Words of Grace and Remembrance, delivered today, by David S. Gruber, of MDHA, at Encore Park, at the annual Service of Remembrance for those experiencing homelessness who passed away over the course of the last year. The service included a symbolic butterfly release.
I am so honored to be here today, and even more honored by the fact that you would think me worthy of delivering words of grace and remembrance today.
I’ve never really been that comfortable speaking in situations like these. I have lost both a parent and a child, and to be frank not much people said was all that helpful in either situation. What can one say that can really be meaningful? What can one say to alleviate the pain? What can one say to temper the searing sense of loneliness that grief carries with it? This is why, in Jewish Law, when one consoles a mourner, it is impermissible to speak if the mourner does not speak first.
From my experience, losing a loved one is a lonely experience. When my child died, I cognitively understood that I was not the only father to ever lose a child, but emotionally it felt like I was. We were all alone. That is the purpose of consoling mourners in my tradition, to alleviate some of that sense of loneliness with our presence, not our words. What we are really here to do is not to speak, but to be here with you, those who have lost friends and loved ones on the streets of our community. You are not alone.
From my experience, losing a loved one also provokes a sense of anger. Why did my loved one have to die? It seems so unfair. We are here today to acknowledge that sense of legitimate anger you may have if you lost friends and loved ones on the streets of our community. You have a right to be angry. The existence of homelessness in the richest country in the history of civilization is inexcusable. It is inexcusable because we are not living up to our religious traditions.
One of the first ideas we are introduced to in the first chapter of the Bible is, “And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created… them.” The Ancient Rabbis paint a vivid picture of what this means: “A procession of angels passes before each person, and the heralds go before them, saying, ‘Make way for the image of God!’ ‘Make way for the image of God!’” The implication of this idea is that each person from the billionaire to the person experiencing homelessness, has inherent importance, dignity and worth. We, as a society, have not lived up to this idea. If we had, this service would be unnecessary.
In those last words, perhaps there is a final reason that gives some worthiness to my words today. To quote, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.” Our community and our country are finally investing the mammoth resources necessary to end the modern homelessness crisis.
If you are currently experiencing homelessness, talk to a case manager or call the Homeless Crisis Help Line. Let’s get the process of getting you into housing started. And to all the rest of you, we can’t do this alone. If you are already involved in this great housing effort, excellent. If you are not yet involved, what are you waiting for? Go to the MDHA website and get involved. Let’s get this done. Let’s make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring, like it was for most of the years of the existence of our republic. There is no time to waste.
