Gifts in Disguise

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything, but I feel it's important to write something today. A while ago, my coworker sent an e-mail to everyone in the office, asking for blankets, coats, hats, gloves and gift cards to distribute to the homeless people in our community. I thought this was a great idea, so my boyfriend and I gathered some clothes and I brought them to the office. Since I wanted to do something more "hands-on," I offered to help my colleague pass out bags with gloves, Cosi gift cards and other items that had been donated.

We set out on yesterday with only eight plastic grocery bags between us, thinking that we'd be back to the office in a half an hour or so. We went to every place we had ever seen homeless people and we were shocked that we didn't see anyone. It must have been so cold, that most people were already in shelters. We walked quite a bit, checking all of the places we could think of - street corners, bus stops, parks.

We were able to talk to two men, one of whom was the man with the poncho mentioned in my previous post. When my colleague approached him to ask if he needed warm clothes for the winter, he said "No, thank you. I really appreciate you offering, but I have enough already. I would like to extend my hand to you and wish you a Merry Christmas though." I was completely and utterly shocked.

The next man we spoke with was sitting on the cold sidewalk, next to a shopping cart filled with what I can only assume was everything he owned. He too, thanked us for the offer and said that he was fine.

My colleague and I were baffled. What about helping the needy? What about making someone's day? I had set out thinking that I was going to help people in the community, hoping that I might make a tiny difference. Instead, I learned a much more valuable lesson.

I had always looked at homeless people skeptically, wondering where my change was going when I did decide to give to them. I had thought that most of them suffered from alcohol or drug abuse, or had mental illnesses. Perhaps this is true for many homeless, but in thinking about these things, I had somehow managed to shut out their humanity. I grouped everyone together, neglecting that these could be people who in another time and place, might be my friends.

In speaking with these men, I was jarred out of my misconceptions and back into reality. At the core, we all have the same needs, wants, desires. In my eagerness to help, I forgot the person I was trying to help - his pride, dignity and where he was coming from.

My colleague and I ended up donating the bags of clothing and gift cards to a nearby church which has an outreach in the community. On the way home from work that evening, my coworker handed out the two remaining gift cards to people he saw on the street. One of them was the man in the poncho. He accepted the card and, as a thank-you, pulled a Christmas card out of his backpack, signed it and handed it to my colleague.

We had expected to give of ourselves and out of the extra things we had, but generosity and thankfulness turned up in unexpected ways. Yet again, my perceptions were shattered. The one we thought had nothing gave us something of his along with a glimpse into a different side of homelessness - a very personal side. And so, I can only say "thank you, John," for bringing things into perspective.

Homelessness

Working in Washington, DC is pretty fun. Besides the adventures one can have riding on the Metro, there are great restaurants, a mix of cultures, interesting events to attend, and, of course, a variety of happy hour spots.

However, not all people in DC, or in any major city for that matter, are able to enjoy these opportunities. Some do not even have access to the basic necessities of life. Every day, they have to figure out what they are going to do in order to survive. I have been fortunate enough that I have never had to ask myself, "how will I eat today?," "what will I wear?" or "where can I sleep?" Instead, the question raised every time I encounter the homeless is, "how do we help?"

When people ask for money on the street, I am always faced with the dilemma: how will the money I give be spent? Will it feed an addiction, or help someone find food or shelter for a day? Or I think, why doesn't he/she just go to a shelter or soup kitchen? I am ashamed to say that because of these questions, I do not always give money.

The reality is that we don't really know the other person's story or what he/she has been through. Instead, we work off of stereotypes and try not to think about the situation we've just walked around.

Today, I was walking back from picking up some copies I had made. On my way back to the office, I noticed a homeless man who often stands on the corner. He is always wearing a poncho, (he has different colored ones), and I've seen him in the summer and winter, burning sunshine and freezing rain. I've also heard him speaking with people before. In fact, one conversation I overheard was about college and going back to school. It made me wonder what his story was. All of this and I haven't done anything to help him. Today, I actually shifted my wallet so that he wouldn't see it and ask me for change. Pathetic.

One woman, however, did what I wished I could do. She was well-dressed in a tan suit with matching tan heels and had her hair done up. After I moved my wallet, I looked up and she was digging in her wallet for money. She handed him the money, smiled and, then, shocked me to the core. She reached her hand out, put it on his shoulder and leaned in toward his ear. From where I was, she could have kissed his cheek. If nothing else, she whispered something in his ear which will remain a secret between the two of them. She then smiled and walked away, looking even classier than when I first noticed her.

