by Craig Mayes on January 14th, 2010

I know since I have been blogging from NYC, I have written numerous times about the homeless. Unless one chooses to look the other way, they are a part of life here everyday. Sometimes they are asking for food or a couple of bucks, sometimes they are sleeping on the sidewalk, park bench, or subway car. Sometimes they are drunk or high, sometimes they are articulate. I can’t respond and help every time. I would never get anywhere or get anything else done, and I’d run out of money quickly. It seems haphazard when I do respond, and I usually wonder if I have done enough and even if I have done the right thing. There are plenty of voices out there that talk about what to do and not do with the homeless. I recently read an article that suggested that giving food to homeless enables them to remain homeless rather than finding permanent solutions to get them off the street. An ad on some of the subway cars suggests that we offer the homeless “real change” rather than our spare change.

 While I am trying to learn how I (and Communitas) can help find long term solutions for the homeless, I can’t simply set aside the words of Jesus: “When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat.” The disciples asked, “When did we see you hungry and feed you?” He answered “When you did it to the least of these, you did it for me.” So when I see a homeless man or woman, I see one of the least of these, and I understand that I am, in some mysterious sense, feeding Jesus. I think Mother Teresa said that the poor are Jesus in disguise.

The last week I have had some intentional connections with the homeless. This year Communitas is partnering again with an effort called “Don’t Walk By”. For 5 consecutive Saturday evenings we walk a particular section of Manhattan and offer help to the homeless. In this case, we offer a hot meal, clothing, and if they desire, a bed and the opportunity to enter a program that can get them off the street. This past Saturday, our group covered a portion of the Upper West Side, mostly working the A train subway stations. In four hours we engaged with about 15 people, inviting each to receive help. All but one turned us down, preferring to remain where they were, on a night that was going to go down to 14 degrees. Only one woman came back with us for help. But it was one, and maybe her life will change. If you want to see the story of three people who went from homelessness to a restored life, check this out: http://film.dontwalkby.org/.

Then tonight, our community group made 40 bag lunches and brought them at 10PM to Penn Station, where we knew many homeless go to walk the corridors away from the winter cold. The seven of us dispersed once in the station. Amid the commuters leaving Manhattan for New Jersey and Long Island were men and women, poorly dressed, in need of a shower and a bed to sleep in, and hungry. In 20 minutes our food was gone as we encountered dozens more in need of help. For most, it was a brief encounter as we simply gave food to one of the least. We didn’t get their names or their stories. We didn’t know what circumstances brought them to poverty. But one encounter was different.

Austin and Diane are a married couple in their 50s. Last August, the man from who they were subletting a portion of an apartment was kicked out for not paying the rent, which mean they also lost their place. They have been in and out of shelters since, trying to work within the system to get off the street. As I have heard time and again from the homeless, many of the shelters in the city are dangerous. They have been attacked and robbed. It is safer to be on the streets. For five months they have been surviving a day at a time.

As their story unfolded (Diane once taught high school math, and Austin has been to seminary) I realized again how one size does not fit all when it comes to the homeless. We fed them, but what else could we do to help? Well, they needed better winter coats, and we do have some from our coat drive. We promised to come back with them. E learned that they can get a room for $10 a night, so we bought a couple nights for them out of the cold. But what else?

Before we parted, they asked me to pray for them, and so right there in Penn Station we held hands and prayed, After the amen, Diane embraced me and wept. Then they walked away. And I felt as I usually do when with the homeless- confused. I was going to head home to my comfortable apartment with a panty full of food and a closet full of clothes. I never know how to think or feel about my life and standard of living after I have spent time with the poor.

 As our group rendezvoused, Harry suggested that we pray together. We formed a circle and asked God to help the men and women that we had helped in a small way tonight. Through his own tears, he expressed that while the number and condition of those we met that night overwhelmed us, with God, all things are possible.

 God, do the impossible. Help them And teach us how to live among the poor of our city.