The Next TIme

 Good afternoon, and welcome.

 I know I’ve visited with you before regarding the topic for today.  But I think it deserves another look.  As you know, I work at a downtown urban church set on the banks of the Arkansas river.  This location gives us plenty of opportunity to see what goes on in the downtown area as well as to sometimes participate in it.

 As the warmer weather has come on us, we see more of the unhoused walking the streets in front of and beside our building.  They are usually easy to spot and set apart from the business people and residents of the area who are walking the streets as well.  They usually have large backpacks or are pushing or pulling some kind of cart or wagon.  If they happen to have a bicycle, they often will have it loaded down with bags, or will be pulling some kind of cart behind it.  Their clothing is often ill-fitting and out of season.  They have a generally disheveled appearance.  They often look as if they’ve just come in from the wilderness and are in need of hygiene services.

 Now, I say none of those things in order to denigrate or make fun of anyone.  Rather, I say those things because you too have seen such people, and most likely don’t have the best thoughts about them when you see or encounter them.  The thoughts of most of us who encounter these folks range from, “Why don’t they get a job?” to “Why don’t they just go away?”  Sometimes the thoughts and even spoken comments are more mean-spirited than those I just mentioned, reducing these people to something less than human and worthy of nothing from the rest of us.  We treat animals better than some of us treat these people.

 The sight of an unhoused person or couple walking the street with all of their worldly possessions on their backs is familiar to me.  I’ve seen it hundreds and  hundreds of times.  They’ve come to our church door hundreds and hundreds of times looking for food, water, a restroom, clothing, gloves, or something else that will help them get through the day.  Some of their requests we can help with…others, not so much.

 Just a few minutes ago, John came to the door.  He shows up about once a year and always wants to go through the Lions Club donated eyeglasses box we have in our foyer to see if there may be glasses in there that he might be able to use.  He also usually uses the restroom facilities.  A decent and friendly man, John never needs much, and is always polite and well-spoken.

 Rocky comes by more often.  He never needs much either…some Gatorade or maybe a pair of socks, a tube of Fixodent denture adhesive or perhaps something else small.  Sometimes he needs the restroom…sometimes not.  The last time he came in, he used the restroom.  I went in afterwards and found the Jeans he had been wearing in the trash, along with a lot of paper hand towels.  He had evidently soiled himself and used the restroom to clean up and change his pants.

 Many others walk by and never stop, except maybe to check out the Paxton’s Blessing Box we have outside our door.  Most of them I don’t know.  Many of them will be in this area for awhile, then go somewhere else either in the Wichita area or another city.  A very few will put together what it takes to get permanent housing, and will get off the street.  Jim and Arlene are two examples of that.  I’m grateful they were able to navigate the sometimes byzantine requirements for a government identification card and then succeed in running the maze of government agencies and qualifying for housing and other resources.

 Even though I’ve seen hundreds of scenes of the unhoused on the street, each time I see it I get a twinge in my soul and am at once both saddened that we as a society can’t seem to get a handle on the issue, and yet grateful that I’ve been given what I have in life and can go home to a real house with turned-on utilities, comfortable furniture, and a great neighborhood.

 I don’t have the answers.  I’m not certain at this point that anyone does.  But I know that those who I see on the street are people…human beings…worthy of the dignity and respect that comes with that designation.  Unhoused, disheveled, mentally ill, jobless…it doesn’t matter.  When we begin to disrespect or at minimum ignore any class of human beings, we cheapen the meaning of human life and make it more expendable.  As humans ourselves, we need to continually, ferociously guard against that tendency.

 The next time you see an apparently homeless individual on the street, think about what it is that you think or say when you see one.  Maybe, just maybe, you need to develop a little more kindness and empathy, and see them for who they are…humans made in the image of God.

 Blessings,