While the Needle Was Still Hanging Out of His Leg
On a street close to the Graffiti 2 Ministry Center in New York City, rows of heroin addicts gather in groups. They shoot up, exchange money, shout at each other, and sometimes get arrested. Some have a film of dirt on their skin. Others have prison tattoos, indicating a crime they had committed or what gang they were in.
During the pandemic, many ministries in New York City instituted “grab and go” programs – giving people food or other needed things outside so people could safely receive help and then move on. Josh Johnson with a team at Graffiti 2 instituted something else: a “stop and care” ministry. They would buy food or coffee for someone and for themselves and then eat with them outside.
Recently Josh took his son and his son’s friend (during his first day in NYC) with other volunteers on a “stop and care” time. The three of them had a thermos of coffee that they were offering to a group of people hanging out. Two of the people were off to one side using needles to shoot up. One of them, we will call him Fang, wanted coffee and actually took a cup while he was injecting the heroin. The other one – Jose – was sticking a needle in his leg, but then he also stood up to get his coffee.
Jose appreciated the coffee but was mindful of the awkwardness of the situation. As the small talk grew more serious, Jose seemed more aware and perhaps a bit ashamed. Then Jose shared with Fang and the others that he wanted to get clean. He said that he had three children and he hadn’t seen them for two years. He just wanted to see them again.
Josh’s son, Noah, a freshman in college, asked “Why don’t we pray right here?” Noah put his hand on Jose’s shoulder there on the street among a group of addicts, and prayed for Jose to walk with Christ, to get clean, to see his children again. The rest of the gang on the street got quiet.
All this time, the needle was still in Jose’s leg. Then Jose was invited to join them for a dinner down the street at Graffiti 2 and to start a new phase.
Perhaps the first step was for Jose to just pull that needle out of his leg – there's always a first step. But I was reminded of some of my own problems that aren't quite so visible. Hearing this story recently made me rethink a passage in Romans. “Christ showed his love toward us, in that while the needle was still hanging out of our leg, Christ died for us.”