Janny and I were coming home late and had to stop at a gas station near our house in Santa Cruz. As I pumped gas, a gentleman with a covetous beard rode up to me on his bike and asked for some money. I offered to buy him some food, so with a muffin and warm coffee now in his hands we began a rich conversation. He told me his name was Lyle and that he had lost his job in construction, which resulted in him being homeless for over a year. He shared about his past travels and relationships with hope and nostalgia, but would then come back to the somber reality of sleeping under a tarp night after night. After about 10 minutes, I said goodbye and he left me with a hearty smile of gratitude.
Challenged and inspired by my renewed understanding of the Kingdom of God and its “unlikely” inhabitants(which I spoke of in my last post), I tried to live my daily life with an open eye to the face of Jesus as seen through the poor. With this said, I had the opportunity to share a meal and conversation with a variety of folks, but I kept running into Lyle. A few weeks after our initial conversation and at the same gas station, Lyle and I were able to share an extensive conversation over a cup of coffee. I had grown to admire his resolve and optimism in the midst of a painful story. Needing to get home, I asked if we could continue over lunch the next day at a local taqueria. I told him there was no pressure, but that I would be there at 12pm either way. I understood, but sitting at a table in the taqueria anxious to continue our conversation, was disappointed when he never showed up.
Towards the end of last year, I started volunteering @ the Homeless Service Center; which has a food pantry, homeless family housing and serves up to 400 meals everyday. Not knowing exactly what was needed, my friend Michael and I decided to just show up and offer our help in any capacity. With dozens of homeless folks milling around the dining area, I connected with a full time volunteer named Rick. His first response was a combination of confusion and gratitude at my willingness to serve. Rick was homeless and now is able to live in an apartment on campus as compensation for his working full time for the center. After floating around and sharing conversation with my new friends for an hour, I was introduced to “Al the Chef” who wasted no time equipping me with a hair net, plastic gloves and instructions in how to run the food line. For the next couple of hours, Michael and I had the unforgettable honor of serving each one of the 100+ faces of Jesus a warm meal, accompanied by a heaping portion of love articulated through our huge grins.
It became clear that this would be the only meal of the day for many of our new friends. For that reason alone, this meal/place symbolized life. It wasn’t only the nourishment of the food, but the warmth and care that our friends desired. There weren’t many volunteers, but each one treated the homeless folks with dignity, love and mutual respect. As I witnessed these dynamics and served each meal with a smile, the humanity of each person was being realized. If even for only a short time, we were all equals without the dividing lines of society. Heaven was crashing into earth and the Kingdom of God was at hand.
Which leads me back to my friend Lyle…