Homeless no more …
someday
Homelessness
always seems sad to me. Morris and I declare emphatically “our home is our
refuge.” A warm space where
being yourself is just fine. A table
that welcomes you, a comfy couch to rest, a habitat to play games, watch TV,
read or just chat. It’s a corner of the world where people matter above all. It’s private, inviting, and smells good. How
many times have we been travelling, only to return with “It’s so good to be
home!”
To have no
home seems unfair. Unjust. Unsettling.
It’s often baffled me that Jesus began his life as homeless. There was no room
in the inn. No place for a mother to comfortably bear her first born baby. Not
even one room. It was a barn. A home for
animals, not humans. A cow’s feeding trough
instead of a basinet cradled the infant. I think of the birth of our second grand child
this year. Erica and Jeff chose a home
birth. In the cosiness of their bedroom
with the sweetness of familiar surroundings, Oliver arrived late one April evening. Snuggled up in the next room was big sister,
Anna-Lynne. It was wonderful for them -
pretty perfect. What a contrast to our Saviour’s birth.
If we
believe that God planned for the incarnation of His Son, undoubtedly he
prearranged every detail. What did God have in mind when he sent His greatest
gift to the world in such conditions? David Jeremiah in his book, Why the Nativity, ponders it too. “If God could mobilize a star from a distant
galaxy to invite wise men from the East, couldn’t he make one humble room available?”
For some reason, God designed a form of homelessness for Jesus, beginning with
his birth. The delivery room was a seedy
shed and, not long after, his parents were forced to take Jesus on the road,
escaping the tyranny of King Herod. They became refugees. Home would not come
easily for the son of God.
This was
just the beginning. Follow his story, and it was perpetual for Christ. At the age of 12, Mary and Joseph took him to
Jerusalem during the Passover. Instead of returning home with his family, Jesus
wandered off. This time the Temple, not
a house, was his comfort place. Later, when people were eager to follow Jesus,
he made no promise of domestic security should they choose to be on his team. Luke 9:58 “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Would homelessness
be one of the costs for these new followers? It’s a bit of a mystery.
I wonder. Is
it God’s intention that one of our greatest comforts, home, is something we
should not cling so tightly to that we forget those who are without it? Are
Christians meant to intentionally associate and empathize with those who are
displaced, those who drift without a roof to call their own? I think of our
boys program adjacent to THQ, young men whose life’s circumstances have
resulted in them living on the streets. Last week we celebrated that four of the boys would make it to high school this year because of the investment the Salvation
Army has made in them. Five days a week they trek to the house next door to
receive academic instruction and a small meal. It isn’t providing a permanent
dwelling, but it is helping.
Since living
in Kenya, I have seen many homes that are far from luxurious, poles apart from the average North American dwelling. It
is essential that everyone secures a home lot, including space for growing food
and a resting ground for your remains when you die. It is their guarantee of somewhere to retire
and a plot for burial. Some houses have mud floors. A large number have outdoor toilets. Many have no electricity. Almost all have a mobile
kitchen, cooking outside on an open fire. But these homes are just as important
as any Canadian bungalow. And
people take pride in them. One of the few similarities at Christmas
time here is that on Christmas Day, families gather to feast together. Not
turkey though – it’s chicken, goat, or a cow.
There is no
question. A home is a good thing. And
while Jesus was born homeless and lived an itinerant life, one of the exciting promises
is when the end of time comes and all of creation is fully reconciled, there
will be a home for everyone! John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many rooms … I am
going there to prepare a place for you.” Space for all! When God’s Kingdom is
complete, not only will there be ‘no more sickness, no more pain, no more
crying’ and not only will all the streets be paved, but finally homelessness
will be no more.
Let's celebrate - Christmas and school!
Four boys are off to high school …
