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Showing posts from June, 2022

Friday Night Light:
Finding Jesus at a Homeless Shelter

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  Photo credit Charlie Kaijo, https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2016/08/20/phoenix-homeless-overflow-shelter-extension/88901002/ Psalm 34:18 - The Lord is close to the broken hearted. Every Sunday morning I go to church to gather with other Christians. We read from the King James Version of the Bible, a 400-year-old translation with obsolete, archaic language. We sing songs that are hundreds of years old. We talk about the same Bible stories that I’ve heard for the past 60 years. We sit stoically, motionless, and silent as a preacher expounds on his cultural, social, and political opinions, which may or may not have any connection with the Bible. We talk about how those who are different than us are misled, evil, and destined for eternal torment at the hands of our loving God. My Friday nights are very different. Every Friday night I volunteer at a homeless shelter. I pick up trash, sweep and mop floors, clean bathrooms, and vacuum rugs – dirty, tedious, menial wor