I met Key once this summer in front of our Community Dinner Church. They were sitting, crumpled over, in a wheelchair, sheltering from the sun with a broken umbrella. I asked if they wanted some water and a meal. Key and I spoke about how they were doing. I was concerned about their wellbeing and they were thankful for the food, water, and conversation. Last night, Key was gingerly walking up the stairs to the dinner church with the aid of two canes. I asked if they needed help and asked how long they had been out of the wheelchair. Key shared how liberating it was to be out of the chair and how they were getting stronger, able to manage the stairs without my help. After dinner, as Key was leaving, hunched over their two canes, they thanked me for the meal and for remembering them. “Thanks for remembering me. It really means a lot. It made me feel seen. A lot of times I feel invisible.” I told Key that God sees them and that I was glad to reconnect. When we were done chatting, Key stepped off the curb unaware that the city bus was coming towards them. I stood next to Key and let them know that there was a bus coming. The bus stopped and then with what I can only describe as road rage, lurched toward us, forcing me to grab Key and set them back on the curb. I yelled an expletive that rhymes with mother trucker and Key smiled big from ear to ear. I apologized for my potty mouth and told Key how every week the bus almost hits someone. Last week it was another friend of mine trying to cross the street in his wheelchair.

My time with Key reminds me that Jesus makes the invisible God visible. Standing with Key bears witness to a God that doesn’t leave or forsake us. A God that sees when we can’t. Through his teaching, preaching, and healing, Jesus embodies and incarnates the mystery of God. Hosting dinner with the Christ story every week continues to welcome those of us that feel unseen, unknown, and unheard into the family of God, restoring our humanity through divine fellowship around the table. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him “(Colossians 1:15-16).”

Michael Cox