STRANGERS

“Unidentified” strangers, The Good Samaritan, or The Unsung Hero never seem to “stick-around” to be recognized for their good deeds.

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Kindness, service, and duty awakened at a time of personal need bring the helping spirits, hearts, and hands many never to be seen or heard of again.
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Fr. Kelty, Gethsemani monk, in his 1994, Lenten reflection on the civil rights movement in Alabama, inspired all to honor the presence of the stranger in our midst:

When Jesus came to Calvary

They nailed him on a tree.

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They crowned him with a crown of thorns.

Red were his wounds and deep.

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For those were cruel and crude days

And human flesh was cheap.

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When Jesus came to Birmingham

They only passed him by

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They would not hurt a hair of him

They only let him die.

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For men had grown more tender,

They would not give him pain

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They only just

Passed down the street

And left him in the rain.

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And,

So it rained

The winter rain

That drenched him through and through

And when all the crowds had left the street

 Without a soul to see

Then Jesus crouched against a wall.

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And,

Sighed for Calvary.

Peace and Only The Good things
deacon robert r. lackney,  Lenten Meditations March 2012
PS: The person – standing in front of you - at another time could be a beggar, a priest, a prostitute: Today there may be a stranger sent to you by God to teach you something important.