Dear Friends!
Those who know me are aware that I wear many different hats. I’m a Trauma Advocate by day. I am always a professed and vowed monk in the background. I am the Founder and CEO of my nonprofit, Bethlehem House Ministries. I’m an assisting priest at Saint Miriam. And I take on part-time security officer duties from time to time with Allied Universal. Hey, this monk has bills to pay!
I recently had the opportunity to take on a shift as security officer at a Giant supermarket that is in my neighborhood. This was my first time taking on a shift outside of Temple Hospital. It would be a new experience that I looked forward to very much.
The shift was an exhausting one as I was required to be on my feet for the entire 8 hours. But something unexpected happened that made that shift an amazing one. I did what I always do when I work security or anywhere else: I smile and greet folks. I wish them a pleasant rest of the day. I exchange genuine pleasantries with folks. It’s always pleasant to watch people’s faces when they don’t expect someone to acknowledge and be nice to them. Many of them smile and wish the same positive energy back.
During my shift at Giant, one woman in particular stopped as she was leaving the supermarket to thank me for my warm greeting to her. She expressed how good it made her feel and how it truly made her day. She seemed like a hugger – as a true Puerto Rican, I love hugs – so I offered her one. She gladly accepted the offer, gave me a huge hug and went on her merry way.
As I reflected on that experience at Giant, I felt strongly that I engaged in a real and valid form of ministry. I didn’t preach a sermon. I didn’t wear vestments. I didn’t offer any prayers. I didn’t do anything extraordinary. I just showed up as myself – present, kind, mindful – and grace slipped right on through the automatic doors at Giant!
That woman didn’t just thank me for a greeting. She recognized how rare it is these days to be seen without being rushed, measured, judged, or sold something. Warmth landed in her where people are often starved: the soul. And the hug? That was holy ground, incarnational ministry, a sacrament of human tenderness in the fluorescent-lit cathedral of a grocery store.
The exhaustion of that 8 hour shift was softened and redeemed by that one single exchange! Again, I didn’t do anything extraordinary. I just tried to be a presence of our loving and merciful God in an ordinary space. Isn’t this what we are all called to do and be wherever we may find ourselves whenever possible?
This is how we defeat the hatred and division that so plagues our world. Quiet faith. No words. Flesh-and-blood compassion. God-with-us energy that doesn’t need a church or a pulpit to be real!
May we do and be just that, more and more!
Peace, Love and Blessings,
Father Jerry