So we have just about passed the halfway mark with our Advent preparation. Christmas Day is very much in sight, being a week away. There is a buzz in the air. People are coming out of their self-imposed lock-downs because of the pandemic, and the shopping centers are beginning to look a bit more like Christmas. But with all of that, I pray that you are indeed making the time for the real preparation of Christmas. Yes the turkey, and the ham, and the gifts, and the sorrell, and the ginger beer are all important, but even more important is that of preparing your heart and your soul. That is what we are about here. I firmly believe that if you applied what you are reading here to your life, you will grow spiritually and draw closer to the holiness that God is calling all of us to.
So far we have looked at three letters in the word advent:
Attend Holy Mass regularly
Devotion to prayer
Vocation.
Now we will take a look at “Encountering Christ in others.” And Jesus said, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me.“ (Matthew 25: 40)
Before we dive into this – encountering Christ and others, I think it necessary to share an encounter I had a few years ago. I remember I was having a really rough day at the office and on some days, I would go to Holy Mass at the Catholic Church not far from where I work. On this particular day, things were going really rough. Looking back at it now I can’t even remember what was so challenging, but I do know that I wanted to get out of there so badly. Mass would start at midday and it would take me less than five minutes to get to the church. So stressed was I on that day, that I was determined to go to Holy Mass, rain or shine. And so at 11:50 I got up from my desk and made a very hasty exit out of the building. As I came out of the door and was walking down the street, I was aware that there was someone walking behind me. I didn’t pay too much attention to who it was, but continued in my “why so downcast O my soul” mode, heading to church. The person walked faster and they eventually caught up with me at the first corner after my workplace. As she got to my side, this very pleasant voice said, “Good morning sir. Can you tell me where Knox Street is?” I was a bit surprised because the person appeared to be very young but yet very well mannered.
I knew the name of the street, but could not remember exactly where it was; but I knew that it was somewhere in the general direction in which we were heading. So I replied telling the young lady that I think it is just ahead of us. But she was so very pleasant, that I wanted to help her more. So I asked her exactly where she was going. Then she told me that she was to meet someone by the Police Headquarters. Then it occurred to me where she was going. It was directly ahead of us. As I pointed out the building to her, she thanked me then struck up the most beautiful conversation I have ever heard – particularly coming from a young person. Without raising her head or looking directly at me, but with absolute conviction she said, “You know sir, life is very short, and we will never know what tomorrow may bring. I have given my life to Jesus and it is the best thing I have ever done.”
Up to that point, I did not really look at the person who was walking next to me. I just glanced over my shoulder once or twice. By nature, I am very shy and reserved. Very seldom do I look directly at strangers. I need to work on that. However, when this young lady said what she did and with the conviction she had, I almost stumbled over myself to see who was walking besides me. Then she continued, “The best thing anyone can do with their life is to give it to Christ and allow Him to be their Lord and Saviour.” I must say that as this young lady spoke, something burned inside of me and I responded, “AMEN! I agree with you 100 percent!” Then she said, “In case we meet again, my name is Eureka.” I responded by saying, “It’s nice to meet you.” Then she wished me a good day and sped off to her destination.
I have encountered in the past fellow Christians who spoke of Jesus but I have never encountered anyone who spoke of him like that. It was almost like the experience that the two men on the road to Emmaus had when they walked and talked with Jesus without knowing that it was him. As this young lady spoke for the 30 seconds or so, I literally felt as if whatever burden I was carrying was immediately lifted. I will never forget the joy that flooded my heart at that instant.
After that little encounter, my heart was so light that I walked into the church for Mass literally praising and thanking God. It did not stop there.
The following Sunday I attended practice with the GRACE Music Ministry – the ministry that I am a part of. I was still very excited about the encounter that I had a few days before. I was eager to share my experience with the group. As I started sharing my experience, Artherly, one of my dear brothers in the group looked at me almost with his mouth open. He described the young lady very accurately even down to the clothing that she was wearing, and he exclaimed that he had experienced this very same person, months before I did and miles away from where I did. He too was so moved by her, that when he got home, he related the story to his wife, who was also at the prayer meeting. Now my brother Artherly meets many people almost on a daily basis, because he is very much involved in evangelization. Artherly also does not fuss about anything. So he must have had quite an encounter for him to relate this to his wife.
