Homeless in Advent

In this the third of three thoughts Brendan was kind enough to send me he speaks of the homeless, a subject close to my heart. This is a particularly challenging thought and well worth publishing here just before advent.

Homeless in Advent by Rev. Brendan Vaughan-Spruce

‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ I imagine the Advent and Christmas period must be a very difficult time for those who are homeless. Of course, life is always difficult for the homeless, but as preparations for Christmas puts extra focus on present buying, gift giving, family meals and celebrations, life on the street is a stark contrast to all this. There it is cold, lonely, frightening.

Yet, do the homeless not have a choice? Maybe they are simply too lazy to get a job. Why should we give them anything? They would only buy drugs or alcohol if we gave them money, wouldn’t they? The reality for these people is often far more complicated than we presume to know - many are afflicted with mental health problems, or suffer the consequences of drug and alcohol addiction, or they are young victims of abuse who believe that life in the cold, wet and inhospitable street is preferable to the torture that was happening to them in their family home. Sadly, many of these young people are soon preyed upon by others, who seek out lonely and vulnerable figures, who obviously have nowhere to go. Unloved, unwanted, any sense of self-worth or any hope of anything better in life must soon disappear. Well, they are in good company on the street, because Jesus is with them, with nowhere to lay his head. Of course, simply knowing this does not in itself end the suffering of these poor and broken people, but maybe it should give them hope because the followers of Jesus are interested in the things that Jesus is interested in - aren’ t they? They are where He is – aren’t they? Did he not say, ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food.’? Did he not himself become one of the least? And did he not become one of us in order to show us that every one of us is wanted and loved?