| For those who pay attention to such things, today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Tradition has it that during this period between Easter and Pentacost, Jesus appeared to his faithful followers and shored up their faith, promising the Gifts of the Spirit to those who remained true, and charging them to continue his ministry to bring hope to the oppressed, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, and peace and forgiveness to all who would accept it.
It also happens to be the week immediately preceding Passover - which in some Jewish households is a time of purification in which chametz is removed from the house (chametz is any product made with grain and yeast - and it can be burned, sold, or donated to the hungry). Passover and Easter often coincide and are always somewhat near each other in our calendar, but it is somewhat moving to me to note that this purification for Passover is beginning on what Christians sometimes refer to as "The Sunday of the Sheep".
Big fat hairy deal. This is a site about progressive politics, not faith. And what does all this have to do with Hackensack. Indulge me for a circuitous route.
The Lectionary reading for the day says, in part: 2:19 For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly.
2:20 If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval.
2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
2:22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
2:23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
Well, I'm about to fall well short of the standard set by Jesus. I get more than a little upset when I find someone who is trying to take care of what Christians often refer to as "the least of these" - and gets a big wooden shaft planted up their keester by some dolt of a public official. "Those to whom much is given, much is required" - and I was given this small little platform in Jersey's blogosphere. And I'm swinging for the fence here.
That brings us to Robin Reilly. Mike Kelly has the full story, but the short version is that Robin wanted to help the homeless people she saw on the streets of Hackensack - so she did something about it. She did what the overwhelmed governmental services cannot do and what the private sector sees no profit in doing. She took in homeless people right off the street, just as they were, and she gave them a place to call home - even if it was only for a few hours. In the process, she broke a few laws - health codes, business codes, codes, codes, codes.
Yes, she broke several laws. Yes, I'm generally a stickler for people paying the price for breaking laws, even if they do so for religious reasons. But here is a case when enforcing the rules only spreads needless pain. Here is a case where someone with a few extra brain cells orbiting their pre-frontal cortex should lean over to the mayor and say, "Look, exactly what THE FUCK is the problem here? Could you please pull your head out of whoever's ass it is jammed in this week and get an waver passed?"
The person who needs to be saying that is YOU - every single person who reads this. The Mayor of Hackensack is Jorge Meneses. You can call the City of Hackensack at 201-646-3980 and ask that the mayor personally address this issue. I don't care if you live in Atlantic City. Call. Tell Hackensack that you are ashamed that anyone in New Jersey would stand in the way of helping the people on which everyone else has turned their back. Tell the mayor if he doesn't do something - and quick - you'll donate money to anyone who challenges him (even if it's Tom Kean, Jr.).
That's all it takes. A simple waiver that says for this one case, we are going to look the other way. Good God, if she had donated enough money to the county party, she never would have been in this position. Instead, she has spent her money on taking care of the people the rest of us just don't want to see. Credit in heaven is fine, but there's still a lot of work left to do on this side of the grave.
Yes, this story has taken on more than a little special meaning because of the timing, and I know that government is supposed to be blind to religion. Fine. What time is the right time for the government to step in and tell someone, "Look, you can't help the people we throw out on the street because you aren't actually selling furniture"?
If you don't have an answer, call 201-646-3980 and ask the Mayor to waive code enforcement on Robin Reilly's furniture boutique. It's going to take a few minutes, but you'll feel better about the world - and your spot in it - if you do.
Just call. |
