Monday, October 8, 2007

Divine Encounter

Jesus, you make me feel so damned guilty when you
sit there like that, grinning, rattling your can, blowing through that
windless, tuneless harmonica

I tell you, “you know you’ll only spend it drugs, maybe booze,
if I’m lucky”

but you only blow “O Susannah” and smile
and I hear the coins rattle in your cup: dimes, nickels, they hit
the bottom: clink, clank

“In good conscience, I can’t,” I tell you: are you listening?
is it really so hard to understand, Jesus, that
I have to be a good steward, I mean

you gave me this money in the first place; and surely
you wouldn’t want me to let you buy drugs with it –
would you?

come on, Jesus be reasonable

4 comments:

  1. that's good. doesn't make me feel good...but it's good. you're my hero.

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  2. You know...

    I've looked beggars in the eye and said no. I've given money at times to those on the street who ask. I've given food instead of money...And I don't know that I've helped one of them.

    How do we care for those in need out of our love for Christ?

    -nds

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  3. Thanks for the comment, Nate.

    I think the issue I was trying to get at here was the justifications I try to make to my own conscience when I brush off a homeless person's request for money. Do I do it because I think it's what's best for him or her, or because they make me uncomfortable and I'd rather not deal with them?

    And yeah, there's a larger issue here. Once I get past my simple discomfort and make the decision to acknowledge them and their need, how do I best proceed to meet that need? Money? Food? Lodging? What can I reasonably do as a stranger passing by? And that, I think, is a question we all have to answer for ourselves.

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  4. It's a question we should set straight in our minds. I know how often I feel like I am taken off guard. That should never be. It's harder for me I think because I don't spend a lot of time in a city, even Bellingham which is nearby.

    Good post!

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