December 23, 2011 in Faith in action
The Man With No Shoes
Most people know him as the man with no shoes. He lives on the street and plays the piano. Some of us know him as Raymond, the English name he shares because most of us can’t pronounce his Chinese name. I have heard Raymond speak of Communist China, and there is something about living in an institution where he was forced to wear ill-fitting shoes that tortured his feet; but Raymond speaks to us through the piano, the instrument he learned to play by developing a mathematical system to translate the notes.
Several weeks ago Raymond joined The Welcome Church for our weekly gathering of tea at Arch Street United Methodist Church. As usual, he was barefoot and greeted us with his most gracious smile. After playing a rendition of “What Child is This?” he sat at the table to join us for tea. As if to answer the question posed by the song he had just played, Raymond lifted his head and looked over this tea table filled with others who lived on the street and he said, “You know, Jesus was born in a shelter!” Nods and “Amen” followed and once again the gospel had been proclaimed. – Rev. Violet Litte, The Welcome Church
