And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.–I Corinthians 13:13
Matthew is a young white man who has been homeless “for a while.” He quickly eats one chocolate almond Kiss after another, neatly stuffing the striped foil wrappers into his pocket. His gentle blue eyes watch his companions intently, and from time to time he nods in agreement or disagreement with a comment.
When I ask him to tell his story, he quietly refuses, saying “it would be too painful.” He does want to tell about a time people were kind to him because “many homeless people have had people be kind to them” and he wants people reading to know that.
Matthew’s story begins at the Fenway, where he spent the night last October. He says it is the most dangerous place for the homeless in the Boston, and his friends agree. Sometime during the night he lost his wallet with his Massachusetts Health Card and his MGH Card in it. These cards guarantee his access to health care and are very difficult to replace. He was terrified.
He looked for them everywhere, and then decided to wait and see what happened. A couple of weeks later he was called to the office at St. Francis House (the shelter where he was staying). He was sure that he was in trouble, but it turned out that someone had mailed his cards to the shelter, and they were returned to him.
Matthew’s hands shake a little and his eyes tear as he remembers that moment. “That was really kind,” he says. “Someone took time to help me. I’ll never forget it. Tell this story because we all need to have some kindness in our lives.”
Lover of us all, help us be kind and loving every day. Amen.