A Moment On Highway 61
I was driving down the off ramp from 694 to Highway 61, the light had turned red. A middle-aged gentleman stood off the road to my left, he was leaning against a signpost holding a piece of cardboard with the words, “Please Help,” written on it. In the couple of minutes that I’d be sitting at the light there wasn’t much I could do to help other than maybe give him a couple of dollars. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a twenty, rolled down my window, and motioned him to come over to me.
It took him a couple of tries to stumble away from his leaning post as he slowly made his way to my car. As I handed him the twenty I said, “Here, I hope this helps you buy something for dinner tonight.” “Thank you, sir,” he began to respond, “I don’t do drugs, or alcohol, or any of that kind of stuff.” I believed him as his eyes were clear and bright and he was well spoken. There were no obvious signs of drug or alcohol abuse.
He continued, “I was in a car accident a couple of years ago and went through a bunch of MRIs and surgery and I’m still messed up. I can only move my neck this much.” As he turned his neck about twenty degrees in both directions. “My whole right side was damaged in the accident and I’m really unsteady on my feet.” That explained why he stumbled away from the signpost he was using to prop himself up. I asked him if this made it hard to find work, “Yes, whenever I go for an interview they see me and are afraid to hire me as I might be a liability to them. I can only stand out here for about two hours before I have to leave, it gets to be too much for me.”
As I said I was sorry to hear this the light turned green and I had to be on my way. “If you can do one more thing for me,” he said as I was about to pull away, “please pray for healing.” He reached out to give me fist bump, our knuckles touched, I said I’d pray for him and I was on my way.
As I made my left turn onto Highway 61 I spoke a prayer of healing for this gentleman. I wondered if that fist bump might be the only human contact he had that day. I think I was more blessed in those two moments that he was.
As I drove the ten minutes home from there I thought about how skeptical most people, including myself, can be about the folks that are asking for help on the freeway ramps. Does it really matter if they have addiction issues? Are they any less worthy of help? If I choose to help I have no control over what they do with the help I provide.
Then the words of Scripture filled my heart and mind:
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40
“If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,’ so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
1 John 3:17-18
