Visible Needs

Sometimes we miss things that should be important to us to see, hear and do.

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” - Luke 16:19-31

There is a big issue these days with the homeless.

Some city governments have allowed them to set up their own inner city cities of tents and sleeping bags, hoping to give them a sense of self-resect and dignity.

But I wonder if that approach results in greater indignity, since they are more likely to be ignored that way.

The story of Lazarus, the beggar is sad because we see him at the gate everyday looking for a little help and we think of all the folks who walked by and did nothing.

He was visible and ignored, so the blame goes squarely on those who chose to walk by.

But make him invisible, and how can you blame anyone for ignoring him?

I know a man who is homeless by choice.  Perhaps his choices are not the best, but that isn't for me to judge, right?

He comes by every so often, sometimes very often, and his appearance is evidence of his decision to live this way.  He occasionally has no pants, but wears pantyhose instead.

I am not trying to be funny here.  This is a real person and, though he won't admit it, he suffers from some undiagnosed problem I am not qualified to determine.

We give him food, but that isn't enough.  So, I reach into my wallet and give him what I can.

Every time I do this, I thin of Lazarus and the rich man.

To one who has nothing, I am the rich man, even though there are many much wealthier than I.

I see him on the street from time to time while driving by and I notice the crowd has made him invisible, like Lazarus.  They ignore him.

I can't do that.

Some people tell me I shouldn't, but others praise me for caring.

The thing about giving to the homeless is it is direct and personal.  It isn't a charitable donation one can deduct from their taxes.  It is from me to you.

There is no other reward than the reward of knowing you did something.

What the rich man deprived himself of was that knowledge, and when he discovered it, it was too late.

More to come...