspired my reflection.

It seems harsh to call Peter the devil. At the same time, it makes complete sense. It serves as a warning. If Peter, who confessed the perfect words about his encounter with Jesus could become the “devil”, then we need to be very careful. The Christian idea of the devil is an angel who mistook what he had received as his own right and property. Peter thought that since he knew something deep and personal about the Lord that somehow Jesus belonged to him. He thought that he had a say in the direction of Jesus’ life. This was the devil’s mistake. Nothing we receive belongs to us. Everything belongs to God and we give it back to him, just like they say in our liturgy during our offertory,

“All things come from Thee, O Lord and of your Thine have we given Thee.”
(1 Chronicles 29:14)

The encounters and the words to express them come from God. They never belonged to me. I just receive them and my soul remains restless until I offer them back to God in words. After this, they don’t belong to me anymore. Our encounter with Wallace will speak to some people and they will sense in their souls a connection and pray for him. Maybe more so than I will ever pray for him, if I were to be honest. Maybe it will take some people in a completely different direction and perhaps even away from our ministry and Wallace. It might help them to relate better with someone else that is special and precious to them. It doesn’t matter. I cannot control the direction where the Spirit will take these words and encounters. They don’t belong to me. They are just precious gifts given to me so that I can share to everyone why some rejected homeless children and teens have made our lives richer than they can ever imagine.

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Crumbs under the Table

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. – Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus called the woman a dog.

She was a marginalized person in her society and definitely someone with very low self-esteem. She was in a desperate situation and Jesus did not make anything easy for her. Of all the people he healed, Jesus gave this woman the hardest time. He had healed ungrateful people before and he dined with despicable characters but he only insulted this lowly woman in the gospels.

This story is inculcated in my mind ever since my insertion into the Anglican tradition as a teenager. The prayer of Humble Access* said before receiving Communion transformed the desperate plea of this woman into poetry.

“We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy.”

The prayer teaches us how to interpret the text. It is about the power of God’s mercy.

The gospels are painting a picture of Jesus for us. It is a Jesus who lived in the harsh reality of his times. In fact, the Bible is a library of books written in the harsh historic reality of the authors and each of them try to show the mercy of God shining through these realities. His mercy is the Light which reveals a deeper reality.

In the Western countries as well as some affluent nations, dogs are treated better than people. People have more compassion for dogs than their fellow human beings. Calling someone a little puppy is sometimes a term of endearment. In Jesus’ time and still in the some parts of the Middle East I am told, dogs are like rats that serve a purpose like guarding a house. There is not much affection between people and dogs. Each society has people who are like the dogs of Jesus’ time.

Our ministry is to this particular group of people. I need to add a disclaimer here that I don’t consider them dogs and neither does anyone in our team. However, many people do consider these homeless children and teens to be nuisances and at best, they are barely tolerated. Churches do not set aside time and money in their annual budgets to minister and reach out to these children and teens. When they do give them something, it is usually the scraps of their time and energy. Just like what we give to stray dogs. Most people do not think about them at all unless they walk pass them in the streets. Just like the fact that I don’t think about rats in this rat infested city but when one rans across my path, I reminded that they are around. However, I would rather not remember this. This is basically the attitude of the churches and people have regarding the homeless. Yet, the same people believe wholeheartedly in equality of all people but reality tells a different story.

The words of Jesus address the harsh reality of life experienced by those who are considered like ‘dogs’. We are here working with young children and teenagers whom we know will not be treated as equals for the majority of their lives. They may never be able to shake off the feeling that they are outcasts. Yesterday I accompanied a young teenager, Igor, to a government agency to help him get his documents. We couldn’t find the specific building and I decided to ask for directions from a group of policeman. One of the policemen gave Igor a look of disgust and was staring at him aggressively as if he had done something wrong. While I was asking them for directions, this policeman still did not stop humiliating this boy with his stance and demeanor. Igor noticed this and walked on. This is part of his life. Igor has accepted the fact that many consider him to be a like a dog. I can talk to him about having a better self-esteem but it would not make a difference. Society will always treat him differently. What is important for Igor to know is if the gospel is for him as well or just for middle class people? He wants to know if the mercy of God can shine through his inadequacies and lowly status. He wants to know if he could gather up the crumbs under the table.

The prayer of Humble Access* reminds us that none of us are worthy to eat at the Table but God’s mercy invites us to participate at the table. However, most of us say this with our mouths but in reality we think that it is our right to be at the Lord’s Table. For people like us, we need to humble ourselves and know our true status. For someone like Igor, perhaps he needs to exercise his faith a little bit more to see that God’s mercy is also for him. There are many voices telling him, through their attitudes and actions, that he has no place at the Table. Igor needs to exercise his faith to see through these lies. Jesus challenged this woman to do exactly this. He called her dog but she knew that this was not going to stop God from pouring out His mercy for her. Of all the people in the Bible, this woman dominates the most respected place in our gospel. She was the only one who outwitted our Lord. Her words have found themselves in the Liturgy and in my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful prayers in our Liturgy.

*More information about the Prayer of Humble Access can be found here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_of_Humble_Access

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