Advent Day 20

Jer. 31:13 - I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them and cheer them in their grief.

Yesterday Peter and I went to a memorial for all the people who died on the streets of Cleveland this past year. We didn't know any of these people, but as the names were read, I began to think of the members of the Night Ministry community who died while I was there and all the people who came to the Drop-In Center and Detox in Santa Barbara. I remembered Claude, who used to sell Streetwise in front of Medici's in Chicago. I remembered the man who used to sleep by Route 66 in Flagstaff, who I surprised on morning as he was opening his sleeping bag. I remember hugging Steve on State Street. I thought of all the young men who were shot to death in Rogers Park while we were there.

Letting people be homeless is just as violent as shooting them outright, if not more so. As Chris Knestrick noted yesterday, being homeless is hard. It's time consuming searching for a meal or shelter; humiliating, people treat you terribly; you have not privacy or safety; shelters sometimes have rats or bed bus (or worse); you have to keep a constant eye on your stuff. It's exhausting physically, mentally, spiritually. I was talking with one person a while back with whom I shared that I'd be a terrible homeless person. He said I'd be surprised and that, sure, it's the worst day of your life when you become homeless, but you get used to it. No one should have to get used to it.

Yet, if I had to pick one word to describe all my experiences, it would be joy. I met a woman one evening who had just been diagnosed with HIV and was living under the viaduct until her housing came through. She told me, "God is so good." Rather than being depressed or down, she was full of joy and grateful for what she had. Because God brings joy in the midst of our deepest griefs. When we least expect it, joy pops in and surprises us. This time of year can be hard on people for many different reasons. Joy is still available to us if we open ourselves to it. Of course, that sometimes means opening ourselves to our grief as well. That's not always an easy choice. God can turn our mourning into joy and comfort us in our grief. Will we let God do that for us today?