Do you remember the old Sesame Street song, "Who are the people in your neighborhood?"The song would play, then we would be introduced to a few people we might see in our own neighborhood; the postal carrier, the policeman, the grocery store clerk, etc. The purpose of this regular skit was to teach children that everyone has a job to do and that we are all valuable in what we do.
I was thinking about this song and what it looks like, for me, as I ask the question, "Who are the people in my neighborhood?"
- There are the policemen staked out at either end of our block, watching and waiting for the next drug deal to go down.
- There are various deliverymen servicing the few remaining corner stores. They drive in, do what they have to do, and leave as quickly as they came.
- There is a lonely man, standing at the bus stop, waiting for a ride to nowhere inparticular.
- There are a few old ladies who can't afford to sell their homes and move, so they stay in their homes, with their doors locked and their shutters closed.
- There is the gangbanger and the drug dealer about to throw down, as they seek to claim these streets as their own territory.
- There is the truant officer, looking for another kid who has been skipping school so he can take care of his sick mom who has been out on another drinking binge.
- There is the city code enforcement officer, placing a condemned sign on yet another old, delapitated building.
- There are a few people, a faithful remnant, praying and hoping for better days ahead.
- Then there is a guy who calls himself a, "Church Planter,"trying to get a handle on all of this for the purpose of infusing a message of hope and peace.
- And the triune God--Father, Son, Holy Spirit--in the middle of all of this, stirring up new vision and new hope.
Who are the people in your neighborhood?
