Many people ponder "What would Jesus do?"  A couple years back I heard of the "What Would Jesus Drive?" campaign (the organizers suggested that SUV's would not be Christ's first choice).  

But in this age of growing awareness about global warming, and for those of us living in or near any urban area with public transit, should we also ask whether our faith leads us to get on the bus?

Here at MCC we've been riding the bus a lot more lately.  Partly this is out of concern for cutting carbon emissions.  But, as MCC staffer Susan Wenger shared in a brown bag lunch yesterday, concern for the environment is only the tip of the iceberg. 

It's a social justice issue.

Susan noted that many of the people who ride the bus depend on it to get to work. She noted one study that estimates to own a car, pay insurance, maintenance, gas and taxes a person needs to make $10 an hour (current minimum wage is $5.15 and scheduled to rise to $7.25 in the next two years).  In this country where many, including myself, grew up thinking of a driver's license as a right of passage for 16 year-olds and regular access to a car as perfectly normal, this challenges us to new awareness. 

Likewise, persons with vision difficulties or physical limitations that prevent driving also depend on public transportation for mobility and independence.

Susan shared that in the Lancaster area, due to recent federal funding cuts, bus service is in great danger of being cut by as much as 30%.  As a result, it endangers people's ability to work and get to medical care.

It's a People Thing

We often hear pastors talk about how Jesus carried out his ministry among the people whereever they were.  Susan noted that riding the bus often means you meet people you wouldn't otherwise meet.  From my own experiences riding local buses and a lot of Greyhound, I can say that I have a much greater awareness of the society that we live in than I otherwise would - the gift of numerous stories given and conversations overheard (we live in the era of cellphones) that provided windows into parts of our society where I have not lived. 

Walking into the crowd waiting at bus station this morning and knowing that this was likely the most ethnically, economically and ability diverse group I would be part of that day, I wondered whether the bus station was a closer image of what Jesus would want the church to be than the picture we often encounter on Sunday mornings (the most segregated time in our society.)  If we, as Christians, are to be little Christs, then riding the bus may well be a step in the right direction.

It's Good for You Too

From a self-care perspective, riding the bus also has a lot of positives.  Susan noted the following benefits, to which I'll add my own two cents:

• More Exercise/Fresh Air:  Even if you sit while you ride, you get to walk to the bus stop.  As someone who sits at a desk most of the day, even these few minutes of movement and being outside, rain or shine, are energizing.
• More time for prayer, reading, journaling:  I know my own rhythm of reading about the world, journaling about my life and conversing with God about both is much healthier when I'm riding public transit on a regular basis.
• Less stress:  Growing up outside a small town in Virginia, I used to think I would never live in a city.  Every time I visited one after I started driving I was always on edge.  Luckily, I realized it wasn't the city that set me on edge but the stop and go traffic, and the collective stress of people all wanting to be somewhere else.  Now, after living in a number of big cities, I've revised my promise to myself - I'll never live in the exurbs and have to drive to work every day in an urban area.
• Valuable Life Skill:  Big city mass transit systems can be daunting if you're not used the rhythm of the whole thing.  The more experience you have, even on smaller urban systems, the more second nature it is for you.  Especially if you're younger, mass transit can increase your independence and your adaptability to new places. 
• Costs less:  Since we usually think of the cost of driving as being the cost of gas, this one may not be immediately apparent.  But Susan pointed out that if you calculate not only gas, but insurance and wear and tear, the 24 mile round-trip from Lancaster to Akron would cost $11.52, compared to about $4 for the bus.

So, if it's an option where you live, try taking the bus.  The more people that ride, the less bus service will depend on funding decisions made in Washington or the state capital.  And that's good for everyone, especially those who depend on the bus to get them to work, school or medical appointments. 

Resources

Check out the following if you want to:

• Get involved with other MCC Care for Creation Initiatives or other Social Justice Advocacy opportunities
• Learn more about mass transit options in your area through this clickable map.  You can also learn more general facts about the benefits of public transit.
• Learn more about the Lancaster County transit system (for those of you that live nearby) and the ongoing Share the Ride Challenge that promotes bus riding and carpooling.

Last week, as quiet snow fell outside, I spoke at Wednesday morning chapel for Christopher Dock High School in Kulpsville, PA.  I shared with them about the reality of immigration in our country today – between 10-12 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States, many of them fearful of discovery.  I also shared that Christ, in teaching us how we are called to love our neighbor (Luke 10:25-29) often defines neighbor in a way that stands our usual definition on it’s head.  For Christ, loving our neighbor meant loving our enemy (Matthew 5:43-45) and loving the stranger in our midst (Leviticus 19:33-34). 