This was 10 years ago in April of 2010. Even now 10 years later, when I remember that encounter, it has the same effect on me as it did 10 years ago. I think of us as baptized Catholics and that we too are supposed to be bearers of good news. We too are called to be ambassadors to Christ just as Eureka is. We too by our very presence, should bring others into the presence of Christ.
I shared this story some time ago in 2016 I think, but it is definitely worth repeating. 2016 was the year of mercy. There is this place that sells food on Ariapita Avenue here in Trinidad, that my wife loves to go to. We would go there after work mostly towards the ending of the week to pick up something to eat. One evening after work, we went there as we normally would. I parked the car and my wife and myself got out and started walking towards the place. I noticed there was an old man sitting on a ledge right outside of the food place. I noticed that he was staring at me but I did not pay him any attention. As I walked past him, he said something to me but maybe I was tired, I don’t know; I did not pay any attention to the man. We went inside and bought our food, and on our way out, there was the man again. This time I had no real excuse. As we walked by, again I heard him say something. He was asking for something to eat. I pretended I did not hear him and I just walked on by. In my mind I thought that I was too tired to turn back, and I thought to myself that if I gave him money, he’d probably spend it on alcohol or drugs. So I justified my action with these thoughts. No matter how hard I tried to justify my ignoring this man, it could not silence a still, gentle voice in me that said, “Chris, you ignored me. I was hungry and you ignored my needs. I called out to you and you pretended not to hear me.”
I drove home that night, silent most of the way, feeling a great sense of guilt. The words of Matthew 25:42, played over and over in my head – ‘for I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink.’ My wife did not know it, but I was in near tears a couple times on our way home. I was convinced that I had to make up for what I had done – or failed to do. That scene played several times in my mind over the next couple days.
The Saturday after, my wife and I went to the Mercy Village – an event that was organized by the Catholic Church here in Trinidad and Tobago as it was the Year of Mercy. As we entered the inner area where Holy Mass was to be celebrated, I was so very happy to see a number of priests there hearing confession. So anxious was I to go, that I did not realize there was a line system. I saw that one of my favorite priests was available. A few seconds went by – about 10, and I did not see anyone going to him so I went – very grateful for the opportunity to confess what I had done and failed to do. What the priest said to me, I will remember for a long time. He said, “Christopher, whether the man has a drug or alcohol problem is not your business. Your business is to be Christ to him.” After giving me absolution and penance, he said to me, “Go in peace and do not pass Jesus again.”
I came out of confession that day very happy but still a bit sad that I ignored Jesus. That is not a nice feeling at all knowing that you completely ignored Jesus. Knowing that you pretended he was not there. Knowing that you pretended you did not hear him. Even though I got absolution, I still wanted to make up for that major boo-boo that I committed. I was very determined that I was not going to make that same error again.
Thursday evening after work, my wife and I went to Holy Mass after which, we again went to that same place on Ariapita Avenue. As God would have it, when we got there, the same old man was there leaning on a wall. I was not going to make the same mistake again. I was actually happy to see him. I made no attempt to pass him by, but walked straight to him. He looked at me and said, “Good night sir.” I responded, “Good night brother. How are you doing?” He responded in that same gentle voice, “Ok, but I’d like something to eat please.” I drew nearer and asked, “What can I get you?” I will never forget the look on his face when he responded, “Some chicken and chips please; with everything on it, and a little pepper please.” He continued, “Could I also get a soft drink please?” I told him that I was going to get it for him, and as I walked off, he exclaimed, “Wow!”
My wife and I went into the food place both smiling. My heart was glad! I cannot express what an honor it was taking out the food the old man had requested. Through it all, I was thanking God for His Mercy and for granting me the grace to at least try to fix that boo-boo I made a couple weeks ago.
While I was taking out the meal for the man outside. I felt a great sense of gratitude for being given the opportunity to serve him. As I took out each part of his meal I kept hearing his voice asking me for what he wanted. He was not any ordinary homeless man. The way he spoke said a lot about him. He was well mannered and he did not have the hang-ups that you would expect from someone living on the streets. While taking out the meal, I also remembered Peter who denied Jesus three times. And as if to cancel those three denials, Jesus asked him three times, “Peter do you love me?“ I felt as if I was getting the opportunity to cancel the major error I made before.
