April 23rd 2007

Jesus and Public Assistance

Read Acts 3:1-10

"Now a man crippled from birth was being caried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts." v. 2

When we read the story of Peter and John passing the beggar, we immediately turn toward the momentous healing and sing the song, "He went jumping and leaping and praising God..." But...before there is a healing, there is a disturbing verse. This man had spent his entire life placed in the predicament that he sat that day. He had been left by his family, friends, and the greater society to in many ways fend for himself. All that others could do for him was cart him to the place where he might find "public assistance."

Sitting amongst a group of pastors recently, I heard one pastor make the comment that many homeless people chose their circumstances. It was obvious from that comment that he had very few deep conversations with those that have no place to call home. In many ways their stories mimic the story of the crippled beggar. Many have grown up crippled by the circumstances of their lives from birth. They have grown up in homes destroyed by alcohol, drugs and abuse. Their lives have adapted very similar cycles of destructive behaviors that were modeled for them when they were young. Some lost a job and had no savings to fall back upon--or friends and family for that matter. Still others are sitting outside the temple due to the escalating costs of healthcare. Regardless, they have been carted to the same place day after day, no one really knowing how to deal with them...left fending for themselves without the emotional, mental, physical or vocational resources to do so. There they sit, hands extended hoping that some form of "public assistance" will get them through the day.

But the beauty of the story is that it is precisely at this point of desperation that the church enters. Peter and John refused to participate in the same cyclical system that would give this beggar a dime for a day and leave him hungry for tomorrow. Instead, their encounter with the risen Christ and their filling of the Holy Spirit had left them yearning for restoration--not simply hand outs. They recognized through the touch of the church and hope of Christ, that this man's life could be changed. That is what is offered. Today, the church must read afresh this story. We can't be satisfied with the giving of alms (tossing in some coins here and there). We must seek restoration. We must help those who can't help themselves (who haven't been trained to do so or have given up hope) by offering them holistic assistance. We must offer Jesus as long as He is accompanied by food, vocational training, rehab, housing assistance, intense discipleship, money management, and transportation. Like Peter and John, we reach down and lift them to their feet regardless the cost to ourselves, the inconvenience, or the level of involvement it will require. And oh by the way... we might just make a new friend in the process.