We are born anxious. At the moment of our birth, we are cold and we are hungry. And by God we want someone to do something about it! So we are wrapped up to keep us warm with our own body heat and we are given milk either naturally or not so naturally. From this very moment, we want to be clothed and fed.

When we are young, these things are usually provided for us. Some are not as fortunate. Before adolescence, we start to make our own decisions what we will wear (with someone else’s money), but only limited in our choices of what we will eat. When we are on our own, we get to make the decisions of what we will eat and what we will wear. And then those decisions are tempered by how much we can spend on those things.

Some of us find ourselves in a situation where we don’t have the money to buy clothes or food. Some of us depend on the generosity of others to eat. We might get enough money to buy something at a thrift shop (something more of us may soon be doing). We often have no shelter.

In some communities, shelters are provided so we might be kept dry and get a shower. Some will have washing machines. Some of us make this a lifestyle choice. Some of us are mentally ill. Some of us are disabled. Some of us are working poor. Some of us are victims of domestic violence. Some of us lost our jobs through no fault of our own.

We don’t worry about our 401(k)s. We don’t worry about our mortgages. We don’t worry about where we will take our next vacation. We don’t worry about how we will pay our next insurance premium. We don’t worry about paying for the next fill up at the gas station. We worry if we are going to eat today. We have no money to worry about those things.

We slowly slip out of the mainstream of society and become invisible. For many places, that is where people would prefer us to stay, invisible. Would it be too much for a shelter to be opened in this county? Would it really matter where it is? Will we serve God or will we worry about losing something transient? (So to speak.)

Jesus talks about anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount. He’s basically against it. Because if we have faith in God, there is no need of anxiety. Jesus also tells us that when we help the least of those people around us, then we are helping him. Who are we turn away Jesus?

Instead of protesting a homeless shelter, maybe we should be visiting a homeless shelter. There we might meet Jesus.