His House

[VERMAURICE BROWN]

His House

It was a cold Sunday morning when members started arriving at church, snow flakes had just fallen, people were rushing in to get inside. To the warmth, to the dry sanctuary.

As the members were walking in they were astonished to see a homeless person laying on the sidewalk by the front door. He was bent over all covered up with an old black trench coat, that had many holes in it. His shoes had holes in it and you could see his socks filthy from months of grime on them. The man had a black hat on that covered his face. His hands filthy with dirt from probably digging in a garbage can some thought.

As the members made their way into the sanctuary, they were all discussing how this horrible filthy man, had the nerve to sleep at THEIR church doors! Finally the pianist started playing and the members all sat down in their seats. They were all looking around, wondering where the Pastor could be. You could hear people whispering, saying, "Pastor Joe is probably telling that homeless man he needs to leave the property." "What would visitors think if they seen him."

All of a sudden, you could hear a gasp! The homeless man was walking down the middle of the church aisle, he made his way to the front, and then to the platform!!! When the homeless man got to the microphone. He said "Good morning, how are you all?" The homeless man was their Pastor Joe! Not a word was said, no one moved all around. Even the pianist stopped playing.

Then Pastor Joe said, "Did any of you see Jesus outside this morning?" "He was cold, He was dirty, His clothes were filthy!" However no one asked Him into HIS house."

Luke 9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Two passage of Scripture. One from what we call the Old Testament and one from the New. I want to share just briefly today since the past two weeks I was in the hospital, how these passages may connect the dots for us, may offer guidance or solace or perhaps a small challenge to us today.

In the first passage, we hear through the voice of Isaiah God’s compassion for people of humble circumstance. We hear God’s concern for the oppressed and his desire for freedom for all those who are yoked to something that binds them.

We hear God redefining spirituality in a sense. It is less to do exclusively with what is going on deep in my soul, than it is about how I chose to interact with others.

In the second passage I read from the NT, Jesus is responding to someone who pledges to follow him no matter where he goes. And Jesus tells him that he himself has no place to lay his head.

We don’t often hear of a Jesus who had no place to lay his head. Of a homeless Saviour. But over and over again in the NT we see Jesus, sent from God, the Incarnate Son, embracing humble circumstance.

Choosing to identify with the poor wanderer. Born in a barn. Raised in a poor family. Living a life not of pomp and circumstance but of connecting with common folk. We see Jesus feeding the hungry by the droves, speaking out against oppression and injustice, healing the hurting and loving the leper. All actions that suggest something perhaps rather shocking about God.

God really knows our situations. He knows from experience the plight of the homeless. He knows from living deeply among the broken the yoke of those who are in bondage...Addiction is not alien to Him.

Trauma and indignity and humiliation are not strangers to Him. He has, somehow, chosen to embrace the pain. The pain of humanity.

And He embraced me in all of my life and all of my pain. I knew it inside out. All of of my life, in fact, was known by God. The good parts and the bad parts. From the moment of my birth, through each circumstance of my life.

After speaking with God gthese past two weeks in the hospital, knowing that there is somebody out there in the streets homeless very sick because they can't afford hospoitalization like some of can. I prayed for those sufferring for God to take them to a place of security where they can help them get well and the get the need that they deserve.

God want us to help those in need and to giving with no griping and looking down on his people.One day we might be in that same situation..