If you show special attention to the one wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the one who is poor, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
- James 2:3-5
"No, no, the 'B' button is for the basement, 'G' is for ground floor" I lectured sternly.
He laughed generously at himself, and tried again, doubled over in laughter this time. The elevator stopped at the fourth floor where the medical offices are located. An elderly lady cautiously stepped in accompanied by a younger lady - presumably her daughter - we wiggled over to make room. They spoke rapidly in Mandarin with a look of concern etched across their anxious faces.
My client's eyes widened, making space for the newcomer, he welcomed the elderly lady, "hi!", gesturing invitingly with his hand clenching and unfolding repetitively. She nodded her head in response. Looking for reassurance he repeated himself, "Hi!" She nodded again but this time with a responsive smile. My client continued to engage in small-talk in the only way he knows how, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" The elderly lady, who clearly couldn't speak a word of English, responded in kind, nodding her head affectionately, laughter spilling out and smiling ever more brightly with each extended greeting. The elevator doors slid open and light flooded out.
The elderly Chinese lady stepped out side-by-side with my client while I pushed his wheelchair shuffling behind, observing two strangers who had nothing in common but their broken English and the shared experience of being ignored by their disability, crossing the lines of communication into the communion of indiscriminate love.
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