Every day I drive by an individual who is housing challenged. It breaks my heart, and I so want to be able to help that individual. However, being a single woman in my late 50s, I hesitate to do it by myself.
Then, that got me to thinking…. There are at least FOUR churches within less than two miles of where this individual is surviving. I say surviving because that individual isn’t able to live and thrive when they have no place to lay their head to rest and call home.
Doesn’t the Divine tell us that we are to help others? The Gospel of Matthew, in particular, provides a profound and direct answer. In chapter 25, verses 35-40, Jesus speaks about the Final Judgment, declaring:
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
This passage makes it clear that service to those in need is not merely a good deed but an act of direct service to Christ himself. The hungry, the housing challenged—Jesus identifies with them personally. Yet, within less than two miles of FOUR churches sits an individual who is definitely both.
I don’t say this to pass judgment on any church, but rather to invite reflection. What if churches could lean even more into their calling to serve those without stable housing? Ministry is most powerful when it pairs faith with action, just as James 2:17 teaches us. By reaching out with compassion and practical support, churches have the chance to transform not only individual lives but the spirit of the whole community.