I reached the man a few paces later and he was putting the money away. He did not ask me for a thing.


http://www.hud.gov/homeless/index.cfm

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

John 13:1-17

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

I’ve been thinking about this passage a lot today and I felt I should write down my thoughts, if only for future reflection. In September of 2007, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Egypt with work. I was there for twelve days, and in the course of those two weeks, I did a lot of walking. Each morning, I had the choice between wearing sneakers or my Teva sandals, purchased specially for the trip. Most days, I chose to wear sandals, as sneakers and sand never seemed to go together well in my mind. My journal entry from the first day of the trip reads as follows:

“I wore sandals today and when we were done, my feet were white with sand and dirt. I could not help but think about the stories in the Bible which feature sandals and sand: John the Baptist saying he is not fit to untie Jesus’ sandals (Mark 1:7, Luke 3:16); Mary washing Jesus’ feet since His host did not (John 12:3); Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles (John 13:1-17); the Apostles shaking the sand and dust from their feet when they leave the town which ignores the Gospel (Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5, Acts 13:51). All of the stories make much more sense and have taken on greater significance.”

At the end of each day of exploration, the first thing I had to do, no matter how exhausted I was, was wash the sand from my tired feet. As I washed my feet, I thought of John’s story of Jesus’ washing his disciples’ feet. I suppose I had always thought of this story as more of an ancient custom – a foreign ritual confined to the pages of the Bible, but after scrubbing the dirt from my own feet, I became more aware of what exactly this story meant. All at once, Peter’s declaration of, “No! You can’t do that!” hit home.

Imagine for a moment that you are a disciple in the Upper Room. Suddenly, the Son of God, your teacher and Lord, is kneeling at your feet, rough and dirty from traversing the rugged countryside. You have watched Him heal the sick, forgive sinners, drive demons out of people and even raise the dead, but here He is - ready to lovingly wash your feet clean. God should not do such a demeaning thing, should He? Yet it is exactly what He does. It is extreme humility in action.

This beautiful passage depicts physically what Christ does to each of us spiritually when we encounter Him. For aren’t we all disciples in that room, desperately in need of someone to clean us up? He comes to us, compelled by love and mercy, pinpoints the dirt and proceeds to polish us until we shine. It may take some scrubbing, but the end result will glisten like gold in the sun.

Yet John’s passage is not only an example of Jesus’ love for us, but also a fervent call to action. When Jesus is finished with this apparent role-reversal, He instructs the disciples to do the same to those they encounter, acting as servants in humility and love. It is important here to distinguish between servitude and servanthood. Servitude implies that one is bound to do something regardless of his or her will, while servanthood is the act of willingly choosing to be a servant. In this act, Christ chooses to wash His disciples’ feet out of love and a desire to teach them how to serve others.

We, like the disciples, are to choose to take Jesus’ lead and to act as God’s servants in the world. We are to leave the four walls of the Upper Room and extend the love of this act to those in need. No, there may not be a need to physically wash feet anymore, but by humbly and generously offering of ourselves, we show that we care and have a desire to help however we can.

Instead of washing feet, we may serve by volunteering time at a soup kitchen or a non-profit organization. We may donate time and money to charities or groups whose causes touch us. Our “foot-washing” may be as simple as giving a stranger directions, holding the door for someone, or offering to help when we see a person in need. Even if your offer is declined, the very act of placing someone else’s needs above your own signals that you care about the other person and his or her situation. Sometimes people just need to know that someone is there.

In these little acts of kindness, we honor Christ’s commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. As Christ reiterates in Matthew’s Gospel, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25:40). There is no limit on how or whom we can help. We need only to use our creativity and act out of love and humility as Jesus did one evening in the Upper Room.

Wayfaring Stranger

I thought to kick this off, I'd post the lyrics to "Wayfaring Stranger," one of my favorite songs and the inspiration for the title of my musings:

I am a poor wayfaring stranger
While journeying through this world of woe
Yet there’s no sickness toil nor danger
In that bright land to which I go

I’m going there to see my father
I’m going there no more to roam
I’m only going over Jordan
I’m only going over home

I know dark clouds will gather over me
I know my way my way is rough and steep
Yet beautiful fields lie just before me
And God’s redeemed their vigils keep

I’m going there to see my father
I’m going there no more to roam
I'm only going over Jordan
I’m only going over home

I’m going there oh to see my mother
I’m going there no more to roam
I’m only going over Jordan
I’m only going over home

I want to wear that crown of glory
When I get home to that good land
Well I want to shout salvation’s story
In concert with the blood-washed band

I’m going there to see my Savior
Oh I’m going there no more to roam
I’m only going over Jordan
I’m only going over home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da2t1Qmcnjc

Not only is the song hauntingly beautiful, but it serves as a reminder to focus on the joy and grace of God's blessings and promises rather than on earthly pain and sorrow.