We Are All Homeless
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:57-58
Shawn is a young man whom I have gotten to know these past years serving at the Food Pantry and at our Dinner Church services. He has been living on the street all these years. Several times over the years he had been robbed and beaten up by other homeless men. We are very concerned for the homeless individuals who come to CCDC have had to deal with the violence on our streets at night.
Shawn has never had a place of his own until recently. Through the assistance of Horizon House he has been able to find affordable housing. We are excited to see Shawn finally having a safe and stable place to live.
Most of us have never been homeless. The closest Debby and I came to being homeless was when I finished seminary and we left California to come back to Cincinnati. We had a young son and a daughter on the way without any income and no prospects of a job. God rescued us through a wonderful family who invited us to live on the third floor of their large home.
We may not know what it is like to be homeless, but Jesus did. We might brush over what he says, “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” But think about what he says here. Jesus never had a home of his own. The shocking thing is that he who created the world had no place in the world. When I’m with a homeless individual, I am reminded of Jesus. I know he understands what it means to be homeless. And I know I could have been homeless except for the grace of God.
Sergeant Kimberly Evans is the Community Relations officer for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in the Downtown District. She was invited by Anthony Burke, the head of our CCDC board, to come to our Dinner Church this past Wednesday. She talked with Shawn and was glad to hear about his new place to live. She also talked with Glenn, a new person to Dinner Church who is homeless and seeks help to find a place to stay. Kimberly is very knowledgeable about the resources in the city to secure help for the homeless. It was great to have her come to Dinner Church and assist those looking for help.
We may never become homeless, but in a sense we like Jesus are homeless. What I mean is that our home in this world is not our true home. If we walk with Jesus, we cannot make our sole endeavor to secure an earthly home. We see that building our own nest is not our ultimate goal in life. Jesus left behind the comforts of his own home in Nazareth to go help the poor and needy. Can we live in our comfortable homes and not care about those with no home?
Come serve at CCDC and feel the sense that you are serving alongside Jesus. Your contribution of time and donations enable us to bring Jesus’ love and provide the food and clothing and other resources for those in the Near Eastside community.
May God’s peace be with you,
Pastor Jim and Debby Riley