Called to Confrontation

Recently I was given the privilege of working in the kitchen at St. Vincent de PaulÂ’s. This provided the opportunity to meet some of the diners as well as many of the people who volunteer there regularly. It is always a humbling experience working with individuals who have dedicated their time month after month, year after year to the service of an organization such as St. VincentÂ’s, and yet at the same time it is a privilege to see the joy they maintain while serving.
My greatest delight, however, was in being able to serve the food we had prepared earlier in the morning to the diners. A few of the volunteers I worked with knew the names of almost every person that came through the food line, and in a few short seconds would generate a conversation between themselves and the diners that would result in a laughter and brilliant smiles. The people we served were so gracious. As they approached us, one could notice the emotional heaviness they carried in their appearance, and yet each one of them reflected a quiet beauty passing by, stopping, asking a little of this please, thank you, smile, a little of that...
I think one of the greatest aspects of service is the growing experience of gradually being able to give up past perceptions of people in terms of a collective identity, and instead beginning to see the faces of real people emerge in one's mind. That is why exposure to injustice is so vital. It forces us to confront important issues we might otherwise dismiss and makes us re-evaluate our choice to compartmentalize the needs around us without fully addressing them. An issue such as poverty no longer exists as purely a political issue, but it becomes a part of an individual struggle to be a voice for the voiceless- for the individual people one serves.