Jesus was holding a sign at one of the stop lights I just happened to get stopped at. I don't know what it said, but it was obvious, Jesus was homeless. He was looking for someone to have compassion for him and there I was.
There was a coffee shop just down the road and I pulled in, got out of my car and went to get Jesus' attention. "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?", I said. Jesus said, "That'd be great! Let me get my stuff." Jesus' stuff consisted of a backpack and a Huffy bicycle he used for transportation around the city. I bought Jesus a cup of coffee and went outside to talk with him. I started by asking Jesus, "what is it like being homeless?"
Jesus answered my question with, "it's rough, I didn't think I would ever be in this position." Jesus went on and said, "you can call me Rick." He then asked me my name. I told him and he continued to openly answer my questions and we shared conversation for almost an hour. As we chatted several people walked by us and looked, Rick obviously wasn't real "cleaned up". He visits the laundromat once a week and washes up at restaurants. Rick stood out. I stood out by talking to Rick and that's when it hit me. I didn't care that people were looking at us. I cared about Rick and treating him like I would like to be treated, with respect, with care, and with compassion. This is what Jesus commands us to do and that's how I saw him last Sunday after Mass.