“Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless; give clothes to those in need.” -- Isaiah 58:7
The homeless man clutched within his nicotine-stained fingers, a yellowed photo of a woman who might have been his mother . . . or his ex-wife. No greetings are exchanged - perhaps, none are needed.
It’s nearly midnight. Simon wanders among the urban decay with no particular destination in mind. He nearly trips over a guy sleeping on the sidewalk. Mercifully, the dim light hides the pain he must be suffering. The man’s entire worldly possessions lay near his bare, calloused feet: his past, his present, and likely his future.
So many who once had hopes and dreams swept now into dark, lonely corners. Too many! There’s an old woman with a small bag of faded clothing, a frayed sleeping bag, and chipped coffee mug that may have once held hope. Why do so many have nowhere to call home?
Some had coats over their heads as they slept. Others tossed and turned, trying desperately to find a comfort that doesn’t exist in a place like this. Comfort isn’t something that’s part of their existence, unless you call a bowl of warm soup and a stale dinner roll at the shelter a consolation.
A salty tear moistens his cheek as Simon attempts [in vain] to nonchalantly stroll amongst these forgotten souls. He tries to understand what it means to have nothing: no home, no job, no love! Worst of all - no smile to greet them when the sunrise wakens them to their daily troubles.
He whispers a silent prayer as he quietly slips away into the darkness to make his way back home. Sadly, he didn’t find his father among the sleeping faces tonight. He’ll return again tomorrow, hoping that some divine force will reconnect them again.
But his search has opened his eyes to a new reality. He sees with clarity now, that the homeless are not invisible. They could be an old friend, a former co-worker, or even a war hero. They might even be your Dad.
The homeless didn’t ask to be where they are. They rise each day, hoping to break loose from their cloak of obscurity - for another chance to prove themselves, to find acceptance, to find one person who really cares.
Tonight, he tasted the tears of humility. He knows that God smiles down on them and that one day they too will soar like eagles.
God of love, fill us with a sense of justice. Help us in Your work, to take the side of the homeless, the struggling, and the broken. Help us now befriend those abandoned, protect the weak, and speak for those whose voice is unheard. Amen.
