Our teacher’s mom died. He tells us this in his usual upbeat way. I so admire this about him. Always putting on a happy face. He shares with us a little bit of who she was telling this story: One Christmas Eve when he was about 17 he and his parents headed off to church and when they got there they were greeted at the entrance by a homeless man asking for money. His mom invited this man on the street in to sit with them. After church the man looked expectedly at his mom like, Ok now can I have that money? She said no as he and his father held their breath and waited uneasily to see what would happen next (Ya’ll know that he wanted to get his Christmas Cheer!) So his mom says to the guy I am not going to give you money but I will buy you a meal and get you a hotel room. Now the guy was the one who was uneasy but he did get in the car with them and they headed for that meal and the hotel. Our teacher tells us that the biggest gift was her being present with him the whole night. He had her attention. This is what she offered that was most valuable. I got it. I get it. I really do and what I get most is she was as much of a yoga teacher in her lifetime as her son is now.
So I tell my friend Sarah this as we sit on our paddleboards talking and then she tells me her own story. That of her pastor and how he told them one day that years before he had dressed up as a homeless person (it may or may not have been Christmas time) and he sat outside of church. He had a pan for donations but most people passed him by without looking at him dressed in his disguise as they headed in the door to worship. Once they had all congregated inside he headed in and during the homily put back on his homeless garb to their uncomfortable gasps.
I couldn’t help but think that our teacher's mom wouldn’t have passed this guy up. She’d have invited him in and then he probably would have invited her up to the altar afterwards.
The light of Christ resides in all of us if we just look a little closer. Street guy, Yogi or Christian what difference does it make?
So I tell my friend Sarah this as we sit on our paddleboards talking and then she tells me her own story. That of her pastor and how he told them one day that years before he had dressed up as a homeless person (it may or may not have been Christmas time) and he sat outside of church. He had a pan for donations but most people passed him by without looking at him dressed in his disguise as they headed in the door to worship. Once they had all congregated inside he headed in and during the homily put back on his homeless garb to their uncomfortable gasps.
I couldn’t help but think that our teacher's mom wouldn’t have passed this guy up. She’d have invited him in and then he probably would have invited her up to the altar afterwards.
The light of Christ resides in all of us if we just look a little closer. Street guy, Yogi or Christian what difference does it make?
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