more fire

(I visit New Orleans in mid-December to learn about the plight of the homeless. The following is a journal entry from my first day there.)

An airline worker woke me up around 7:30 a.m. this morning and told me that if I was going to New Orleans I better take an early flight as a winter storm was heading to New York. I got up, brewed a pot of freshly ground Mud, called the taxi and ate a bowl of granola and yogurt. Thirty minutes later, I was in a taxi on the way to the airport. The plane departed around 10 a.m. There was a layover in Atlanta, but I stayed on the plane. And I arrived in New Orleans by 2 p.m.

My first impressions of New Orleans were forced upon me by billboards advertising nudey bars, fast food and gambling as I rode in the shuttle bus from the airport to my hotel. After checking into the hotel I decided to wander down Canal Street, which was only a few blocks away, and find some good Cajun food. Canal Street, the business district and the French Quarter are very built up. I was told that those districts weren’t affected by Katrina like the Ninth Ward and other working poor neighborhoods had been. The reason being that the Ninth Ward is located in the immediate vicinity of the levee.

I heard a booming voice from a couple of blocks away as I walked down Canal Street. As the voice grew louder I saw that it was a street preacher. We struck up a conversation and I encouraged him in the Lord’s work and even prayed over him. Little did I know that this initial meeting would lead to five hours of fellowship and evangelism.

The street preacher’s name is Brother Keith and he’s been preaching in New Orleans for thirty years. He has also evangelized in almost every state in the U.S. (including Alaska) and two other countries. Bro. Keith has a salt-and-pepper afro, a busted out front tooth and a joy that only Jesus can give. I asked him if he knew a reasonably priced restaurant with good local food and he pointed me to Joe’s. He offered to join me and together we went to Joe’s.

Everyone seemed to know him and many referred to him simply as “Preacher.” At Joe’s I ordered a pound of rib tips and Bro. Keith ordered ribs (the owner footed his bill). Before eating he asked me to pray for us and after praying the owner asked if we would pray for her as well. I prayed and then Bro. Keith prayed a mighty prayer for her, her restaurant (which is a relatively new business) and the poor and hungry of the world. It was some of the best rib tips I’d eaten in a long time. (New York doesn’t have many, if any, good barbecue places).

After eating I told him that I wanted to visit City Hall and talk with the homeless people who’ve been camping on the City Hall’s lawn since July. We walked there and arrived just as the sun set. There were well over 100 tents sprawled over the lawn and one person told me that the most recent headcount was 171 homeless people living there. Across from the lawn were hummers and other military vehicles owned by the National Guard. One homeless man told me that the city is still under martial law and the National Guard has as much authority as the police.

Tents in Duncan Plaza

Bro. Keith sat and talked with people on a park bench as I wandered around the lawn and met people. I simply listened to their stories, encouraged them and prayed over them. I met a group of people, three guys and a woman, sitting outside their tents. The woman said she’d been there for six months. They’ve all been homeless since the storm. They said that there is crime and violence every night on the City Hall lawn and last week a man was stabbed to death for trying to skip ahead in the chow line. The man pointed to a section near a forested area that lurked ominous and told me that’s where the drug users stay. I walked there and sensed the utter desperation of the people and prayed for them. They laid, almost lifeless, on the lawn and muttered to each other in hushed tones. Everyone I met received me warmly and welcomed my prayers.

Several of the homeless people told me that the City is forcing them to leave by Monday. There were signs posted around the lawn, but it was too dark for me to read them. The park has very limited lighting and some areas are completely dark. The population of homeless is single adults and some couples. After walking around the lawn and praying with the outcasts, despised, poor and lonely, I returned to meet Bro. Keith. We returned to Canal Street and he asked if I wanted to get coffee to which I gladly agreed.

We went to McDonald’s, I ordered a coffee and he got water. He told me he lives in his brother’s trailer and hasn’t lived in a home since Katrina. He told me that he preaches to the kids every morning as they go to school, then he takes an hour coffee break, and then he preaches for the rest of the day on the corner where I initially met him.

