He aint heavy, he's my brother ......

I was on the bus today. It was about half full. We pulled up to a bus stop and a man aged around 50 tried to get on.

He was thin, haggard and bent over and gripped onto a soft drink bottle containing orange liquid. He appeared intoxicated. He fumbled with his bus card which failed to activate.

As he searched his vagabond clothes for money he pleaded with the driver that he was in pain and needed to see his doctor.

I began to make plans to intervene.

To my left and forward in the bus a young handsome Pasifika boy aged about 19 shifted uneasily in his seat.

The driver, annoyed, shook his head and told the man to get off.

Before I could say anything, the young lad shouted out "I'll paid for him". He strode to the front of the bus and did just that.

In Genesis 4 there comes a question, perhaps the most question in the Bible: "Am I my brother's keeper?"

That young man clearly answered this question.

1st John puts it another way: "Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."

The song alluded to in the title of this post goes on ....

 If I'm laden at all, I'm laden with sadness. That everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness of love for one another.

I am not sure what happened to the man. I hope he is undergoing a carefully managed detox. But I think I can guess something of his singular story.