That Begs the Question

Retiro, the bustling downtown Buenos Aires train station

A few months ago I read that Jesus said, "Give to everyone who begs from you." I hadn't remembered seeing that before, and now that I live in a huge metropolis and have people begging from me daily it seems relevant, so I looked it up. There it is, in Luke chapter 6, tucked away in a very familiar passage about loving your enemies and turning the other cheek.

So, how do I do this? And what do I give? I can't say that Jesus didn't understand my situation -- it's clear from the Bible that he encountered lots of beggars, and it's also clear that some people back then spent all their money on alcohol (one reason why giving money seems wrong in most situations). In Acts 3 Peter and John meet a man who begs for a living since his legs don't work. They say that they don't have any money, but do have something they can give him -- and they pray for him to be healed, which he is.

Well, I do always have some money in my purse, so I can't exactly say that, and I don't think that God is going to use me to heal everyone I meet on the street. So again, what does this mean? I was talking with my friend Paul about this yesterday. He lives in an intentional community in a poor neighborhood in St. Paul, and along with his wife Libby has tried several different approaches. He said that Peter and John gave the man in Acts 3 what he really needed.

Here are the different scenarios I regularly encounter:

• On the sidewalk in a busy shopping district a few blocks from my apartment is a woman with no legs, seated with her hand out, saying to all who pass, "Help me, please."
• On the sidewalk a few blocks up from first woman I frequently encounter another woman who says, "Help me, please, buy something that I have." The first time I passed by I bought a small box of bandaids, but a few days later I didn't need anything that she had, so what should I do? She wasn't just selling things, she was saying, "Help me."
• On the city train, in addition to the vendors and the musicians, there are people who give a speech about their family's dire straits and ask for money or give to all the passengers a slip of paper regarding their needs (the latter happens more frequently if they are deaf or blind), occasionally accompanied by a picture of a saint, then they pass through the car a second time collecting the slip of paper and donations.

I think that I should probably try to engage the first two women in conversation, and I think that I haven't done so out of not wanting to look foolish, both to them and to the people around me. After all, the first woman is frequently chatting with the blind man five feet up from her (he sells things and doesn't ask for money) and doesn't seem to want to engage in conversation. Also, what would I say to them? But if I walk by without saying anything or giving anything I'm not doing what Jesus said to do.

If someone specifically asks me for something, then I have the opportunity to purchase it for them and possibly enter into relationship with them, but in the third situation described above they are people who are busily "working" the train and also don't seem to want to be interrupted. I could travel with granola bars or sausages or something to offer to them, I suppose? In Minnesota I used to keep granola bars and juice in my car to give to the guys who held up signs at traffic lights saying they were hungry.

Two situations I encountered yesterday, one where I mostly liked my response and one where I didn't:

• A woman outside the supermarket yesterday asked for help. I asked what she wanted and she said that she needed a chicken. I offered to buy her one and she said that they were cheaper in her neighborhood if I would just give her the money. I said, "I don't give out money, but I'm happy to buy you a chicken." We went back and forth a couple of times, and I ended up buying her a chicken. When I came out of the supermarket she was talking with someone else and there didn't seem to be the opportunity to really have a conversation with her. She said, "God bless you," and I just said, "May God bless you too, ma'am."
• As I was out running errands yesterday a man that was standing on the sidewalk started to talk to me. I believe he was starting to tell me the story of his woes, but before he started talking to me he checked me out, head to toe. That's not uncommon in this Latin country, but I felt somewhat indignant and justified in ignoring him and walking by with my "city face" on. I started to tell God that he hadn't come to earth in female form and so hadn't had to work with that, but then I realized that Jesus, since he frequently hung out with prostitutes, was surely looked at lewdly but didn't focus on himself -- he saw the image of God, albeit tarnished, in the people around him.

Above are Gaby and Nora, with me and Luisa below, when we got together at Gaby's two weeks ago to make "sorrentinos" (like large tortellini) as a fundraiser for the Orlando's to go to the Nicaraguan internship. The filling we're using in these photos is Swiss chard and ricotta with a touch of goose liver for that special something extra.