Since creating this blog, I have come across quite a few stories involving individuals feigning homelessness. In previous posts, I mentioned a book written by Adam Shepard, which chronicles his attempt at simulating extreme poverty. I was somewhat surprised to run across yet another instance of this somewhat unsettling behavior. While Shepard’s experience as a homeless American was defined as a “social experiment” by the author, a small group of Christians in Austin, Texas are simulating homelessness for an entirely different reason.
An article linked and summarized by Newser (A source noted for its quality by API’s Journalist’s Toolbox), originating from a local newspaper, claims seven men spent three days on the street in an effort to attain a greater sense of spiritual enlightenment in what the author refers to as a “street retreat”. Apparently, this practice is repeated on an annual basis. The original report explains some of the event’s intricacies.
Each year during Holy Week, which began a week ago on Palm Sunday and concludes today on Easter, Alan Graham, 52, a co-founder of the homeless ministry Mobile Loaves & Fishes, leads a group on a three-day retreat on the streets, an opportunity for Christians to connect with God. To strip away the comforts of home and the assurances of a full wallet and clean clothes. The participants leave behind their money and cell phones and set out with a knapsack and a sleeping bag.
One might ask, “How does this practice enhance their spirituality?” The report continues to explain.
They are struggling to live out Jesus’ call to love others and to understand the sacrifice he made on the cross. They’re not expecting a grand revelation, but, they say, they feel they must walk among the poor as Jesus did. Doing so, they say, gets them closer to grasping the power of the resurrection.
I have no idea why the Austin American-Statesman fails to explain exactly what “the power of resurrection” is, or by what means such an important-sounding ability is generally obtained. For those of us who are not theologians (myself included), a quick Google search directed me to a quote from the Good Book explaining the aforementioned power as the ability to live after death.
It seems as though people mimic homelessness for a variety of reasons. While I doubt most these people are experiencing the full severity of homelessness, they are probably left with a substantial taste of what poverty has to offer.
