A dear friend who is a minister was sharing her experience with homeless people recently, and it reminded me that more churches and individuals need to practice the teachings of being our ‘brother's keeper’, and it would be good to include the children in sharing ideas and things that could be done to help "the least of these among us". When we think of it, the homeless are a daily reminder of the opportunity to practice compassion and giving. And amongst them walks God.
I had two experiences at beloved Minerva Books where I worked that brought this very clearly home to me. One day a homeless man came in to the store. He was exhausted and asked if he could just sit down. We had nice overstuffed chairs and a fireplace that we used to have going in the winter, and as he sat there, we began to talk, and he came and sat next to me at the round table that was our counter, and I looked deeply into his eyes and saw that he was God. He was using a form that would go unrecognized...would even be shunned...and there was this glorious light and mind and Being. We hugged before he left and the rest of my day was filled with joy.
The second event happened late into the evening close to closing time on another day. A young man came in barefoot and freezing, and asked if he could just use the bathroom and if he could sit for a minute. He was shaking and cold, and I saw that his feet were almost frozen. I ran to our kitchen where we had hot water and got paper towels and a large bowl that I filled with very warm water. I sat him down in one of our rooms with the religious books from all traditions and bathed his feet. He cried and was so grateful, telling me he was trying to get to his sister's house, and just couldn't walk any further. One of our regular customers was in the store at the time, and he had a truck, so I asked him if he would take this fellow to the sister's house. He agreed, and put the young man in the back because he really did not smell very good...and he took him to the address and delivered him to his sister. He felt that this young man did not have long to live, and the story behind was probably a tragic one involving drugs, but we did our part that evening and showed up to give help to a stranger in need.
It isn’t always easy to reach beyond ourselves, but it is an opportunity we are given to practice the Presence of God. In the giving and sharing, it isn't what the intention of the one asking or needing is, it is the intention of the one who gives. That is all that matters. There may be charlatans out there, and there are, but the one who gives with a loving heart receives the blessing regardless. And when two or more are gathered in the name of Love, Compassion and Mercy, the world is made a better place.