St. John Chrysostom was very clear, however. “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find him in the chalice.”

A priest’s and a biblical perspective

I remember a priest once saying that he did not want to judge a person begging and felt it was his duty to contribute no matter what the person did with the money. 

This made me think: Would the person asking for change be likely to stop being an alcoholic thanks to the priest not giving him a few dollars? I doubt such restraint would have that or any effect. On the other hand, a priest’s kindness might get the person thinking that there could be a better path than alcoholism.

And we must consider the teaching of Jesus to the self-righteous at judgment: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’” (Mt 25:44-45).

A radical idea

Based on this little bit of background information, I had another idea for the next time I encountered a person on the street; and it didn’t take long for it to happen. I was walking down Main Street while visiting Greenville one day. I spotted a fellow sitting on the sidewalk, destitute, too driven down even to beg. But we made eye contact, and I thought, “This is the time.”

My thought was to give him more than he might expect to get his attention. I pulled out a $20 bill, stooped down and looked him in the eye, handed it to him and said, “Here, take this — you might be Jesus.”

He looked a bit dumbfounded, said nothing, just gazed at me like, “What did you just say?” I also said nothing in return, and just left him with maybe a good meal. Maybe he shared the money with a friend, and they both had a modest fast-food meal. Maybe at that moment of personal connection, Jesus did enter into him, and he was led to the start of a new life that came from just one comment.

Or, maybe I left him with a thought that he couldn’t get out of his head.

Irresistible communication

There is a school of thought in clinical psychology called “irresistible communication.” One assumption of these practitioners is that you can make someone what you want them to be by simply telling them so. You do it in passing, saying it straightforward as though you really believe it. Then you move on and leave the recipient no time to ask any questions or challenge your attribution about them.

In this case, I didn’t preach to the man: “You ought to be more like Jesus,” or say, “Don’t you want to be more like Jesus?”

No, I simply said in a straightforward way, “You are Jesus.”

And then I left before he could argue the point.

What hopefully happened was that a self-fulfilling prophecy was planted in his head that he could not resist. Due to that brief, sincere interaction, my hope is that he’s unable to shake the idea that he “might be Jesus” — or, at least, could be like Jesus.

Realistically, we don’t give to others because of who they are or what they’ve done or haven’t done. No, we give to others because it’s who we are called to be.

Did he go in search of the Mystical Body of Christ? Did he encounter the Holy Spirit? Did I encounter Christ Jesus?

The Lord only knows. But the Lord knowing is the only knowing that counts.