Christ is There

One summer when I was in seminary, I served as a chaplain to the homeless working in a ministry housed in the basement of an old Episcopal Church in downtown Atlanta. I remember being struck by this huge mural painted by one of the homeless guests at the shelter. It was a painting of life on the street. Seven characters were hanging out, outside in a party-type atmosphere. There was an intellectual wearing glasses, but his tie was crooked, shirt un-tucked, and a bottle of booze in his hand. Others were dirty, with tattered clothes. In the painting, you could see their sickness and despair. Broken bottles littered the ground and the sky was black and ominous with flashes of lightning. In the foreground was a sign that read, “Warning! Our Creator has issued a severe storm alert for non-recovering addicts. Effects will be disease, famine, and death! Take shelter now in the name of Jesus!”

I found myself staring at this painting for a long time – maybe because it represented so vividly life as I saw it on the streets daily. And the question that kept coming to my mind was, where is Jesus in the midst of all this hunger and heartache and human suffering?

As I thought about it, part of the answer became clear. Jesus was there, suffering within the folks we sought to serve. But he was also there in the open hearts of the shelter volunteers. Jesus was there in the care and expertise of the drug counselors. Jesus was there in hands of those who served food and in the love and money sent to keep the shelter running. And, Jesus was there, reaching out in love to both those who served and to those who were being served.

Let us pray: Open our eyes to see the need in the world around us. Open our hearts to break at the things that break your heart. And then, Lord, give us the courage to reach out in your name and make a difference. We pray in the name of the Risen Christ. Amen.