I felt both stupid and delighted. I felt dumb for being surprised at the kindness of a stranger. I was delighted that this man had cracked my “don’t screw with me” facade and brought Steve back to life. Actually, he did much more than that; he summoned God to the ground.
Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that God manifests in the connection between two people. He argues that our relationship with God isn’t always top-down, with one individual praying to the heavens. Bonhoeffer said that God shows up in relationships. In this case, all God needed was a smile.
Through unexpected kindness, God can reach into the depths of who we are. For example, I pride myself on having theological, philosophical, and political ideas that stand against any form of prejudice. I believe God loves all people and that I should do the same. That’s what I believe, but how we feel and behave often differs from what we think. God can bridge that disconnect. Despite what I believe, there’s residual prejudice in my heart. I’m sometimes wary of people who don’t look like me. Hell, I’m sometimes afraid of people who look exactly like me. Prejudice can extend to anybody when protection takes priority over love. Through that man’s smile, God broke through my defenses. He shoved the ideals and beliefs in my head down into my heart.
After that, a multicultural tooth festival ensued. There are half a dozen ethnicities at any given moment on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. I smiled at all of them. Most people reacted as I had. They looked at me like I was freak, paused, and then smiled wide. To my delight, some people had no guard up at all. They warmly greeted me without hesitation. God was spilling out all over the place.
The last person I saw before heading back into my office was an elderly African American woman. I smiled at her. She returned a playful grin and said, “God bless you.” As I went inside, I whispered, “He just did.”
Read the April God on the Ground column
Read the February God on the Ground column
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