Jesus Was Homeless 
Jimmy McCarty 


Jesus was homeless.

Did you know that? It's true. He said he had no place to sleep at night. He said even the birds have places to rest, but he didn't. And on top of that, he told people to consider the implications of that before they started following him.
I am a Christian. This, supposedly, makes me a "Jesus follower." 
I also work at a homeless shelter near Los Angeles, CA. I talk with multiple people who are homeless every day I'm at work.
I also attend Normandie Church of Christ. The church has a thriving ministry to the homeless of Skid Row. Every Sunday I find myself worshiping God next to several homeless people. It is a beautiful thing.
Unfortunately, at many churches this is not the case. The homeless are not welcome or are made to feel so uncomfortable that they never show up. I have heard more stories than I can count, from the homeless I serve, of churches shunning the homeless.
It has got to be one of the most hypocritical things in the world to worship a God who chose to be a homeless man while creating an environment that keeps the homeless away. Imagine, creating a culture so removed from the poor that Jesus wouldn't be welcomed.
Is it even Jesus we worship on Sundays? Or is it some "Jesus" we have created in our image? Is it a Jesus that would have a fish on his car or a Jesus that couldn't even afford a car? Is it a Jesus that would be invited to charity golf tournaments or a recipient of that charity who wouldn't even be allowed inside the club? Is it a Jesus who sells goods at the church building to build an even bigger building or a Jesus who would chase everyone selling stuff out and reprimand them as "thieves" for stealing from the poor?
I once was told by someone that Jesus was rich because the soldiers at the foot of the cross were fighting over his robe and that they wouldn't do so unless it was worth something. Is there any greater example of shaping Jesus in our own image? This person held a "wealth and health" "God wants all Christians to be rich as a witness to the world" theology and stretched the biblical story to fit that theology. When I asked about Mother Teresa I was told she didn't have enough faith and that's why God didn't bless her with material riches. I was told that God wouldn't call her to the poverty she shared with those she ministered to because that's not what God is about.
I'm sorry, but this is wrong and a very destructive theology. The biblical witness is of a God who stands on the side of the poor and oppressed. It is the story of a God who frees slaves, humbles the proud and lifts up the humble and touches lepers. It is the story of a God who was born to a pregnant, unmarried teenager, grew up in the house of a laborer and hung out with those society ignored.
Jesus was homeless. Is yours?