What It Feels Like to Be Homeless for the Holidays
Homeless for the Holidays
It Is Not a Merry Christmas This Year
Introduction
Homeless for the holidays is the exact opposite of the mental and emotional picture that we have of the holiday called Christmas. There is a growing group of folks who no longer know Christmas as a joyous, glad, heart-warming day of celebration.
If we are His at this time of year especially, we are called to do more than care for our own and intermingle with our own, we must go to the unloved, the unwashed, hungry, and unhoused, to carry Christmas to them. The heartbeat of Christmas is giving, Jesus was given, what are you giving, not to those you know and are comfortable with, but to those outside your circle?
Let’s look at His word as we start today:
Micah 6:8
The Lord has told you, human (O man) what is good; He has told you what He wants (the Lord requires) from you, to do what is what to other people, (just), love, being kind to others (mercy, loving-kindness) and live humbly, obeying (walk humbly with your God)
Isaiah 9: 6 & 7a
For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the growth of his government and peace there shall be no end.
What say you…
Well, they are homeless for a reason after all, so what if they do not have a good Christmas anyway why does it matter, the missions are there for them, so no worries or concerns, right…
The streets are supposed to be swept and cleaned, all trash removed, it is the holidays, so why are there frozen bumps wherever I turn, this is not acceptable, oh are they humans…
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Blessed New Year, go away don’t bug me, leave me and my family alone, you don’t deserve anything, it is Christmas time, time for my family, go back to your kind and family…..
All I Want for Christmas Is…
What I gathered from the articles that I read is this, the greatest that could be given to any homeless or down and out human being is Opportunity. That is exactly what God gave us when Jesus came to earth as a babe in the manger and grew to be the Son and died and rose again, an Opportunity to be saved and restored.
An opportunity to walk into a business and have a fair shake at applying for that job, just as anyone else would have. The chance for affordable housing so that when a lease is lost another can be gained without the streets being the landing zone. The opportunity that was Not mentioned was more government handouts because the homeless know it cannot fix the issues and problems.
All I want for Christmas is no handcuffs, no tickets, no fines, food if possible, and a safe place to sleep without being awakened repeatedly. An Opportunity to eat, sleep, and have warm feet, and clothes that keep you warm and comfortable, simple, life essentials, and not available to most.
A Juxtaposition of Reality
The New Colossus, Lady Liberty
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Isaiah 9: 6 and 7
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Our constitution states that all are welcome through the open front door, including the homeless. But, once they arrive or settle in for generations, we have begun to fail them by allowing the government to get too big to allow the American dream to thrive.
For unto us, a Son is given, a Son is born, the Father’s greatest gift, but many and varied reasons too many have chosen, or simply do not have Him in their life and thus their life is off course. This is true for both the homeless and the housed. The article states this, “at the end of the day, we’re all just people, wanting much of the same things, to be seen, to be loved, and to be heard.”
When we look around and see the rapidly growing number of homeless, in and out of shelters, and the laws punishing them for merely being homeless, we know that the two quotes are being ignored. Liberty’s quote is dying, and Christ is not living in the hearts of many. Without these in full activation, Merry Christmas is a hollow set of words to those trapped on the streets, with little hope for tomorrow, let alone a Merry Christmas
Juxtaposition, two contrasting things, lives, lifestyle, dreams, ideas, hopes, or instructions, are set side by side, and they have little or no middle ground to meet upon. The empty words people speak so freely without actions to give them life and action when engaging the homeless or needy.
Now I am not against the efforts of kind, generous people, but the ones that have not the heart of compassion or understanding. Simply food for thought at this special time of year, what do your words mean, what weight do they carry, outside your comfort zone?
There is No Merry in Christmas
Tired, cold, hungry, forgotten, chased, and unable to sleep, how could there be Merry in Christmas for this marginalized group? Now the various shelters and outreaches do what they can to make the day better for the many and varied homeless people. Can you imagine sitting down to a good meal, getting a couple of gifts, and hearing kind words, but knowing you will sleep on a cold street that very night? This is just the harsh reality of overcrowded shelters since the Pandemic. Lights, decorations, trees, carols, and so many celebrations, and the children of the homeless get a toy or a doll or a book and they are then sent off to bed with a small meal and a promise of a better tomorrow. “God rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” “Joy to the World,” and “Angels we have heard on High,” beautiful words but without actions, they are hollow for the hurting and homeless.
