If you’re like me the idea of giving and receiving more of the normal “stuff” this Christmas might not be very appealing. But what if your family, your familiar and comfortable kin, would become radically inclusive this year and welcome in a true stranger? How about a black-clad Muslim woman from your local community college? All you can see of her is her eyes. Or how about a homeless man that you picked up as you drove through downtown on your way to the traditional family dinner? Hey, let’s get really radical. You bring with you a 20-something young man who shot and killed a member of an opposing gang when he was just 14 years old? That’s what this piece is about.
As you know, empathic people are prone to compassion fatigue. Heck, that’s why most people avoid caring too much. But if you are feeling a little depleted by your work-a-day world, even if it pays really well, here is my Christmas present to you. (Also, if you are a full-time care-giver struggling with a little emotional burnout, this may be your perfect antidote.) If you don’t already know him I think you’ll find this introduction to Father Greg Boyle a welcome stocking stuffer this year. This beautiful man is well into his 3rd decade running Homeboy Industries, an organization that provides hope, training, and support for formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women. And he is still going strong and growing stronger.
His secret? Well it’s not really a secret. It’s a truth that almost all religions have taught for millenia, namely that we really are our brothers’ keepers. Greg Boyle takes that teaching seriously. His foundational belief is that no one, as in no one, is outside the human family. His strong conviction is that even our worst criminals, our greatest enemies, (and yes even our most ridiculous candidates for President) should not be outcast or marginalized in any way.
This is a man who has figured out a way to give until he can give no more and then he gives some more. As you get to know him I think you will begin to understand how you and all the rest of us can become more fully human, more fully alive. All you have to do is emulate this inspiring man. Your present to me is your time, so you can skip to 4:00 minutes into the attached video at the place where my ministry mentor Ed Bacon is introducing Father Boyle, maybe the greatest and yet the most humble man I’ve ever met.
What a concept! We’re all here together, let’s be inclusive on our shared globe! We need this conversation to “go viral” and be part of a universal dialogue! Thanks for being here!