Most of us churchgoers have heard or read the parable of the Good Samaritan often enough that we feel that we understand its meaning: we look with envy at the Samaritan who helped the beaten and abandoned man, even spending his money to assure he was brought back to health.
Listening to the shuffle of angel feet* at Porter square one Sunday morning I came away from the service feeling that I was living in the parable. Here were fifteen to eighteen men and women who were to my eyes at the bottom of the cycle.
Drugs, alcohol, Listerine, abuse, mental illness. How can we catalogue the causes and manifestations of street people’s problems?
Yet, there were the Outdoor Church minister’s, Jean and Jed, seemingly unaware of the problems swirling around them, all the while being tuned in to each one’s need. A psalm was read to start the simple service. Its calming effect was palpable. That was when I realized I was in a holy space filled, not just with ministers and homeless, but with something that went far beyond what our post modern sophistication is willing to admit…the shuffle of angel feet.
It jumped up and hit me. I was these people’s neighbor. I have the duty , if I am going to live out the faith I profess every Sunday, to do something. It doesn’t matter where I live, or my circumstances, the need is real. The parable still holds true; it answers the question: who is my neighbor.
So I challenge you to do yourself a favor: help the Outdoor Church be a neighbor to the homeless of Cambridge. Get involved, make a sandwich, attend a service, open your purse. No matter your creed or background your kindness to these men and women will be put to the best use possible: helping those that go unseen.
*Johnny Cash: “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”
Listening to the shuffle of angel feet* at Porter square one Sunday morning I came away from the service feeling that I was living in the parable. Here were fifteen to eighteen men and women who were to my eyes at the bottom of the cycle.
Drugs, alcohol, Listerine, abuse, mental illness. How can we catalogue the causes and manifestations of street people’s problems?
Yet, there were the Outdoor Church minister’s, Jean and Jed, seemingly unaware of the problems swirling around them, all the while being tuned in to each one’s need. A psalm was read to start the simple service. Its calming effect was palpable. That was when I realized I was in a holy space filled, not just with ministers and homeless, but with something that went far beyond what our post modern sophistication is willing to admit…the shuffle of angel feet.
It jumped up and hit me. I was these people’s neighbor. I have the duty , if I am going to live out the faith I profess every Sunday, to do something. It doesn’t matter where I live, or my circumstances, the need is real. The parable still holds true; it answers the question: who is my neighbor.
So I challenge you to do yourself a favor: help the Outdoor Church be a neighbor to the homeless of Cambridge. Get involved, make a sandwich, attend a service, open your purse. No matter your creed or background your kindness to these men and women will be put to the best use possible: helping those that go unseen.
*Johnny Cash: “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”
