Riding on the L-Train
I flew to Chicago two weekends back for my sister's college graduation from North Park University. Though I've flown often (a few times every year it seems) I was struck by the sheer miracle of observing people in the city, on the train, in planes and airports, all on their cell phones.
What makes that a "miracle?" Certainly not the underlying physics or technology; we understand those well enough to make the wireless work. Not the economics that put wireless tools in so many hands, which I might also characterize as miraculous but was not what catalyzed my observation. Imagine me in O'Hare International, hundreds of miles from home, with a cellphone clipped to my ear*. That I could be so free to travel, work, be in a new place, and yet so thoroughly woven into the fabric of our world, able to talk to anyone and access huge amounts of information, seems worthy of being named a miracle.
Our grandparents, never mind our ancestors, could not have imagined the possibilities we have. I'd bet that given the choice they would do everything they could to join our world, to choose with so much freedom which paths they would follow (or create!).
During the weekend Mom and I had a conversation about this, and she commented about the insensitivity with which some people use their wireless miracles. It certainly happens. But the way in which we are increasingly available to each other, able to work together and quickly collaborate, that makes the world seem to move faster and faster, is the same dynamic that has given me in my 24 years more time and opportunity to pursue non-professional interests (like this) than my grandparents had in their whole lives. Like a miracle.
"So," you ask, "where is the Jesus in all of this?"
The people at North Park immerse themselves in the quest for "lives of significance." Lives that are visible signs of something larger than the individual's heartbeat. It's a Christian school of the Swedish Covenant Church, and though "lives of significance" is a very broad phrase I recognize something of Christ's call in it.
The modern world has given Christ's disciples millions of helpful miracles. If we choose, we might by their use bring the Realm of Love inches closer to Being. The possibilities tantalize me; what wonderful thing will we do next? How can I be a part of it? -h
*How long until we implant them under our skin? Oakley already makes sunglasses with built-in mp3 audio; how long until glasses with video phone?! Wowie!
What makes that a "miracle?" Certainly not the underlying physics or technology; we understand those well enough to make the wireless work. Not the economics that put wireless tools in so many hands, which I might also characterize as miraculous but was not what catalyzed my observation. Imagine me in O'Hare International, hundreds of miles from home, with a cellphone clipped to my ear*. That I could be so free to travel, work, be in a new place, and yet so thoroughly woven into the fabric of our world, able to talk to anyone and access huge amounts of information, seems worthy of being named a miracle.
Our grandparents, never mind our ancestors, could not have imagined the possibilities we have. I'd bet that given the choice they would do everything they could to join our world, to choose with so much freedom which paths they would follow (or create!).
During the weekend Mom and I had a conversation about this, and she commented about the insensitivity with which some people use their wireless miracles. It certainly happens. But the way in which we are increasingly available to each other, able to work together and quickly collaborate, that makes the world seem to move faster and faster, is the same dynamic that has given me in my 24 years more time and opportunity to pursue non-professional interests (like this) than my grandparents had in their whole lives. Like a miracle.
"So," you ask, "where is the Jesus in all of this?"
The people at North Park immerse themselves in the quest for "lives of significance." Lives that are visible signs of something larger than the individual's heartbeat. It's a Christian school of the Swedish Covenant Church, and though "lives of significance" is a very broad phrase I recognize something of Christ's call in it.
The modern world has given Christ's disciples millions of helpful miracles. If we choose, we might by their use bring the Realm of Love inches closer to Being. The possibilities tantalize me; what wonderful thing will we do next? How can I be a part of it? -h
*How long until we implant them under our skin? Oakley already makes sunglasses with built-in mp3 audio; how long until glasses with video phone?! Wowie!
Riding on the L-Train posted by St. Peter's UCC at Tuesday, May 30, 2006
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