Dear Friends,
I am old enough to remember some of the lyrics for Joan Osborne’s 1995 hit, One of Us.
What if God was one of us
Just a stranger on the bus?
If God had a name
What would it be?
What would you ask if you
had just one question?
What if God was one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home.
The Gospel faith of Christians answers that question with the revelation of Jesus, God and human. Paul preaches that Jesus is indeed like us in all things, save sin. Our artists and poets, theologians and preachers, and, yes, songwriters and singers, keep this mystery alive for us.
What if God is the stranger on the bus? During my late twenties, into my thirties, I was a grad student and rode the bus daily. I saw the kindness of strangers. I witnessed the fidelity of commuters, the patience of parents, the loneliness of those who reached out for conversation. I heard drivers use names of regulars and cheerfully comment on weather and traffic. I watched other passengers offer a seat to an elder or a person with physical challenges. I saw fellow travelers progress through illness and aging.
I was a seminary student on my way to class. I learned from other passengers that the heart of Jesus beats on the bus. I learned to listen graciously to a talkative old man. I watched a kind woman help to calm a young man in distress. With two other passengers, I attended a funeral of a woman who was a regular on the Lake Avenue route. Each day we commuted, Jesus was on that bus. We travelers witnessed and received and shared his merciful attention. He rode with us and there were days when we were not really strangers.
~ Susan Schantz, SSJ
