FROM THE PASTOR
Kindness and Calm in the Midst of Uncertainty
Today’s texts from the prophet Jeremiah, the Psalms, and St. Matthew’s Gospel offer us conflict, chaos, anger and violence, difficult realities which may reflect the way in which we experience our society today, but 180 degrees from where my mind is at the beginning of this week.
This past Friday Judy and I had tickets for a matinee performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Center and plans for an early dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Petterino’s, at Dearborn and Randolph. It certainly made sense to take CTA. The Kennedy is a zoo because of construction, parking in the Grant Park garage is expensive, and public transportation is “greener” than taking our own car. However, we hadn’t been on the CTA since the pandemic began and news reports about current problems on the system gave us a moment’s pause.
What we experienced was calm and kindness. On the Addison bus heading to the Blue Line, we saw passengers spontaneously jump out of their seats and raise and lock the seat bottoms in place so that there would be room for the passenger boarding in a motorized wheelchair. Returning home during rush hour we got on a very crowded Blue Line car – and I think we were the oldest people in the car.
Judy was using a cane as she will when concerned about distance or uneven ground/sidewalks. Immediately, a young woman sitting with luggage in her lap was up and offering Judy a seat. Her companion and seat mate was also up and insisting I take her seat. (There are advantages to having gray hair.) On our final leg we got on a west-bound Addison bus filled with Cubs fans celebrating that afternoon’s victory over the Orioles. They were enthusiastic but not rowdy. And apart from one young woman who had obviously been over-served, they formed a pleasant community around their shared experience.
Today in the Gospel we hear harsh words from Jesus, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Some weeks the news headlines and our own experience might cause us to wonder if these days bear witness to Jesus’s warning of upheaval and social dissolution. However, this week I am grateful for a day of calm and kindness in the midst of uncertainty.
It gives me hope.
Pastor John Schumacher, BCC
