at Bread of Life tonite, I stood silently at the clothes table while wealthy Point Loma girls (always in pairs) passed out clothes to some of San Diego's homeless. I was struck by this clash, this mixing of the waters. I was reminded of the deep sense of otherness I used to have in that place--before I had more homeless friends than Loma friends on Tuesday nights--and I wonder what happened to bridge that gap. how do we step across that gap of otherness and touch someone on the other side? we often spend so much time making ourselves comfortable that we forget to listen, to touch the other side. if only i could figure out a way that would allow each one of those people to listen and hear someone each Tuesday night. There is already a lot of good happening in there. An atmosphere of love bubbles up in many places and that's not always the case for places that have served the homeless for long.
but i'm still left with the gap. how do we shuttle people across the gap? how do we let people into the world that is unknown and do so in a way that is loving for all? how do we say, "Come! Come with me and I will show you a world where God is real, although you may not see it at first. I will help you see a world of joy and hope that is very different from that which you are used to. Listen closely to the tracks and you can hear the train coming. put your ear to the sidewalk and you can hear the rhythm of these streets. and it is good."
i want to minister long and hard with all my life. i want to listen well, to touch well, to be an instrument of healing. and sometimes i want to be a ladder for people who are wealthy to come to where those who are poor are and see that Jesus is with the poor in ways he is not with them and that they should listen to those ways because they are at least equal to the ways Jesus is with the rich. i want to be a bridge to simplicity, a path to the silence of Christ. i want to be a parable of Jesus. i hope all those pairs of girls saw the parables of Jesus that were happening all around them tonite. i hope.
2 comments:
i like that you want to be a ladder, and i like that you want to be stepped on. i've always thought of ladders being something that people use to elevate themselves--gaining a higher position at your expense. i forget about the opportunity you give for the poeple who want to come down. hmm... i feel an idea for student ministries theme coming on.
"i want to minister long and hard with all my life. i want to listen well, to touch well, to be an instrument of healing. and sometimes i want to be a ladder for people who are wealthy to come to where those who are poor are and see that Jesus is with the poor in ways he is not with them..."
Whew. That's about the best thing I've read in a while.
Post a Comment