She stood there with her head hung low and a scarf over her head as she held a sign in her hand. At first I couldn’t quite make out the words but then, almost instantly, they became clear: “Sick with cancer, no health insurance. Selling crafts for treatment.” She didn’t look homeless, in fact she was recently showered and clothed in a sun dress, but the frailness of her body showed the signs of a long bout with chemotherapy and a disease that was ravaging her life.
I walked on by.
I walked by trying not to make eye contact (an easy feat considering she was looking down at the ground), unsure of what to do, trying desperately to blend into the rest of the crowd that was walking along with me to get inside the church building for Sunday worship. Together we stood, we sang and we prayed, watched some baptisms and listened about the upcoming Compassion Sunday, we listened to a sermon and were challenged by the concept of Sabbath rest and prayed again for the poor and destitute in our society, sang another song and were dismissed. We walked out the doors and again, there she stood holding a basket, head hung low, looking even more frail than she did the first time I saw her. As we got a little bit closer, Tracy prodded me to take notice, seemingly asking me to do something… but what? I didn’t know.
I walked on by.
I walked by trying not to make eye contact, unsure of what to do, trying desperately to blend into the rest of the crowd as we walked away from church…
As I hang my head low and ponder my lack of action I can’t help but find it interesting that this woman came to the church for help. She may have stood at a distance, but she knew what she was doing–coming to the church for compassion, for mercy, for love, grace, help… and we walked by. (I didn’t see a single person stop.) She came to the people, not the structure, not the organization but to the people… but the people were unprepared to help.
(I could take this as an argument for why national health care is such an important issue, this woman who was sick and potentially dying from cancer couldn’t get the treatment necessary because she didn’t have health insurance.)
What can the church do in a situation like this? What can people do? How do you attempt to tackle a problem like this?
Immediately I think about small groups–inviting her into a community that can love and care for her, offer up financial help and opportunity to pay for her care by literally adopting her into their community. I see the potential of the small group to be an emotional support to her, walking her and guiding her, praying for her and loving on her during the difficult times of treatment. Such thoughts literally brings tears to my eyes because I see that as a beautiful expression of the gospel.
A small group, however, is unable to tackle a challenge like this unless they are prepared to act–and by act I mean taking the first step. How do you not only prepare a leader for something like this, but empower them and empower a member of a small group to take such a big leap of faith, compassion and love? How do you acknowledge their step of faith and encourage them along in the process… not to mention encouraging them to do it again?
I walked on by… and I’m left with nothing but questions…
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