{"id":1292,"date":"2014-11-22T19:03:20","date_gmt":"2014-11-23T00:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/?p=1292"},"modified":"2014-12-23T20:37:45","modified_gmt":"2014-12-24T01:37:45","slug":"whom-do-we-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tomzampino\/2014\/11\/whom-do-we-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Whom Do We See In The Homeless?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The temperature has dropped considerably here in New York City \u2013 seemingly earlier than usual. And the homeless, ever present, are now even more noticeable.<\/p>\n

No, not as people.<\/p>\n

But rather as bundles of battered, shivering\u00a0flesh.\u00a0The lucky ones have blankets, and\u00a0hats and gloves. And cups for begging.<\/p>\n

We might never look into their faces. But we see enough of them to realize that they are there \u2013 so that we can side step them.<\/p>\n

For all practical purposes, they aren\u2019t really there at all.<\/p>\n

The New York City Rescue Mission <\/a>(NYCRM) recently conducted an interesting\u00a0social experiment\u00a0which it called\u00a0\u201cHave the Homeless Become Invisible<\/em>?\u201d (linked below).<\/p>\n

Several volunteers were dressed\u00a0\u2013 but not particularly well\u00a0disguised \u2013 as homeless men and women. They were then placed in strategic spots around the City. Relatives of these \u201chomeless,\u201d including a spouse of some 34 years, were filmed as they happened by.<\/p>\n

Obviously, NYCRM wouldn\u2019t have publicized the experiment if it hadn\u2019t proved the point that\u00a0the group\u00a0was trying to make. But that doesn\u2019t make the experiment any less valid,\u00a0or any less real \u2013\u00a0for prove it did.<\/p>\n

Not one person filmed\u00a0took the time to see, to truly\u00a0notice, the men and women sitting right in front of them. Yet these were their cousins, their friends, their parents,\u00a0their wives.<\/p>\n

Some, no doubt, were\u00a0distracted by\u00a0important goings-on in their own lives. Others, perhaps, simply\u00a0wanted to avoid unnecessary hassles and street entanglements.<\/p>\n

Certainly very\u00a0valid reasons. Certainly very human reactions.<\/p>\n

Interacting with the homeless can\u00a0be intimidating, scary, depressing, and\u00a0\u2013 truth be told \u2013 annoying, aggravating, and guilt-inducing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t help enough to lift someone out of their immediate predicament. You can\u2019t solve any of their long-term mental, emotional, and financial problems.<\/p>\n

Besides, most of us\u00a0sincerely believe that we might even make their\u00a0situation worse by discouraging them from seeking practical, beneficial, and effective\u00a0long-term help.<\/p>\n

We all easily recall the\u00a0old adage\u00a0about \u201cteaching a man to fish\u201d after all.<\/p>\n

And no doubt one can give much financially and still be made to feel guilty \u2013 if not by our own consciences, then by the homeless themselves.<\/p>\n

Those living on the street can be conniving, lying, abusive, foul-mouthed, violent, and ungrateful.<\/p>\n

The homeless\u00a0are not saints just because they are poor.<\/p>\n

So we may feel\u00a0secure in our\u00a0need to\u00a0ignore. To pass by. To feel both pity and contempt.<\/p>\n

But we may also, at times, feel\u00a0a\u00a0gentle tugging at our hearts\u00a0for something better.\u00a0For something not\u00a0wholly recognizable in human terms.<\/p>\n

And so along comes the reading for Sunday, November 23, 2014.<\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s haunting words provide us with one of our greatest challenges (See<\/em> Mt. 25: 31-46):<\/p>\n

\u201cFor I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink. I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, lacking clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then it will be their turn to ask, \u201cLord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he will answer, \u201cIn truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Every one of the poor is Christ in the flesh, in the here and now, in 2014. Of course, so is every prisoner \u2013 perhaps not a very popular notion, that.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Mother Teresa had to say about any of the poor that cross our paths:<\/p>\n

The poor, in whatever part of the world they are to be found, are the suffering Christ. In them, lives and dies, the Son of God. Through them, God shows us His face.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When we\u00a0pass\u00a0the homeless on the streets, what do we see?<\/p>\n

Are they completely invisible? Would we not even see a family member? Not recognize their face?<\/p>\n

Or perhaps we\u00a0might see just enough to\u00a0be repelled \u2013\u00a0by the poverty, the illness, the stench, and the filth. And then we\u00a0move on.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a better question\u00a0is whom<\/em> do we see? For if we long to see the face of God, we\u00a0might want to take to the streets.<\/p>\n

What would happen if we were to take a closer look at the homeless?<\/p>\n

We just might need to pray for better vision.<\/p>\n

For who among us\u00a0would want to miss\u00a0the chance\u00a0to see the face of God?<\/p>\n

Peace<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The temperature has dropped considerably here in New York City \u2013 seemingly earlier than usual. And the homeless, ever present, are now even more noticeable. No, not as people. But rather as bundles of battered, shivering\u00a0flesh.\u00a0The lucky ones have blankets, and\u00a0hats and gloves. And cups for begging. We might never look into their faces. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1976,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhom Do We See In The Homeless?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The temperature has dropped considerably here in New York City - seemingly earlier than usual. 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