I’m sure I’m not the only one who, as I walk into Stourbridge at this time of year, do so with a degree of trepidation, wondering whether as I walk into The Rye Market or The Crown Centre, I will be accosted by one of the red vested ladies selling The Big Issue.
If it was as simple as whether I want to buy a magazine or not, I wouldn’t feel so conflicted. On the few occasions I have bought The Big Issue, I’ve not found it very compelling because the views it expresses are a bit too left wing for my taste. But this seems to be about more than whether I buy a magazine or not. The plaintiff cries of the vendors seem to say to me, not “Will you buy my magazine?” but instead “I’m very poor and I need money”.
I have to say that generally I find Stourbridge an agreeable place to visit, it represents a lot of what is good about this country – a peaceful place where everyone goes about their business in a well-mannered way. However, the presence of these vendors confronts me with a bigger reality; that there is another world out there beyond leafy Stourbridge where all is not well, and this disturbs me.
I find myself asking the question, “Why can’t these people find another job?” I’m sure if they could, they would, but maybe because of lack of education, language or opportunity, they are limited in what they can do. “Do they get benefits?” In which case why are they selling The Big Issue in Stourbridge? There is no doubt that if all was well in their home country, they would have stayed there, but clearly this is not the case. These sellers represent the many millions who, for various reasons have left their country of birth in search of a better life.
As I consider my response, I am reminded of Peter and John in Acts Chapter 3 who were confronted with a similar situation. They were heading to the temple to pray and found themselves confronted by a crippled beggar asking for money. Clearly they were busy and possibly in a hurry to get to the temple in time for the hour of prayer. They could have been forgiven for hurrying by and ignoring this man’s pleas. Furthermore, they had no money, but this didn’t stop them getting involved.
My experience of watching the good people of Stourbridge at The Rye Market or The Crown Centre is that they tend to avoid eye contact with the red vested ladies and give them a wide berth. The Bible tells us that Peter and John when confronted by this man looked straight at him – which of course raised his expectation levels (v.4&5). They told him they had no money but instead encouraged him to get up and walk in the name of Jesus, which he did.
It is difficult to translate this story directly into the situation I am faced with as I walk into Stourbridge on a cold Tuesday morning, but I do take certain things from it:
- They Engaged – It would be wrong to simply ignore these people, they are there for a reason and they bring the problems of a broken world right to my doorstep. What Peter and John did was to show the love of Christ to the poor beggar they met on the way to the temple. A cheery “Hello, how are you?” would help rather than a studious effort to avoid eye contact.
- They were honest – Having no money to offer shouldn’t be a reason to stop us engaging.
- They prayed – Maybe not then and there, but we can ask if there is anything we can pray for these people. Language can be a problem but they may be able to tell us about their needs.
- They gave practical help – In Peter and John’s case they were able to get to the heart of the matter and heal this man of his infirmity. For us, practical help might include buying a cup of coffee or even buying a copy of The Big Issue occasionally!
The result of Peter and John’s intervention in Acts Chapter 3 was that people were filled with wonder and amazement (v.9&10)! I’m not sure if we can expect this, but we can be confident that by showing God’s love we are at least following in the footsteps of the early apostles.
– Hugh Shepheard-Walwyn