Misguided Effort? 2

Serving a meal under the bridge fits all the criteria of a good church event. It can be scheduled at a predictable time, it is brief, it has a beginning and end, it fits with lots of bible verses about the poor and hungry, and it can give the volunteers a sense that they are doing something good - perfect from a programming perspective. I think this is why so many groups are doing it. Hanging out under the bridge also can be a rich place for spiritual formation practice. If you pay attention, you can learn something about your own and others’ attitudes. That is one of the primary reasons I continue to go down there. You can get all this, and more, for about $200 a pop, not counting the volunteers’ time. If you don’t think about it too hard, you can feel really good about what you are doing down there.


I wonder if we should approach the whole serving enterprise differently. What would we do differently if programming or personal growth goals were not primary, but, instead, our primary focus was to actually be real help. From my experience, each time I go under the bridge, I encounter someone that appears to need, is ready for, and would accept help. This past week, it was Sharon. In her case, for about the cost of the meal that was served that night, she could be put up in a transitional home for a month, giving her an opportunity to address the obstacles that are making it difficult, if not impossible, for her to help herself. She has been on the streets for two years. She has a good chance of getting off the streets and support herself if those with the means and access to options she lacks would come along side of her and share some of what they have.

I know this shift in approach would be inconvenient and hard to program. But that’s the point, the shift would mean that the self is not driving things. The nature and benefits of compassion necessitate this shift (perhaps leap is the more appropriate metaphor). You can’t have it both ways. I guess this is why Jesus prefaced his good news of a better way of living with the direction to reconsider (repent). Maybe we should reconsider.