Don’t Just Walk by Suffering, Act.
As the busy Mama, it's tough to hit the bathroom solo, let alone go on an outing! Y'all, the struggle is real! So when Mom and Dad asked me to dinner on a Friday night, and said my brother would join us, I raced past my husband and grabbed the car keys. Since there were only a few hours left before Nai's bedtime, we headed to a nearby restaurant, Clark Burger.
For months I drove past wistfully thinking of sitting under those colorful umbrellas, enjoying a much needed break, eating slowly, enveloped by city sounds - now, we were here.
Our conversation, punctuated with bursts of laughter, bounced between the guilty pleasure of reality TV to news, and all the mundane stuff which somehow feels infinitely more interesting when you're with family. I looked up between bites of my veggie burger, and there he was - sitting, face sunken from fatigue, worn pale skin, brown eyes pleading for us to see him. His whispers for spare change quickly muffled by the chatter of a typical Friday summer night.
Dad, I said, "we have to help him." "Of course," he nodded in agreement. Before I knew it, I began rummaging through my purse for money. As we finished our meal, I kept my eyes not only on his lanky frame, but the people passing by. No one stopped; they were all too busy either coming or going.
Too often, even Christians approach issues of poverty, systemic racism, and the exclusion of folks living on the margins by walking along, content to espouse a Biblical principle of love once a week, for a few hours, while pushing aside the everyday practice. But friends, people are in pain, and now, more than ever, they need the radical and inclusive love and compassion of Christ.
They may never open a Bible, but they will meet you. Our lives must become testaments to God’s love. Let's not turn away because it's too tough to witness pain. Jesus loved, healed, and delivered people everyone else shunned - the tax collector, those with physical challenges and relationship issues (remember the woman at the well?). This is how we are urged to live: "Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you" (Matthew 5:42).
As we handed him the money, he thanked us profusely, and then did something I will never forget. He looked toward heaven, and praised God for this unexpected blessing, tears beginning to slowly well in his eyes. For us this one small act seemed woefully inadequate, we longed to do more. And yet his gratitude, in that moment, reminded me of how rare it is for those experiencing homelessness to feel seen, worthy of human kindness.
For the past few weeks, as I reflect on our meeting, another scripture passage comes to mind, Matthew 25: 35-40:
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
And when did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Let us cling to love not judgement, extending empathy instead of condemnation. God freely gives us love - not to hoard inside of four walls, but to share with all.
Resources / Organizations to Fuel Your Action -
We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign