I first noticed him, with unkempt hair and dirty clothes, stopping in at the local Starbucks on especially cold mornings last winter. He made an impression on me because it’s rather unusual to see folk like him daring enough to come near to, well, people like me I suppose, and he couldn’t have been more than 19 years old. The young man carried with him a blanket which barely seemed fit for the trunk of my car. Yet, he walked with it draped about his shoulders. His simple desire seemed only to be warm, but his apparent shame was difficult to hide. As I later walked by him on my way to the bathroom I caught the unmistakable scent of a person who had not had a bath in a very long time. He didn’t pay any attention to me though. He just continued to read the discarded newspaper, blanket still wrapped about him. I wanted to help him somehow, but he didn’t seem interested in asking anyone for anything, and I didn’t want to offend him. However, before I left the restroom I decided I would at least offer to buy him a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, he had already left. Thankfully it wasn’t the last time I would see him.
A few weeks had gone by and I was beginning to wonder if I was going to see him again. Then, on another brisk winter morning he walked in to Starbucks once more, but this time he went directly into the bathroom. I was eager to meet him so I tried to pay attention to who came and went. After some time had passed I began to wonder if I’d missed him as he left. So, I got up and made my way toward the bathroom myself. After entering I immediately noticed the same odor I was met by as I walked past him on the first encounter, and then noticed a pair of very well worn sneakers which could just be seen beneath the divider. I realized that slowly warming up within the privacy afforded him in a bathroom stall must have felt much better as he was able to escape the peering eyes and awkward glances of those in the lobby.
Somehow I again missed him as he must have left while I was on the phone, or typed an email. I was so irritated with myself and felt I had blown my chance. I actually prayed right then for at least one more opportunity to meet him. My prayer was answered a few days later as I saw him once more at Starbucks. His routine was the same this time around, except as he reentered the lobby he sat down at an open table. Now was my chance. I made my way over and introduced myself, then asked him what his name was. Mike. I told him it was nice to meet him and asked if he was hungry, and if I could get him something to eat. Umm, sure. His clear and astonished eyes seemed to say so much more than his lips could muster. Then he shocked me. When it was time to order he simply asked for a small cup of coffee, nothing to eat. Are you sure? I asked, “You can get whatever you’d like.” Yeah, thanks, he said. We chatted for a minute then he went back to his seat and I returned to mine. He left shortly afterward, blanket still wrapped about him and a cup of coffee in his hand.
I’ve seen Mike around town and from a distance since then, and have even bumped into him on another occasion, and every time I wish there was something more I could do. Every time I wonder too what would drive a young man like himself to the streets. I don’t know if I’ll ever hear his story but I’m thankful for the meeting we had. I’m thankful too for the Lord urging me to get up out of my seat, and out of my comfort zone, that day, the same kind of urging I’m sure I’ve ignored too many times before. I suppose the difference was the many prayers asking Jesus to make me more like Him, and the countless times reading about Jesus’ own encounters, hoping I would someday simply live more boldly, compassionately, like I said, more like Jesus.
Lately, I’ve been looking even more intently at some of the encounters Jesus had with people. One particular story has been especially striking to me. It’s the account in the Gospel of John (John 4) where Jesus meets the woman at the well. I’ve only just realized how intentional His choice to remain at a Samaritan well during the “6th hour of the day” was. Given these details Jesus was virtually guaranteed to meet a Samaritan woman, someone not just different from Himself, but wholly inappropriate for Him, as a Jewish and holy man, to associate with, especially in public. Yet, He showed no concern for such divisive social conventions while He did show great concern for the woman He met. The focus of their conversation centered first upon water and then restoration, but it was motivated entirely by Jesus’ great love and compassion for the lost, and those broken by life, and in this instance especially for her.
It was because Jesus dared to set aside the opinion of others and pursue someone who never would have sought Him out that not only was she restored to God, experiencing a freedom she had never before known, but so did many others from the village. As uncomfortable as it can be to approach a stranger, not to mention someone as “different” from me as Mike is, I want to continue growing in my willingness and care in doing so. People who are confused and hurting are not going to come and find me, but I can go and find them, and when I do I can give my ear to hearing their story. As Christ then would lead me, I can attempt to gently offer His loving and compassionate truth, which at first may look a lot like a cup of cold water, or maybe a cup of coffee.
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