On Sunday my prayer group threw a huge fund-raising buffet style dinner after each Mass. The price was $10 a plate and on a cold, snowy Sunday people jammed downstairs to enjoy the food. My job was to serve the food to the people as they walked down the buffet line. At one point, I looked up and I saw a bum sitting at the table closest to me. He had a blank look on his face, but he was staring at me. Our Church always has the basement open so the homeless can warm up; during the winter they accept the invitation.
I glanced to see if the gentleman had a plate; he did not. I wondered if he was hungry. Then I thought he probably did not have $10 to spend on a meal. Then I thought I should get him a plate. We were busy and as I continued to work I completely forgot about the gentleman. Later I remembered, but he was gone.
The next day I got to thinking about how that man could have been Jesus among us, just sitting there, minding his own business, hungry, waiting to be seen. My mind flashed to Leo Tolstoy’s beautiful short story, Where Love Is, God Is, about a cobbler who encounters God via the poor people he encounters during the day. While the Cobbler responds to the need around him, I did not. My Confessor calls what I experienced “the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” He tells me that it is very important to listen and respond when I feel called because it is God’s voice speaking to me.
Sadly, I missed this one, but hopefully it will prepare me for the next time.
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