Whenever we went to that food place, most of the time my wife would pay the bill. On this particular occasion, even though she was ahead of me, when we got to the cashier she looked at me as if I was to pay the bill. I smiled to myself thinking that I am definitely making amends for my sin. I was not going to get away with taking out the meals for the gentleman and have someone else pay for it. No no! I had to pay for it. I laughed to myself a few times while inwardly thanking God for his mercy and for giving me a second chance.
After I gladly paid for the meals, I dressed The one for the old man just as he had asked. I so wanted to make amends that I decided that I was not just going to hand the meal to him. I was going to stay a while and chat with him. As I presented the meal to him, his face lit up like a child on Christmas morning. He was filled with gratitude. As we gave the meal to him, we stood there and chatted with him for a while. He expressed how grateful he was for what we had done. I asked him, “What’s your name sir?” “They call me Uncle Vic” was his reply. “And what is your name?” he asked. “Christopher,” I said. He smiled filled with excitement and said, “Oh! Christ at the beginning!”
Uncle Vic shared his story with us on how he ended up on the streets. The most amazing thing that both my wife and I found was that Uncle Vic was very gracious, and for someone in his position, living on the streets of Port of Spain, he had an absolutely positive outlook to life. Uncle Vic is also a poet, sharing one of his poems with us. It was about an invisible friend who is always with him. The poem was about Jesus. There were times when tears came to my eyes while speaking with Uncle Vic. I thought of what I would have missed if it were not for God’s Mercy. What a great honor and a privilege that was to have met this man and what a great blessing it was to serve him. We said good night several times, but something else would always come up. We spoke like old friends who had not spoken for a long time. At the final ‘good night’, Uncle Vic walked us to our car, then he went around the corner, used the wall there as his table, and he had his meal.
Uncle Vic became to both my wife and I, like a long lost friend. He became a very dear friend to us both. There were times when we’d go to the food place just to see him and get him a meal. He really was a gem of a person. The last time we saw Uncle Vic was around Christmas of that year. I remembered he was standing outside a pharmacy that I went to get some medication for my mom. I never saw him there before. It was as if he knew I was going to be there. He seemed to have picked up a bad cold, so I got him something at the pharmacy. We did not talk much then as I was in a bit of a hurry. I cannot begin to tell you what a blessing he was to us. We never saw him after that. I encountered Christ in Uncle Vic. When with pure hearts, we serve others, we will encounter Christ in very real and concrete ways. We may never see Uncle Vic again in this life, but our lives have been tremendously blest by knowing him. Both my wife and I say at times that maybe he was an angel sent by God. I am reminded of Hebrews 13: 1-2, which tells us, ‘Continue to love each other like brothers, and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it.’
The message given by Jesus in Matthew chapter 25 must have been really very important, for he saved it for last. Jesus knew that his day was drawing near so he saved this teaching for last. He is telling us that our relationship with others around us is extremely important for us entering the kingdom of heaven. It is very much like having an exam to write, and Jesus is telling us exactly what we need to do to pass that exam. Jesus is telling us that these are the standards by which we will be judged. I was hungry after losing my job due to Covid-19 and did you give me something to eat? I was thirsty, thirsting for the truth about my faith and did you give me something to drink? Did you try to quench that thirst? I was a stranger, a refugee fleeing oppression and severe hardship. Did you make me feel welcomed, or did you see me as a threat coming to steal your resources? I was naked, stripped of my dignity as a person. Did you clothe me? Did you respect me? I was sick and imprisoned, did you come to visit me? These my dear friends are the crucial questions that we will have to answer at the end of our time.
So as we enter the last week of advent, it is time for us to take concrete action. It is time for us to live our baptism. Hopefully your eyes and your heart are now open to see Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Hopefully, you would have taken up the challenge to make prayer as important as the air you breathe. Hopefully, you are seriously in prayer, pondering on your vocation, begging the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you. Now with your heart set on God and on the things of Heaven, Jesus will show you some of the least of his brothers and sisters that he wants you to help. They may be a neighbour you have not spoken to for a long time. It may be someone in your family – maybe even your household – that you had a falling out with a long time ago, and never reconciled. Jesus will show you, and when he does, ask him, beg him for the grace to do all that he wants you to do. It is when we truly open our hearts wide to Jesus in others that we will truly encounter him. This will make a huge difference in truly having a merry Christmas.
God Bless You.
