Lunch for 16 for Less than $20

On the week-ends I frequently walk first thing in the morning for about 70 minutes. Part of this time is spent processing whatever has been going on in my life and part is spent in prayer. It may be prayer needed in response to my processing, prayer promised, prayer for the nature I encounter or prayerful reflection between stories from scripture as I see the connections between the people I journey near on my walk. I like to make connections between the people in the Word and those I encounter in the everydayness of this morning ritual.
While I was walking one Saturday morning a white haired man with a short snow white beard was walking a bit ahead of me. He turned to face me and he had the bluest eyes. He was very soft spoken and asked me something, I couldn't hear. I said, "Pardon?" and he repeated his request- "Do you have a dollar so I can get some food?" I gave him the dollar, he thanked me and we parted company. As I walked on I started to think about what could he buy for a dollar? I had just finished a soda that cost $1.54. I had two dollars and change which I wished I had given him. I turned to look for him but he was gone. In reflecting on this I think of Jesus’ appearing after his resurrection to some and disappearing at that “aha” moment. An “aha” moment hit me as I thought about him, I even wished I'd had enough money in my pocket to take him for some breakfast, to sit with him, maybe even hear his story. This was not to be, however as I continued walking I started thinking about the homeless and that it’s Saturday. Most agencies that give out food do it on the week-days. I began thinking about what I could do for lunch. I have carried this desire to bridge the gap between my knowing and my experience with the poor for quite some time.
Jane was at the table when I came home. I asked her what her day held and she named a few possibilities. Then she asked me if I had any thoughts. I said, "Actually I do" and paused. I told her about my encounter with the man and the idea of making sandwiches and giving them out to the homeless. My idea needed her however as she is far more familiar with the poor of the city than I. She agreed she'd be interested in doing this after getting her haircut.
Before I went out to buy the materials for this luncheon, I was thinking 25-50 sandwiches. I'm a big picture person. I asked her what she thought. She suggested 12. It was an immediate thought for the 12 apostles; it could be the 12 tribes of Israel or the 12 Days of Christmas (unlikely but the thought makes me smile). I said that my concern was the 13th person we would come upon...her experience is that it is best to start small and see what happens. I hadn’t totally decided it is best to rely on the voice of experience and as I drove to the store the thought of 14 came to me, the 12 and 2 for us. This way if we need to give to someone else we could or we will sit in solidarity with our homeless brothers and sisters, eating what we are offering. I had made the ham and cheese sandwiches and was waiting for Jane to come home to put the lunch bags together as I had apples, cookies and some candy to sweeten the day. As I was making the sandwiches I was thinking that a reflection entitled "Feeding 14 for less than $20" might catch a reader's eye.
Jane returned, we put our bag lunches together, loaded our backpacks, heading out into the world. Now remember I’m a whole picture person. I could see us in the river area by downtown Springfield with lots of people and not lots of lunch. We walked to the end of the street and turned left on to Main St. Jane had seen some men a couple of blocks up that she thought might want be hungry. We soon encountered the men. They were a little skeptical at first. I’m not sure they believed that we were actually giving out lunches with no strings attached. Once we handed out the first bag, several others became hungry as well. Within five minutes of leaving the house we had given half our lunches away.
About a block later we encounter Crystal and her mother-in-law. Crystal remembered meeting Jane when she was a child in the neighborhood. When Jane first asked them if they were hungry they said no. After some conversation and what I call Gray House outreach, Crystal questioned about the giving out of lunches. She and her mother-in-law graciously accepted our small offering. As Jane and I turned to continue our walk north there were two men sitting together. One had been in the original group we had served and was sharing his lunch with his friend. Service is a relationship between equals and as we had served the first man, he was ministering through his small act of kindness, his service to the other man. We were all equals in this time and space. We were gifted with the opportunity to see this action unfold in front of us. Small acts of kindness so often flower in front of us and we frequently walk by without looking.
We walked quite a bit of the neighborhood after that in silence, dwelling on what the Spirit was calling us to in those moments. The heat of the sun beating down on us. We had six lunches left when we started back toward Main St. We had seen Joan as we had begun our journey less than an hour earlier. She had walked to the store with two little girls she was caring for, who also had two brothers who had been left at home. As we started to walk toward Joan and the girls, Jane tripped and fell on the pavement. It was not exactly the introduction any of us expected, however it served as a great icebreaker! One of the little girls was so distracted seeing Jane fall that she tripped and fell while looking at Jane. She scraped her elbow. Joan immediately came to help us. Service reveals itself in many different opportunities. We each took Jane’s arms, together as one we had Jane standing on her feet again. Joan has lived in the neighborhood for a number of years; this was our first but not our last encounter. After some conversation, lunches were offered. We gave each of the little girls one and offered one to Joan. She declined, mentioning that the two boys were home. With the little ones fed, Jane and I continued to the end of the street.
As we reached the corner we saw a man on the other side of the street. He had a stick and in some way may have been fighting a personal demon as we approached him. Rafael was strung out. He had a hard time focusing both with his eyes and mind. The tattoo of a tear by his left eye revealed the pain he was bearing more clearly than his clouded brown eyes. He seemed to appreciate that we were only trying to talk to him. No lecturing, no trying to change him, just letting him be as he was for the moment. We offered him lunch and he turned us down, saying he was all right. He tried to speak to us with his clouded mind. Staying awake and standing up seemed to be becoming more difficult. He mentioned the bag lunch, saying he’d like it but when we had offered he was too shy to take it. We helped Rafael put on his winter coat. It was way to warm for today, however besides the lunch we had just given him it might have been his only possession. We promised him prayers and he thanked us as he started to walk talking to whoever would listen. Perhaps it was his own prayer to the angel Rafael that Jane reminded him of a few moments before.
One lunch left as we headed back toward Sheldon St. We saw Jose leaning up against the side wall of Medina’s Grocery. We looked at each other then crossed the street to approach him. He was a little leery of us. We offered the last lunch, at first he turned us down. A little conversation seems to do a great deal for trust. In a short period of time he accepted our lunch offer with a gentle smile.
Within an hour we returned home, our backpacks emptied of the fourteen lunches. Our minds and hearts spilling over with what we had just done. We came home and broke bread, thanked God for the gift of service given this day. There was a step taken to bridge my gap. The Spirit was there giving to us as we gave to others. Bless us O God…

In the Beginning...

This is the beginning of a new path, a new way to journey as I explore with more open eyes, heart and hands what the Spirit draws me to in life. As I walk to streets or the hallways of work I hope to see the blessings offered in the simple each day as well as see my connectedness to all whose life crosses with mine.