Seeing the Face of God in Others

An Uncomfortable Response

I was in New York City a few weeks ago for the Trinity Leadership Fellows kickoff event. On the last day, before I went to the airport, I walked up to Canal Street to buy knockoff designer bags for my daughters. As I was walking back to the hotel to collect my luggage, I heard a loud, deep, agitated voice a block or so behind me, screaming profanity. I turned to see a tall, disheveled, clearly homeless man. He was walking briskly down the sidewalk, yelling at everyone in his path.

A disconcerting sight, for sure, but more disconcerting to me were the looks on the faces of other onlookers. Most of the people that I saw watching this man make his way down the block had looks of mild amusement on their faces. Some were even openly smiling and chuckling. At first I was appalled to see people laughing at this obviously troubled man. But as I thought about it, it occurred to me that people laugh because they don’t know what else to do.

Homelessness feels like such an intractable problem, with myriad, seemingly inextricably intertwined causes. It’s understandably tempting to just shake our heads and chuckle and look the other way.

Responding to Homelessness as Followers of Jesus

As followers of Jesus, however, we are called to do the opposite. As followers of Jesus, we are called to stay. We are called to to avoid looking away, no matter how intractable the problem may seem. Jesus tells us that to see and serve those in need is to see and serve him, and that to look away from those in need is to look away from him. “But Jesus,” we say, “it’s more complicated than that! What about…” And then we offer all sorts of justifications for looking away.

But the thing is, Jesus is not asking us to fix the problem. Homelessness and all of the factors that cause it and perpetuate it are bigger problems than any one person or organization can fix. What Jesus is asking us to do is to see our homeless neighbors as a fellow image-bearer of God, and to treat them as such. Behind the dirt and dishevelment, behind the stigma, lies the face of God. Jesus just wants us to look long enough to see it.

Seeing Others as a Fellow Image-Bearer of God

I wish I could say that I was an exemplary follower of Jesus on that New York City sidewalk that day, but I wasn’t. I didn’t laugh, but I also didn’t stay. There was a flight to catch after all. And I had to figure out how to stuff two fake Louis Vuitton purses into an already overstuffed bag. I pray that someone took the time to see that man as the image-bearer of God that he is, buy him a cup of coffee, and offer him a moment of respite from the cruel circumstances of his life. Whoever did those things for that man did them for Jesus. What a privilege that must have been.