The face of Jesus may be on a
beggar
A man and his wife (both staunch Christians) were going into an exhibition of paintings by a promising young artist, when they passed a beggar sitting on the steps.
The wife gave him a few pence, but the husband scolded her saying: ‘I never give anything to his kind, because they only go off and drink it.’
Inside, one painting greatly impressed the husband. It was a painting of an old
beggar man. ‘It’s so realistic,’ he exclaimed. ‘Look at the patches on the beggar’s coat, the dirt on his hands, the sadness in his eyes, and the indifference of the
passers-by. It’s beautiful.’ He bought it for €600.
We have no problem recognizing Jesus in church. But when we meet him out on the streets, where he is sometimes sunk in poverty and sorrow, we are reluctant to give him even a penny, on the wretched pretext that if we fed him, we might feed his vices too.
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