Words Hurt this Time of Year
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Jesus is the Reason for the Season, Look at that Christmas Tree, Oh all the Presents, family is coming soon, all of these are normal words for most of us at this time of year. But, for some, they are the very words that drive them to despair and even suicide. Hard words, but truth
Hopelessness is the prevalent contrary spirit of the season, and it is silent, sneaky, and stalks the homeless wherever they go. Jesus is the hope of the world, “For unto us a Son is given,” but when you lose everything, even the word Hope hurts, and when you lose hope your life hangs in the balance. What do you do when you see one hurting, struggling, and suffering at this time of the year? Do you turn, move on, shrug your shoulders, or do you follow the example of the Christ child and show mercy? Actions, true actions take the pain out of the words of this season
Yelled at, cursed out, called vile names, told to go do unspeakable things, hearing, ‘come here,’ thinking that good is coming and instead something is thrown at them. Death and Life are in the power of the tongue, and the homeless have heard enough death. Holiday cheer, glad tidings, blessings, are not theirs to hear, but should we not change that, for but for the grace of God we could be there with them. After the economy shifted after the Pandemic, the rental situation, groceries, and such have redrawn the map, Selah
Discovery From an Undercover Journey
Our myths, methods, mindsets, and manners regarding the homeless are broken, badly broken.
Ultimate endurance athletes, and outdoor adventurers, they hike for miles every day, camp under the stars, and know how to forge for edibles wherever possible. This was the impressions of an undercover homeless man who wanted to know the ins and outs of homelessness.
How can we understand or truly decide what is right and what they need if we only comprehend through the lens of a warm bed, full refrigerator, and a safe haven, we have no idea of how to help or what their journey is all about.
From another person’s story who passed through a tough patch of homelessness, recalled a tough time of holiday homelessness. She finally landed in a shelter, she got her feet in a hot tub of water and sat there and cried. Her Merry Christmas, all alone, but with warm feet.
Our undercover wanderer panhandled and received $4.48 and from that, he gave a veteran $1.00 to dry clothes, then he bought cereal and milk and swiped a bowl and spoon. That was his ‘meal’ on the streets, he had no pantry or soup kitchen, but cereal and milk. Panhandling is most often for food and not drugs, another misconception, food not drugs
Conclusion
Merry Christmas, God has given us the greatest gift, we have hoarded that gift in our comfortable places and allowed the Christmas miracle to grow cold in our hearts while the homeless go hungry and cold because it is not our problem, where is the Christmas Spirit
Words hurt, more now than ever, but words can be turned to bring life and re-spark life within when we mix faith, hope, and action for the homeless, For unto us a Child is given, what shall we give to that one on the corner, the one on the bus bench, the one hiding in the doorway, we are to love justice, do kindness
When it comes to Christmas, as our wanderer in the story learned, it is far harder than imagined, so cast aside judgment, preconceived ideas, and notions, and decide to be a friend and an as ambassadors of kindness, make Merry Christmas truly meaningful again
CTA…..
Answer this,
How has it come to this point, that we are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on presents, food, liquor, and the like for a single day, but when a needy one asks for a dollar, we angrily turn them away, tell them to leave, no help, no kindness
The very voice lifted to sing, “Hark the herald angels,” or “Angels we have heard on high,” could walk out of that service and upon seeing a homeless human, turn their back on their suffering and do nothing, no Christmas spirit present, right
We are told to be careful for strangers, for they may be angels unaware, how much more this time of year. How we are conducting ourselves with the unknown around us as we go about our daily journey? With mercy, kindness, forbearance, gentleness, or the me and mine attitude?
Merry Christ-mas
OR
Will it be for so many thrown-away humans
