Homelessness
The photograph above is of Canadian sculptor Timothy
Schmalz' "Homeless
Jesus." Incidentally, the photograph is of the statue in
Davidsonville, NC, where St. Alban's Church, of which an Ethical Musings'
reader, the Rev. David Buck, is rector, sponsored the temporary installation.
The sculpture has caused some outrage, allegedly denigrating
Jesus. However, if one accepts as factual the gospel report that Jesus openly
said that he had "no place to lay his head," then the inexorable conclusion
is that Jesus was homeless.
Alternatively, even if Jesus did have a home, if one
believes that through Jesus humans experience God's self-revelation, then
conceptualizing Jesus as someone who looks or lives as we do represents a healthy
theological and spiritual method. Thus, for example, I think it useful to exercise
historical license and to depict Jesus as a member of various ethnicities,
races, and genders. This is nothing new. Archaeologists have discovered a
painting of a black Jesus that dates to the fourth century. Depictions of a
female (or, even more radically, a transgendered) Jesus might help to end
misogyny in and out of the Church. Such images are poignant reminders that God
created and unconditionally loves all.
I see homeless persons every day. Part of the explanation is
that I live in an expensive urban area that has an extremely good climate. Honolulu,
unsurprisingly, has a very high rate of homelessness. Part of the explanation is
that we as a society do not heed Jesus' exhortation to take care of the most
vulnerable.
Some of the homeless that I see are clearly mentally ill and
others have a drug or alcohol addiction. Most of these persons require
significant help to achieve some degree of health. Many might benefit from the
structure of living in a group home, appropriate medication and/or therapy,
sobriety programs, and other long-term assistance.
People who live paycheck to paycheck can easily and
irreversibly slide into homelessness. An illness, unexpected car repair, temporary
layoff or other event that interrupts a person's income may leave the person
unable to pay the rent for a couple of months and thereby result in eviction. Once
homeless, a person may not have access to the facilities necessary for proper
personal hygiene. Moving from one homeless camp to another usually disrupts children's
schooling. Diet deteriorates as income drops. Most critically, hope tends to
erode the longer a person is homeless, making drug or alcohol abuse more
attractive as a means of deadening the pain and temporarily forgetting the
sense of failure that bedevils many homeless persons.
For these persons – who are over half of the homeless on
Oahu and in most other places – the best answer is to give them a temporary
home. Having a home begins to restore a sense of dignity and self-worth that is
essential for successfully rebuilding a life. Having a home also permits the
person to have proper personal hygiene, control her/his diet, keep their
children in school, and – most importantly – have an address, which is generally
an essential prerequisite for employment.
Would you give Jesus a home? If when we look a homeless
person we see Jesus, then maybe we will give that a person a home.
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