After getting a coffee we returned to Joe’s restaurant to pick up his megaphone, bicycle and bag and then we went to Arby’s to plug in his laptop computer and use the Internet connection from the Sheraton, located across the street. He asked me to show him some good Websites that have audio sermons and an online Bible. I hooked him up and even gave him a link to my blog, More Fire. Although some might consider Brother Keith to be an eccentric street preacher who occasionally dances to the Lord on Canal Street, I thank God for softening my heart and opening my eyes to meet this sanctified man of God who is the very image of a Christ-indwelled saint.

It was getting late and both he and I were tired, so we parted ways. We did exchange info and I’m sure I’ll see him over the next couple of days while I’m in New Orleans. God is good and provides guides in lost lands. Praise Him!

Some Christians today tend to be like the Pharisees who condemned Christ for sharing meals with sinners; they believe that sin is contagious and that being in association with a “sinner” defiles a person. A person is not a Christian by the mere exclusion of acts such as drinking, smoking and swearing, nor by excluding relationships with others who engage in such activities. In fact, a follower of Christ is defined by their love for God and their love for their neighbors. You might ask, Who is our neighbor? Every person on the planet, regardless of age, ethnicity, nationality or political bent, is our neighbor.

Christ said it is not what goes in, but what comes out that defiles a person. When Christ came from light into darkness he proved that holiness, compassion and love are contagious and that we, as Christians, are not to isolate ourselves from the world, but to extend grace to the lost, weak and broken just as the Father has extended grace to us through Jesus Christ.

We are to be a light in the darkness so that others might see, but if we covet the light we are a candle hidden under a box. We are not to distance ourselves from others simply because a person swears, stinks or smokes. Rather we are to deeply love them. When we judge and despise others we must run to the cross and let the blood of Jesus wash away our haughty, hateful nature so that it is replaced by a beautiful Christ-centered love. It is the light of Christ that shines within each believer that attracts the lowly and marginalized, as well as the dispossessed and perversely sinful.

Christ’s radical message of redemptive love is both subversive and anti-establishment. It is by this radical love that the Kingdom of God advances. And it is only through Christ that any person can be reconciled unto God. Praise him for his mighty mercy and enduring grace.

In ancient Israel the firstborn male, whether man or animal, was to be dedicated to God. The firstborn son was granted greater responsibility within the household and was expected to carry on the family lineage.

The LORD said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal.” Exodus 13:1-2

From ancient days to the the time of Christ the firstborn males were crucial to the structure of Israelite society. Luke, in his gospel, even reiterates the law: “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.” Yet, perhaps surprisingly, the most instrumental and dynamic characters in the Bible were often not the firstborn. David and Solomon were both the youngest sons and none of the patriarchs (Abraham, Issac and Jacob) were eldest sons.

The theme of second sons is prevalent, albeit subtle, throughout the scriptures. In Genesis we get our first glimpse of the younger, Abel, being favored over the elder, Cain. “The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering.” Later in Genesis 17, we see that God established his covenant with Isaac although he is the second son of Abraham (i.e. younger brother of Ishmael). And when we look later on in Genesis we see that Jacob, who happens to be the second son of a second son, bought his elder brother’s birthright and later stole his blessing.

When Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son it was the younger son who told his father that he wanted his inheritance. When the prodigal son asked for his inheritance he essentially said what angry children often tell their parents today when they are angry–I wish you were dead! Yet, the younger son returned (repented) from his carousing to his father’s house and his father received him with music and good food. Not all Second Sons mentioned in the scriptures are in need of repentance.

It might be said that Jesus is the most exalted of the Second Sons in that he is the Second Adam. As it is stated in the scriptures, Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, but, in effect, Adam was the son of God who did not fulfill his role. In 1 Corinthians 15 it says: “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” Adam thought he knew better than God when he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Jesus Christ remained in the will of God and thus allowed God’s will to be done through him. If we abide in Christ, we abide in God.