Where's Vinnie?

Where's Vinnie? Evidently no one asked! Did his neighbors not notice? Did his creditors go twelve months without collecting on his debts? Did the newspaper boy wonder why there were 365 newspapers on his front stoop? Did his mailman not get curious that one year's worth of mail was in his mailbox? Did his family not show concern over his absence at Christmas, Thanksgiving and other holidays? Did his church family not wonder if he had fallen away? Apparently, no.
The news says 70 year old Vincenzo Ricardo, "Vinnie" was found dead in his chair with the television still on. Autopsy said he'd been dead for an entire year!! They found him because the bitter cold had caused his pipes to freeze and break. As a social worker, I was appalled at this. As a Christian, I was ashamed. How could he have fallen through the cracks? The news said he had family who lived nearby, he worshipped at a nearby church, he had a caregiver who had gotten angry with him and quit. He lived in New York where there has been bitter cold and freezing weather and no one thought to check on him?(Did I mention he was 70 years old?) And . . .he was blind and frequently wandered into the street. Are you kidding?
This story really bothers me, because I know that Vinnie was not the only "invisible" person in our world. Everyday we sit by, walk next to, stand in line near, work with, invisible people and we say nothing. We know nothing about them and nothing about their salvation. We don't know if they have a broken heart or a broken spirit. We don't know if they are physically or spiritually ill. We don't know if they are hiding from or searching for the truth We don't know and most of us make little effort to find out. I heard a statistic in a workshop that said our society has become such a society of independence and mobility that over 80% of Americans do not know the names of their neighbors. There was a time when we all depended on each other. Forty years ago, neighbors would have checked on Vinnie, his family would have called, his minister would have knocked on his door. Have we become a nation of uncaring citizens? Do we care more about saving the spotted owl or the effects of global warming than we do about our neighbors?
I am afraid we have forgotten the value of a soul. We no longer look at lost souls and see them as future saved souls, in fact, we no longer make eye contact at all. Isn't that a sad commentary on us? Perhaps it is time we wake up and pay attention. We need to devote as much intellectual, relational and emotional energy to the souls around us as we do to Superbowl scores and Nascar races and presidential campaigns. God paid such an enormous price for souls, ours and others. They were the focus of His attention, the motive for His creation, the cause of His sacrifice. They are valuable to Him and should be to us.
So, where's Vinnie? I don't know. But, I know where my neighbor is. I know where to find my boss. I know when someone is not in worship. I know when a space is vacant at the family table. And I am convinced God wants us to know them so we can bring them to know Him.

Neva
For God so loved the world . . .