Do you see the marginalised people around you?
I walked past a lady in a wheelchair collecting money for some charity the other day. I couldn’t even look her in the eye. I knew that if I looked her in the eye then she would physically ask me for money and I would feel bad about saying no. So, I walked away and felt bad for not recognising her dignity. She did call out a “Hello” and I did mumble out a response as I went by, but by then it was too late.
When I’d bought my stuff (this happened in a mini mall where she was in the corridor between the shops) I stood at the entrance of the store I’d been in looking at her. She was about 100 metres away, and couldn’t see me. She looked sad and lonely, and desperate, and I knew with everything in me that I really needed to go and apologise for not recognising her as a person, regardless of whether I gave anything or not.
But I didn’t. It was a complete fail of a moment. I was too scared or embarrassed about, I don’t even know what, and I really got it wrong.
How often do we do that?
The cashier running up your groceries, the petrol attendant filling your car, the man trying to sell you something or collect your rubbish at the traffic lights, the woman with the child begging for something to eat. The disabled and the lonely, the old and the young. Who are the people who we don’t even take a moment to stop, look them in the eyes, smile and wish them a good day.
Because the right thing for me to do with that woman in the wheelchair was not to give her money for whatever it was she was collecting for. That would have been nice, but that was a choice I was free to make or not make. But by refusing to really acknowledge her and show her some warmth and affection, by refusing to take a moment to make eye contact and perhaps ask her name and wish a good day upon her, I actually lost something in myself.
A small piece of my humanity chipped off and dropped to the floor, and unless I interrupt that (by making a much more concerted effort next time) it will get easier to do and my humanity will be even less.
Whether you believe in Jesus or not, that for me is one of the biggest things that comes through so many of the stories we have of Him.
That He always saw people.
He noticed them, recognised them, acknowledged them, and more often than not beckoned them in, or went over to them. The people who the crowds and religious leaders pushed to the side, Jesus seemed to make extra effort to be near.
We see this with women (who in the time Jesus lived were seen as less than) and children. We see it with the lepers and the blind, with the Samaritans and the woman with the bleeding problem (and thus unclean). We see it with Zacchaeus the tax collector and with the demon-possessed man. Again and again Jesus reminded us that God sees us and responds to us with love.
I hope to do better next time
I go to that mini mall quite often and so I will definitely be looking out for that woman next time and will hopefully do a much better job at really seeing her, even if just for a minute.
I tend to be much better with cashiers and petrol attendants, looking them in the eyes, addressing them by name if they are wearing one or asking them if not, and just exchanging a few words of greeting and hopefully life. “I hope you have a great day!”
With people at the side of the street, again I try to be friendly and get it right most of the time. I rarely give money in those situations but you can still see someone, greet them, and have a positive exchange or even a bit of conversation.
I know I have to get better at this. How are you doing?