The Least of My Brothers at the Table...

I was down in Civic Center park last Tues handing out food for the homeless with Paul Howard who runs Redemption Fellowship out of Trinity United Methodist church downtown. Paul has a heart for the homeless and those who have hit a rough patch. Paul and I went down there with the intention of handing out the sandwiches, having a communion service and then packing up our stuff and heading out. God had a different plan. After we had set-up our folding table with a cross and a chalice of juice and a loaf of bread we started handing out sandwiches. We also handed out some bagels and apples that got donated from some of you here at AfterHours. We never did a communion service, but make no mistake, we had communion. That’s what we had. Paul and I agreed that even if we don’t do a communion service, we would still set up the table. We love the idea that over time, the homeless in that park will know that when they come to the Lords Table…they will be fed. Towards the end of our time, as we were packing up, a gentleman came up to me and asked what I was going to do with the juice that was in the cup. I asked him if he wanted it and he said yes. For an instant, my old Catholic roots rose up and I thought, “should I do this?” Now it wasn’t even consecrated but just the idea of the juice going from the Chalice into a common water bottle gave me pause. That vanished pretty quick as I started to pour. I had to fight back tears as I poured the juice from the chalice into his water bottle held by his cold, weather-worn hands. This was as much communion as anything I had ever been a part of. This might not have been the traditional way of "getting rid" of the juice from the chalice but if I was to follow Jesus’ teachings, I realized I needed to put human need over traditional orthodoxy. It gave me chills.

As you do to the least of my brothers…

Have a great week.