As chaplain Kelly Burke stood in the streets of Baltimore, one verse kept coming to his mind—the shortest one in the Bible: Jesus wept (John 11:35).
“We could see drug deals on the street,” Burke said. “We could see the poverty on the street. We could see the heroin addicts on the street. We could see the crippled and the lame. But we could also see some of the hatred that was on the street, some of the division. It just breaks your heart.”
Burke and 21 other crisis-trained Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains went to Baltimore last week at the invitation of a local church, and at the direction of Franklin Graham, in response to the rioting that occurred after a man died in police custody.
“That was just on top of the crises that are part of inner city life in general,” Burke said. “The individual lives and what they are going through on a daily basis—it’s just off the charts up there.”
‘He Just Feels So Alone’
One individual who stands out in Burke’s mind is a man named Don.
Don* was walking by when a local church asked the chaplains to share some encouraging words into the church’s microphone. Burke shared the Gospel and the truth that God is with us, even in the most difficult times.
“A gentleman was walking by, and I noticed he stopped,” Burke said. “He’s looking, and then he’s turning completely around. Then I see one tear, and then he just starts weeping. I went over and hugged him. He just cried and cried.
“Even here in this city of lots of people, he just feels so alone.”
Don shared that he believes in God, but he struggles with alcohol and has had a hard life. He thought maybe God didn’t love him, since life had been so difficult.
“We hugged, we prayed and he cried for a while,” Burke said. “He’s just a sweet man, just has a great heart.”
Burke told him that God, in fact, does love him very much. He encouraged him to get plugged in to Baltimore’s Christian community for the sake of finding help, friendship and accountability with his alcohol addiction. When they parted ways, the man was meeting with a pastor of a nearby church.
God is There
Don is one of hundreds of residents the chaplains have prayed with since they arrived in Baltimore on April 28—one of many people searching for hope in a rough and often hopeless place.
“God is there,” Burke has told one person after another. “God is right there and they don’t see it.
“The have-nots don’t see Him because they can’t see past what they don’t have. And the haves—some of them don’t see it because their confidence is in themselves and what they have.”
That Wasn’t Rain
In the midst of some of Baltimore’s roughest neighborhoods, the chaplains have offered emotional and spiritual care to the haves and the have-nots; blacks and whites; police and protestors.
Many have welcomed them with open arms; others have not.
On Saturday, for instance, Burke and fellow chaplain Al New were near some protests at city hall with a local bishop and a teenager from a nearby church. As the four of them were talking, they felt something wet hit their heads and shoulders.
“All of a sudden we were like, ‘Is that rain?'” Burke said. “And then we see it. And then the smell hit you. And you know what it is.”
Someone had intentionally doused their group with feces. All they had done since they arrived in the area was talk with passersby and pray with a few people who were open to it.
“The bishop just kind of said, ‘The devil ain’t happy with us being here.’ We all just kind of said, ‘Blessed are you when you’re persecuted for My Name,'” Burke said, paraphrasing Matthew 5:10-11.
“They didn’t know us. They were throwing it on us because we represent Jesus Christ. And a lot of that crowd didn’t want to hear that, didn’t want us there.”
“I’m just so glad that God reached into my life,” Burke continued, “and that I’m the guy that’s getting thrown on, and not the guy that’s throwing it. My prayer covering is the only thing that kept me from having a different response during my other covering!”
Choosing Life
Burke’s laughter was evidence that the incident didn’t shake him. The chaplains went on with their plans, and they continue to minister in Baltimore this week, offering light in darkness and life over death.
“The chaplains go that we can just hopefully remind people … that He is right there in front of them,” Burke said. “But they have to choose. Today I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Therefore choose life (Deuteronomy 19). You have to choose life.”
*Name has been changed for privacy.
