May
6
2014
Homeless
Posted in Daily Living 6 Comments
There are certain things we are sure to see when we visit a city.
Tall buildings, lots of people, minimal grass, and many pigeons.
We expect crowds and noise and traffic.
We know there will be buses and cyclists weaving around cars going nowhere.
Everyone is in a hurry.
Everyone seems to be living in their own world.
It is almost as if an insulated bubble is around each person.
Walking next to, but not with, the person who happens to be by your side.
Something you are sure to see in a city is the homeless.
Staking their claim on a small piece of the sidewalk.
Tucked in doorways or over grates where hot air from the street below will warm them.
After a while, the sights of the city are commonplace; we often don’t even see them.
This was the premise behind the NYC Rescue Mission’s social experiment.
A few people were chosen, unbeknownst to them, to be used to prove a hypothesis.
Homeless people are unseen on our city streets.
We may cringe at the premise, we may even disagree, but what happened will surprise you.
The NYC Rescue Mission set up a van with cameras on a city street.
They knew that certain people would be walking there, as they do every morning.
Those few people chosen were unaware than their own family members participated.
Family members were dressed as homeless people and strategically placed on the street.
The experiment was to prove that the homeless are faceless and nameless.
We walk right by and never even see them.
I was skeptical as I watched the video.
To my surprise, the hypothesis was correct.
Targeted people walked right by their wife, sister, uncle, and aunt.
In some cases, they would glance at the homeless person and then turn away.
In other cases, they didn’t even acknowledge that there was a person on the sidewalk.
When they passed and were out of earshot, the family was shocked at their response.
The targeted people were shown a video of them walking down the street.
Multiple cameras caught every angle.
The people were able to see clearly, their own family members who were invisible to them.
All of them cried at their behavior.
I was incredibly touched by the video.
We say we would never do that, but would we?
Would we walk by a dirty, smelly person who we often do not even see as a person?
Unfortunately, many of us would.
The video then showed the person going back to their family members, still on the street.
Hugs and tears and apologies and remorse were apparent.
The husband whose wife of thirty-four years was “homeless” was visibly shaken.
They all spoke before they watched the video about how much they loved their family.
They did.
They do.
In the guise of a homeless person, their family member became a non-person.
They were ashamed.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
We are that homeless person.
We are the dirty, smelly person sitting alone, trying to stake our claim in this world.
Many will pass by as they climb over others to get their best place on the sidewalk.
Many will rush past on their way to the next corner or the next doorway.
But God…
God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to come to earth as a Homeless Person.
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. (Matthew 8:20)
God sent Jesus to come and be like us in all things, but sin.
Jesus understands what it is like to be hungry, cold, tired, and lonely.
Jesus understands how easy it is to be dismissed by others, to be rejected and scorned.
Jesus understands.
Jesus was the One who reached out to the unlovable.
Jesus was the One who touched the leper and made him clean.
Jesus was the One who raised the dead.
Jesus did the unthinkable, so we could be thought of.
Jesus never walks by those that are His.
Jesus never fails to see us, not even for a minute.
Jesus never hurries by; He always has time to love and to really see us.
Jesus, the homeless man, came so we could find our way back Home.
Would we walk by Him?
Would we walk by His children on our way to better things?
Would we fail to see those He never fails to see?
Would we be too busy?
We need to open our eyes to their needs.
We need to reach out to the unlovable.
We need to stop and acknowledge the least of these, because they carry His image.
We need to SEE.
WE are those homeless people.
WE are the unlovable.
WE are the needy.
WE are what we would pass by on the street.
But God…
Through His Son, Jesus, the Homeless man, we can one day go HOME.
If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in. (Frederick Buechner)
Thank you. Straight to the heart of things.
You’re welcome, friend! God’s word has a way of doing that!
Gina
I have been guilty of passing by the homeless, not because I don’t care but because so many of them are mentally ill, and I don’t know what response I might get if I stopped. I am afraid. Remember the little boy some years ago who started a campaign to give blankets to the homeless? What a great example that young heart gave! What can we do, safely, as Christians, to help?
Sue,
One of my daughters reminded me of the same thing. Whenever we went to the city, safety was a top priority, especially when it was just us girls. I agree, it is not that you want to ignore, it is considering the appropriate action at the time. Yes, the blanket campaign, giving care packages, or gift cards for food seems best. Those things are tangible ways to help.
Gina
We often go through days without touching the lives of our neighbors and this was a great reminder of what we are called to do.
How true, Carol.
Oh, to be like Jesus and really SEE!
Gina