Yesterday was a long day, pretty much an understatement, still trying to recover from many different time zones and medications that make me drowsy from surgery has made my sleep pattern off. I find myself coming home from work with intentions of calling friends but all of a sudden I knock out before seven o’clock only to wake up after midnight; it’s been a struggle.
This struggle felt no more intense than these last couple of days; and though some think I’m crazy for decisions I make (I sometimes think myself I am) I’ve come to realize this, “You either live dying or die living”. Jesus did a lot of ministry, he was exhausted, pressed upon, asked, and still found at the hardest times to give of himself even when he felt like there was nothing left; but still found time to go to God when he needed it because he knew even when you have nothing left and things keep going, that’s when God’s shows up. So yesterday at 2pm I prayed as I drove to downtown Lexington, “God give me strength because I am going to need it the rest of the day,” and His simple reply, “You’ve got it.”
But my survival is nothing compared to the blessings of what I saw yesterday. You see I was helping play acoustic guitar in a large size church yesterday and the band usually goes backstage until it’s time to come out near the end. So I decided sneak in the back of the sanctuary and listen to a message about “being the church” before it was time to go back.
On my way I ran into an unknown man who has begun a well known community ministry called “Church Under the Bridge” that started a few years ago to reach the homeless and hungry on the streets of Lexington; and they literally during the warm months of Lexington meet under a bridge and have service for the homeless. He came to the backstage access area on my way out and asked, “Were you the one up there playing acoustic?” And I replied “Yes.” Then he proceeded to tell me he was in a desperate need and I was like “uh oh” God what do you have now. I had no clue he was the guy who started this ministry I’ve heard about so many times but his music guys dropped out last second and needed someone to lead music for Church Under the Bridge that afternoon from 2-4. Keep in mind I’d be at this church from 8am-1pm, then back from 5:15-8pm. Sometimes it’s hard to say “no” but really, what else can you say to a man who really needed something to reach to homeless and hungry? What would Jesus do? So I told him I would and to meet me after the service.
In the cold months they don’t meet under a bridge, Kentucky weather can be brutal in the winter and so they hold services in the fellowship hall of Broadway Christian Church downtown. Never would I realized how blessed I would be.
In the hurry of getting ready the homeless and hungry began filling in the hall sitting around round tables for this service. The founder told me, in all reality they are here for a just a meal, but many come for the service. But minutes later God showed up in the faces of Jesus. And so with a small sound system, rushed minutes and getting last second copied sheets of music on the tables we began our service. I welcomed the crowd of maybe 125 people from the streets and fifty volunteers from a church and we had worship. There’s no guarantee what goes on in someone’s heart when worship musically is going on and no matter how I “lead” everyone is the “leader” in worship; your worship with God is personal. But minute by minute a hand would raise in praise from faces that were dark from dust, red from cold days, second-hand clothing; and I was reminded of my favorite story in the gospels, “Out of her poverty, she gave all she had.” We sung of God being “Mighty to Save”, that “He Loves Us”, that “Your Grace Is Enough” and I prayed with shouts of “Amens!” coming back. You see it can be normal, but this is no joke to some of these people. If you rely on a meal when you get the chance, live on the streets, and live by the day, the meaning “daily bread” and “mighty to save” has a different connotation than I will ever realize.
You see the founder is a former alchoholic, and I don’t like it when people say that even if you’ve recovered from it that you’re a “recovered alchoholic”. It’s a failure to give them that name still because they aren’t anymore and in Christ they have a new identity; so change it. The founder knew what it was like to be down in the depths of despair in it all, but in his sermon he spoke of “a second chance”. But he only spoke half the sermon, because this other homeless man kept preaching along with him in excitement in outloud comments and throwing out scriptures IN HIS HEAD, and he owned no Bible! Some people laughed at this older man at the table, but the speaker went on with him. Some laughed at how he acted because who would ever dare react like that in church these days, but I smiled and said “God, you’re showing up in Him.” Every problem the speaker talked about Scripture of Truth to fight lies came out of this homeless man’s mouth. Especially when he said “The Bible says not to worry ’bout tomorrow, it’s got it’s own troubles!”; and he’s saying that with no home! With as much conviction hit me, a smile came out because Jesus was in him. Jesus was in him.
And as his testimony ended, I came up to do one more song, “The Stand” and again these people who literally live day by day and soon to eat one of their few meals raised their hands in praise to the Giver of life before we ended. We finished and people from the streets, raggedly looked lined up for food, grabbed a few donated clothes off tables. I put up my guitar a man came up to me, half sane it seemed, snot dripping from his nose, cracked lips, a smell that came, and asked me, “Sir, who can I go to if I have a problem?” I didn’t have an answer. Throw the Sunday school answer and say “Jesus?”, NO! I didn’t know what to say, I could barely understand him. Jesus will help him but I showed him who to speak to that could help me he thanked me and said “God bless you.” He didn’t scare me, he broke me.
In reality, there was many people he could go to. So I packed my guitar up, said thank you to those who invited me to come, and I walked out silently to my car. Then another man came up to me and said “Hey sir, I’m sorry to both you but you wouldn’t have fifty cents to loan so I could take the bus?” Unfortunately, thanks to the world of credit and debit cards I didn’t; maybe I should always have some cash with me just in case it happens again from now on and I told him if I did I really would have. But you know what reader, Jesus will always show up.
And so I drove away, tired, still more to go where the speaker will talk to a crowd about “being the church”. I could have said, “No!” to that guy. I could have said “I’m really busy” (WOW! how that’s been an huge excuse for our world these days) but I believe deep down Jesus would have said “Yes!” No regrets.
And in that afternoon, there were many faces of Jesus, some dirty, some red, some black, some white, some tired, eyes wrinkled, clothes ragged, some minds sporadic, but it was Jesus. If you don’t believe me, go to Matthew 25, and fight that with your heart. “Church under the Bridge”, what a name, more like “Jesus in Unexpected Places”. Am I crazy for that full day? Maybe, but I bet you wouldn’t feel that way leaving it.
And the government isn’t the blame for this, and don’t blame the President when you sit and see the statistics on a comfy chair, it’s every man’s job, especially the churches to change this epidemic. If you’re worried about the health-care issue right now, at least you got it and a roof while some don’t. So if we sit and do nothing, when we’re called to go and be, then we are missing the faces of Jesus.
For more information on Church Under the Bridge you can go to:
http://churchunderthebridge.net
