Entertaining Angels
Why is it that some encounters in life get under your skin and just will not let you go? Professor Jack (see previous posts: One, Two, Three) is one of those kinds of people. I never personally met him, but through the stories of others feel as if I knew him well. If it is true that there are really no coincidences and that things don’t just happen, then they happen for a reason. Though Professor Jack is not longer with us, his story continues to be told by those who knew him. Stephanie Corp is a young lady from Rochester Michigan. She had a personal encounter with Professor Jack that, in her own words, changed her life. I want to share her encounter. As I read her words one scripture kept coming to mind. “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” Heb. 13:2.
This summer I had an encounter with a man who changed my life. I was in Downtown Detroit with a group of students from Rochester College leading a dislocated Bible study. We went to Campus Martius to read the story of the Good Samaritan and were then going to walk to Hart Plaza to think and meditate on what we had read. On our way to Hart Plaza, I saw a man sitting outside an office building. He had a huge head of curly hair, wore a coat in 80-degree weather, and as people walked by, his smile lit up his face. I told the group that I would catch up with them and crossed the street to sit by the man. I sat down and said hello. He seemed surprised, but said hello back. I introduced myself and he did the same. His name was Jack. We sat and talked for about 15 minutes and then I asked if he was hungry. I hadn't eaten all day, so I asked if he would like to have lunch with me. He said he'd love to. Because it was nearby, I suggested Au Bon Pain--Jack said "how about if we go to Jimmy John's instead--I've never eaten at Au Bon Pain, but that name sounds too snobby for me". So, we walked to Jimmy Johns, got our sandwiches, and went back to the park to eat. While we sat and ate, Jack told me about his life. He told me about his family, his children, and how he ended up living in shelters and on the street. He told me how grateful he was to have people who loved him, but how distraught he was that he couldn't make them proud. After he talked for a while, he said "Ok, I've depressed you enough. Now let's talk about you." I told him about my job, my family, and all of the things we talk about to make small talk. But Jack didn't want to hear those things. As I spoke, he interrupted and said "now tell me about the real you". It was in that moment that I let my guard down. As he sat and held my hand, I told him everything. For the next fifteen or twenty minutes, he listened intently to my hopes for the future, my fears, my dreams. I began to cry as I told Jack that I want to work with the homeless and the working poor full-time, but that I am too afraid to give up a secure job and secure relationships in order to do so. I explained how much it hurts me that I don't have enough faith in my God take such a leap of faith. It was the most free and open I had been with myself and with another person in a long time. He encouraged me to take a small leap of faith and to take classes on non-profits and business so that I can begin my own organization. He told me about his experiences as a homeless man and how he often feels stripped of his dignity by the police, the community, and while living in some of the shelters in Detroit. He talked about how excruciatingly embarrassing and dehumanizing it is to have to go to the bathroom on the streets since there are very few public restrooms in the area. We discussed the zoning and set-up of the city of Detroit--how hundreds of thousands of suburbanites can come into the city for ballgames, plays, concerts, casinos, and so on, yet have absolutely no idea how bad it really is there. Detroit is the poorest city in America, and yet most of us who go Downtown from the suburbs would never know that because we do not have to drive through any of the "bad" neighborhoods in order get to where we are going. Jack told me what he thinks the homeless really need, what changes he thinks need to be made in the governmental system, and what the homeless really need from soup kitchens and shelters. (Click here for the rest of her story)
