THE HOMELESS MAN

THE HOMELESS MAN

On my way to work this morning I pass by the familiar waiting shed beside the road which takes me to the highway.

Again I see him under the shed, cooking his pot of rice. His tattered shirt, wet, dirty, gives no protection from the biting cold that the rains bring. We know each other now. I call him the homeless man, he calls me a Samaritan. The first time I see him, he stays under the shed during the day reading. He finds shelter in the nearby vulcanizing shop by night time.

We go through the same usual drill. I honk my horn, to let him know I’m there. He’s hard of hearing. He stops his puttering glances in my direction approaches me. I buzz down the window, hands him the fifty peso bill. He thanks me and says, “God Bless you Samaritan,” bows, looks at me with rheumy eyes.

I say,  “Most welcome, Homeless Man! God Bless you too.”

“What have you been reading today?” I ask.

He gives me the standard answer,  “Ang Maayong Balita.’”

I say,  “Good, see you around.”

I move along thinking he can use a fresh set of clothes.

Maybe tomorrow…

This man really bothers me. He pricks the  bubble of religious pretension.

A passage from the Good News (Maayong Balita’), he said, he is reading, comes to mind:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ...”

(Matthew 25:34-40)