As disciples of Christ, and as citizens of the United States, recent events should be encouraging lively discussions among us on how we are called to love our neighbor, the recent immigrant.  In the past seven days, national news stories included:

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids last week that detained suspected undocumented parents at workplaces in Massachusetts and stranded their children at daycare facilities or with neighbors.  As is often the case, many of the children are U.S. Citizens, now facing the choice between separation from their parents and separation from the land of their birth.
• President Bush promising Mexican President Felipe Calderon that he would push for passage of immigration reform through Congress.  President Bush also noted that positive relations with Latin American neighbors hinge on immigration reform.  
• The start of a civil trial in Scranton, PA over whether the town of Hazleton, PA can enact it’s own laws to prevent undocumented immigrants from living or working in the town.  

As we witness each of these events unfold, we need to ask ourselves how God calls us to witness to the power of loving our neighbor as ourselves.  

One method of witness is to talk and pray about it in our congregations – a recently published MCC resource “Loving Strangers As Ourselves” provides biblical reflections and discussion questions to get such conversations started.  If getting a conversation started seems controversial, looking at the Safe Space Dialogue suggestions from the MCC Washington Office may give ideas of how to structure a “deepening dialogue” rather than a “divisive debate.”

Another method is to learn more about the connection of immigration to globalization.  There are also numerous resources available through the MCC US immigration desk.

Some may feel called to raise their voice or act for just immigration reform at a national and local level.  The most recent immigration action alert from the MCC Washington Office notes that reform should

1) allow immigrants to legally choose between temporary work and permanent residence in the U.S.,

2) ensure immigrants receive fair compensation and equal benefits and

3) enable immigrants to reunite with their families.

Likewise, at a local level, congregations can provide necessary support to families if raids occur in the area and can be a powerful voice in town council halls for welcoming rather than alienating the “stranger” among us [read the recent “welcoming” statement by the Lancaster, PA city council – scroll down two thirds of the document ]. 

Finally, for those of us who are long-term immigrants (our ancestors arrived several generations ago) it is important to remember, as Leviticus says, we were once strangers ourselves.

Like snow falling softly, years and generations passing can make it easy for us to forget this part of our history.  Understanding how our own ancestors arrival took place under much more open laws (until 1862 there was no federal regulation of immigration) and also how our arrival impacted those already here (particularly Native Americans) are important steps in discerning our call in this time and in this place to love the stranger among us.  

In 1998 I spent a month studying the Colombian conflict in Bogota with Peter and Paul Stuckey of the Colombian Mennonite Church and ten other North Americans and Colombians.  One of the first biblical reflections Peter shared with the group was on Esther 4:14 – “Who knows, but that you may have come to royal position for just such a time as this,” Mordechai challenges Queen Esther.  

Peter’s challenge to us was that as North Americans, we could speak to our governments, to our churches, to our friends in ways which the campesinos of Colombia, who were suffering the worst effects of the civil war would never have a chance to speak.  

Over that month I learned about actions my government was taking and saw first hand what effects those actions had.  

“Who knows . . . but for such a time as this . . .” 

It is still a relevant question for my life eight years later, in relation to Colombia and in relation to anti-racism, immigration and promoting alternatives to violence.  Eight years after seeing the negative impact that comes from my government narrowing its response to a complex conflict to more weapons and more fumigation, campesinos in rural Colombia are still suffering the worst effects [hear a podcast on a recent Justapaz report outlining human suffering of the conflict].   

Six decades after Colombia’s conflict began, we are still called to respond in solidarity with Mennonite and other evangelical churches in Colombia that seek a path to peace every day, often at great cost.  In the coming months, I encourage you to respond through the Days of Prayer and Action on May 20 and 21.   

Pray for Colombia, for her people and for her government.  Pray for Members of the U.S. Congress as they decide whether to continue sending military aid that further fuels the conflict.  Prayer for God to make plain our calling as followers of Christ, to show us how to respond from our position, as Mennonites, as North Americans.   

Then Act in Solidarity.  Read about the effects of the conflict on farmers and workers.  Learn what others are suggesting as a blueprint for a new U.S. policy toward Colombia.  Educate others and share your opinions with members of Congress.  Encourage others to take part in the days of Prayer and Action.