I left Mary and Joseph out in the cold. I don’t really know if their names were Mary and Joseph, but it’s possible. And I haven’t stopped thinking about them. A few weeks ago when we traveled to
Pennsylvania for Donna’s grandfather’s funeral we made a quick trip up and back over the course of three days. As with all our trips we try our best to make good time and stop as few times as possible. We usually try to combine stops for optimal speed; food, fuel, and bio breaks all at the same time. But, at one point in the trip we realized we would need to make a stop at one of the many rest stops along route 95 south.
When we parked I noticed a beat up small pickup truck next to us, perhaps a twenty year old Nissan or Toyota. A well-loved truck to be sure. In it was a woman who looked pleasant but perhaps a bit sad sitting in the passenger seat by herself. As we walked to the restroom a nice older gentleman coming back from the building made a lighthearted comment about one of my girls who was fussing about something, and then continued on his way towards the parking lot.
As I returned to the car, I noticed the same truck was still there. The woman was now sitting sideways in the open door of the truck and the older man was in the driver’s seat doing something with the pliers from a Leatherman tool. “Excuse me, sir,” the woman said to me. I looked at her closely for the first time and noticed that she wasn’t as young as I first thought, and that she was pregnant. She also looked like she had had a hard life, as did her companion. “Do you have anything you could give us? We’ve got a long way to go and we’re almost out of gas?” I saw that there were some food wrappers on the dashboard and that there might have been a mishmash of personal belongings strewn in the truck. “I’m sorry,” I said, I don’t carry any cash on me.” She said, “Thank you,” and I got into our car.
Two things occurred to me as we got back on the highway. First, I remembered that I did have cash – two dollars, not gas money, but better than nothing – yet I didn’t even look. I really don’t carry cash with me often. And I thought to myself that I didn’t really try very hard to help these two persons. My cynical side says that they were really fine, likely living near the interstate and taking the opportunity to get donations from travelers. My pastoral side says that they could have been modern day bearers of the Son of God. A pair of nobodies on a journey during which they struggled to find the kindness that all people deserve.
I will never know who they were and which of my thoughts was most accurate. Regardless, I did not take an opportunity to help someone who asked for help. No matter their intentions, I had a chance to respond in accordance with Christ’s invitation, and I did not take it. Granted, I do help panhandlers sometimes, and sometimes I do not. But in this season of remembering that our Lord came in such a fragile state to parents who needed, but could not find a place to stay, I wonder how many are like them in the world today? Too many, I’m sure.
Thank you for all you have done, Christ Church, to reach out to the needy in our community in this season of light and joy. I got to deliver some things myself again this year, and I know how appreciative people are. I don’t know where my Mary and Joseph were headed or where they’ve ended up, but I pray they arrived and that “Mary” has a safe and healthy conclusion to her pregnancy. I will work this Christmas to make sure I have the room in my heart to respond a bit more fully the next time someone asks for my help. Thank God for all our blessings, and for giving us hearts big enough to love others. May we use them in this season and all the year long.
Tom+
O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.