HELP WANTED
In 1982, I traveled to India and it was the trip of a lifetime. When I got to India, I was told, in no uncertain terms, NOT to give to the beggars.
Several reasons were given. A beggar could make more money than an honest worker. There were places where people could find food and shelter, if they chose to do so. But the biggest and most credible reason of all, was that begging was a ruthless and cruel institution. Young chil- dren were often kidnapped and at times mutilated (to make them more pathetic looking) and forced to become beggars. Giving them money – how- ever slight – was perpetuating into a system that brutalized and exploited innocents. You can see this in the Academy Award winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. Like the porn industry buying into begging would lead to more slavery and pain. It would mean that more and more children would be abused and oppressed.
And so I didn’t. (In truth, there was one case that was too sad and too gruesome for me to pass by without responding.) But other than that, I didn’t.
I came home after a month away, back to stud- ies, onward to the deaconate. My very first as- signment back was in homiletics (how to give a sermon) class. I was to look up the readings for a particular Sunday of the year and write a homi- ly. The Church Year was the one we are present- ly in, Year C. My gospel was Luke, chapter 6, verse 30. So being the industrious student I was, I dutifully went to my room, sat down at my desk, opened the Word of God, found my Scrip- ture passage and read this:
Give to every beggar you see.
Gulp…!
I thought about this story as I see more and more people panhandling in the streets of our ar- ea. It is easy to be dismissive of these folks, es- pecially if they are young and (seemingly) able bodied. It is doubly easy to be dismissive when you know that there are a lot of HELP WANTED signs around our area. A quick drive down Watson Road and you will see at least ten. What is a Christian to do?
I’ve never been unemployed. Over the summer, I worked as a dishwasher (everyone needs to work in a restaurant at one point in their life), a painter, on a work crew at the seminary, as a tour escort to Nova Scotia and Quebec, and then I got steady employment as a priest and educator. It is in my DNA to find something to do, even if it was low-paying or simplistic work. (Dishwasher was pretty simplistic, but it inspired me to get an education.) I cannot imagine sitting around all day without some sort of task waiting for me. And so, I tend to get a bit impatient with those folks on the street looking for a handout. “Get a job!!”
But then I think of my friend Patty. Patty is a dedicated and devoted Catholic. She was a col- league at Borgia, but her sideline is feeding the hungry in Franklin County. She not only feeds them, but interacts with them, treats them as full human beings. She gets angry at the thought of good Christians being dismissive of the poor and those out of work. She reminded me that you simply do not know a person’s circumstances which led them to a life surviving on the streets. Some may not even be able to get any form of identification or may be unable to even apply for even the most menial of jobs. You just don’t know what they are going through, she says.
Patty makes me rethink all of my preconceptions. And that is a good thing.
As we celebrate Labor Day this week, we pray for all laborers. We pray that everyone who is able to work finds good work that can give them a living wage. My employment is something that I often take
for granted. And finally, we pray for those people on our streets having to eke out an existence.
May we respond to them with compassion and not disdain. May we seek and find real solutions to their problems.
Father Kevin