Zoa Free Paper 2.0 | October 31, 2024

The True Meaning of Christmas

This Christmas in St. Louis homeless men, women, and children will sleep in vacant buildings, on park benches, and at bus stops. They sleep in the woods in Jefferson County, St. Charles County, and St. Louis County. In Springfield, the homeless sleep near the railroad tracks or just lie down on the sidewalks. In towns throughout Illinois, the homeless can be found almost anywhere. The homeless can be found in every city in America. Throughout the USA signs of the 1930s repeat themselves as grapes of wrath, more bitter than ever, are being harvested across the land. This crop

of misery is watered by local communities, priding themselves in the destruction of low-income housing in the name of gentrification.

Its fertilization is done by an indifferent church whose policies of non-involvement is symbolized by human beings living and dying on the streets and park benches of our communities. When I am asked why isn’t more being done for the 50,000 homeless people in Missouri and the millions scattered throughout the rest of the United States, one word quickly comes to mind…Fear.

This four-letter word condones the injustices of state and federal officials and responses to those sincere about helping with comments like, “Yes, the homeless need to be helped, but don’t put a shelter in my neighborhood.”

Unless we honestly face the fears in our lives and deal with them, we will find ourselves this Christmas singing about the babe in the manger as we present Him with our gifts of excuses for why we can’t invite Him into our homes, churches, businesses, or government buildings for a place to stay. Didn’t Jesus Himself say, “As often as you have done it unto the least of these even so you have done it unto me.”

Can we really celebrate Christmas in anything less than a hypocritical fashion when we refuse to respond to the growing number of homeless people in our midst?

As a result, many a child is laid in a manger in our communities because there is no room for him or her in the inn. Christmas 1990 finds this manger in a room shared with three families because there is no apartment available that they can afford. At other times this manger is found in a vacant building, the back seat of a car, a bus stop, or a host of other places, none or which could be referred to as home… because there is no room for them in the inn. When one tries to move that manger into a particular neighborhood, inevitably a handful of

people intoxicated with fear will attempt – like Herod did – to dispose of the child. The very presence of the child in the mind of the fearful poses a particular threat to their kingdoms and property values. That the Christ Child appears today in the body of a homeless man, woman, or child is without dispute when one is familiar with Matthew 25:31-46. Yet all too frequently our fears cause us to sing “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him” in our church buildings one hour and then lock our Lord out when He comes on a cold winter night in the form of a homeless man in search of a place to stay.

---by Larry Rice

Anthony

“I have been struggling since 2019 when I became disabled. I lost a relationship of twenty-six years, my business, my home, and hope in my life. I moved to Washington State, to give home health to my mother who was dying from lung cancer. She also suffered from dementia. After she passed away, I moved back to Arkansas only to find my family didn’t want me around.

So, I moved to Springfield, MO. Only five months later I was evicted from my home. A guy with an assault rifle ran me off my dwelling at night. I learned about Sacred Hearts Warming Shelter. As I was staying at the shelter, I heard about the program at NLEC from a gentleman at the shelter. I asked the Lord to remove me from my situation. The next day I met with Pastor Mark. We sat down and talked about the program. He gave me the application to fill out. The very next day we had fellowship at Christmas dinner.

It was held at the NLEC Veteran’s Day Shelter in Springfield. I met with Chris Rice. He told me to go pack my belongings. Two hours later we were off to Marshfield. Ten days later I was in New Bloomfield. Now I am helping in the kitchen making sandwiches for the homeless. I have also begun to learn radio broadcasting. It is a great joy! I give thanks to the wonderful people and staff at NLEC, and especially to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!”