Angel(s) dig(s) coffee.

Hebrews 13:1-2
Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love.
Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed.
Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!
-the Message

If there is a gift that keeps on giving - in my world as a recipient - it is coffee! If you know me then you know my feelings for coffee. I mean good coffee. Not some version of it that is dispensed with disrespect at each and every mega-gas station out there. Coffee that sits in a pot on an electric plated warmer for more than two minutes is no longer coffee. It is simply burnt brown water.

Yes, it's true, I am a bitch about coffee. I must have it ground then brewed within minutes of each other. It must be strong. It must be in a heavy mug and not some mug that feels like the handle is gonna snap off every time you pick it up. Dark roasted coffee that will not only warm the walls of a thick ceramic cup but it shouts out loud in protest to the evils of Styrofoam(unless I'm in a hurry - of course).

Now mind you there are folks that know I am a strong supporter of fair-trade coffees. I support the shops that support the worker. The real worker. After all, the building of the Church relied heavily on the heart of the blue-collar worker. And that would be both male and female in case your confused. That's another story.

So, do I have feelings against the "Corpo" world of coffee? (My friend Ben uses this word-slash-It's like the middle finger-adjective, "Corpo", extensively. ) My answer: To an extent. I don't hate places like, oh let's say, Starbuck's for example. I just don't go there anymore. For I too walked in darkness once before. Let's say I've been saved and I have seen the light just for the sake of rattling off another paragraph and for the right to remain, well, cheesey.

Christmas was fruitful this year as I received several pounds of whole bean coffee from three different providers. I could get all in to which one is best and which one shall remain as a last resort. But for now, let's just say that there's something about that coffee at Scribbles Coffee Co. in downtown Kent that warms my heart and my belly.

However, one pound of coffee that I received from my brother had a gift card attached to it and it was from Starbuck's. Hmmm... It felt like a dilemma had been strapped to the bag of beans instead of a gift card. Well, that's where my bitchiness needs to just sit down and say, "thanks" as I enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor as thier gift to me!

Here's where you gotta really pay attention. Something very peculiar and divinely sweet took place between December 29 and New Year's Day. It is so very simple that it's complexities have to involve the Lord. Mother Teresa would have said, "He meets us in some of the most distressing disguises you know." And I would agree because I did not realize how this added up until just a few days after it happened.

My Dad's birthday falls on the 29th of December so my wife, myself and our four children headed to Cleveland to be a part of my Dad's birthday festivities. We decided to spend time that day with my side of the family instead of Christmas Day. So there were some gift exchanges going on between all of us that extended from Christmas Day. So this is where I received the several pounds of coffee, Starbuck's gift card and a beautiful statue of an angel.

The statue is just gorgeous. My mom gave it to me. She said she saw it and it made her think of me and she thought it looked like me and so she bought it for me for Christmas. Now if you're familiar with Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man(photo above) then you'll know this statue is inspired by just that. It rests upon my desk next to me as I write this.

So I came back home to Kent with coffee related things and a sweet statue.

Then on New Year's Eve we decided to take our kids to see a family movie at the local theater. (Free popcorn on Mondays!) I just happened to grab that Starbuck's gift card and bring it with us. As we pulled up to park I noticed a homeless man standing outside of the theater. I know he is homeless because we have met before... and that was over a cup of coffee and a danish roll outside of Starbuck's where he could not go in because he needed to be a paying customer and so I bought him a cup and simply allowed him to be just that. I instantly remembered how much he loves coffee too and so as I approached him from across the parking lot I reached for my Starbuck's gift card and I went right to him and said this is for you.

He just looked at me slightly stunned and said thank you. I told him I didn't know how much was on the card as my brother never told me. I told him there's gotta be at least ten bucks on it. I just looked him in the eyes, grabbed his cold calloused hands and I said, "You're welcome". He just kept saying thanks and expressed his gratitude a half dozen times more as we went into the theater. When we came out he was not around.

My hopes were for the Starbuck's gift card to allow this homeless man to be a customer and then that in turn would buy him some time (in the Corpo world) in order to stay warm. Perhaps you're thinking why not get him to a shelter. Well, that is not always a desire of the homeless especially if they've been surrounded by rejection for so long. The outcast feels much more at home when they are left alone. This is not what God wants. So we, O Church, must find ways to interfere with the enemy's plans as ambassadors of Christ. Giving stuff away for free, out of love, especially large cups of joe, always messes with the devil.

So maybe you're saying that's nice or that's cool. Dear reader it gets a little better.

The following day, New Year's Day, I got up early and jumped in my minivan and began to head to Ravenna to pick up donated bakery items from a grocery store that I get to save from their fatal doom of ending up in dumpsters and then distribute them to three shelters and to other friends in need.

And that's when it happened.

I stopped at a light next to Starbuck's - and guess who walked out of Starbuck's? That's right!! My homeless friend. He had a tray full of coffees and a mid-size carrying bag full of muffins and tasty breads!!! "Holy crap!", I said in my mind, "How much was on that gift card!?!?"

I unrolled my window and said hello. He saw me and shouted thank you with a huge grin as he hoisted up his gatherings above his head like it was a grand prize! I said we gotta do coffee again some time soon and reminded him that God was truly watching over us. He turned and said he owed me one and would like to get me dinner some time. I joyfully accepted his invitation and told him that I would hold him to it.

So I headed off to the east on the snow covered Route 59 and he ventured west by foot carrying the delights and fruits of his morning hunt. There was the exchange of just things that brought us closer. Some coffee, hellos, a thank you and a you're welcome set us up for another encounter some day soon.

Ooops!! Did I fail to mention his name to you? My apologies. For this homeless man's name shall make this story even more than just a story but a treasured encounter with my King.

He told me his name is: Angel.

A statue of an angel, a Starbuck's gift card and a homeless Angel that digs coffee.

My beloved friends - God is very near to us.