“The Song of Jethro” - Notes from the Chaplain Field

One of the greatest things I enjoy about being a chaplain is the opportunity it allows for spiritual connection with people who might never darken (or feel welcomed into) the doors of a traditional church. Technically my role as a chaplain is to tend to their spiritual needs, but just as often God works through those individuals to minister to me in a way that is humbling and transformative. One such experience occurred when I encountered the holy through a man named Jethro.

Jethro is one of our unhoused neighbors who frequents the “drag” bordering the main UT campus. To say that Jethro is rough-looking is an understatement. As someone who has lived on the streets for years due largely to alcoholism, his physical appearance is one that might tend to cause most housed individuals walking the drag to avert their eyes or even cross the street to avoid acknowledging his existence.

I first encountered Jethro recently during one of my monthly ride-outs accompanying our UTPD officers on the weekend night shift. Late on this Saturday evening, I was walking the drag with two officers who struck up a conversation with Jethro. I mostly listened, but learned a lot from that brief conversation. It was clear that Jethro and the officers knew each other well, engaging in the friendly banter of neighbors who have great familiarity with one another. The officers even gently reminded him to try and stay away from the alcohol. As we walked away, Jethro made a point of saying, “Thanks for all you do, Chaplain.” I was a little caught off guard by the comment, since I hadn’t actually done anything for Jethro. As I turned to thank him back, I looked into his eyes and saw something I couldn’t quite pinpoint at that moment that filled me with a sense of awe and humility.

Later that evening one of the officers I was accompanying shared a story about Jethro that helped me better understand their relationship with him. During another weekend night in which this officer was patrolling the drag, Jethro had flagged him down to report that there was a young lady lying beside a dumpster behind a building and she seemed to be in trouble. “I don’t think she’s one of us (residents of the streets),” he had reported.

Sure enough, when the officers investigated, they discovered that the young lady in question was a 19-year-old student who had been out partying with some so-called “friends.” When she became so intoxicated that she passed out, her “friends,” who wanted to continue partying, simply laid her down by the dumpster and left. Luckily, due to the actions of Jethro, the officers were able to get aid to the young lady before any more serious harm came to her.

My first thought when hearing that story was to think about what a living example this was of the parable of the Good Samaritan. In addition to this young lady’s so-called “friends” who had abandoned her in such a manner, how many other people had observed her lying next to that dumpster and done nothing, preferring to avert their eyes as they might have when encountering Jethro on the streets? Indeed, it is very likely that the young lady herself might have averted her eyes had she encountered Jethro on the street when she was sober. She was fortunate that he did not avert his eyes when she was in trouble.

It was in thinking about that story that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the realization of what I had seen when I exchanged glances with Jethro. I had, quite simply, seen the face of God—the fulfillment of the scriptures that remind us again and again that the holy is encountered through our interactions with “the least of these.” On that night, Jethro ministered to me rather than vice versa.

CODA

About a week after I met Jethro, he went on a drinking binge that led to a violent episode and his arrest for attempting to assault some other unhoused neighbors on the streets with a weapon. Because I knew Jethro’s story, I also understood the emotional and spiritual toll behind one officer’s resigned statement, “We had to arrest Jethro last night.” Being an officer in relationship with those living with challenges can be a spiritual and emotional roller coaster. But the point is that they are in relationship. Once Jethro is released from jail, I have no doubt the same officers who walked beside me will engage him in friendly banter again and gently remind him to try and stay away from the alcohol. On another night they may even have to arrest him again. In both moments there will be opportunities to encounter the holy, as long as we are willing to see and do not avert our eyes.

Written by Dr. Melissa Biegert, Chaplain, UTPD
Dr. Biegert is a certified candidate for ordination as a deacon and a part-time local pastor to the UTPD chaplaincy.