God is in the people with whom I share 30 minutes every day, whose stories I don’t know: He is present in every person riding the subway who stares at the wall or the floor, anywhere but at his or her fellow passengers. He is present in the man walking through subway car after car, repeating his request for food or money in a monotone, perhaps in an attempt to retain what dignity he can. God is with the woman prompted by the Spirit and a courage I do not possess to tell her captive audience that God loves them, and we don’t have to wait till Christmas to tell Christ we love him too. God is in the midst of the people gathered in Grand Central terminal to pray a rosary before their commute home. God is present every day in people I ignore because it’s just easier that way.
God is present in the United Nations, no matter how much everyone ignores Him or denies His relevance. God is present in everyone who wants to prove that we don’t rely on old-fashioned beliefs in some mystical being, but instead base our opinions and actions solely on provable fact and logic. He is in the meetings, the debates, the consultations, briefings, and conferences: in short, in every gathering of His people. God is present in every person arguing who should make a good-will gesture first, who should admit they are wrong and lay down their weapons before their adversary. God is there for every empty promise, every minute spent on words instead of actions, every twisted political maneuver.
But God is present, too, in every consultation about the best way to end extreme poverty and hunger. He is there in every conversation about treating and preventing diseases that have become the scourge of populations ill-equipped to handle them. God is in the midst of discussions of promoting human rights and protecting the people who defend them. God is present in every person on this international soil who came to make the world a better place. He is present in every effort to remember the vulnerable, every voice that speaks for the voiceless.
The question now, I suppose, is whether I actually see God in these people and places. Interesting question. Sometimes I surprise myself when I explain to someone that Augustinians International is “the NGO of the Order of St. Augustine, a Catholic religious community.” Oh! That’s right! I’m Catholic, and I work with other Catholics! That means…we do good things for people, right? Yeah, we’re concerned about the dignity of the human person…and…there’s something else…oh! We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who became man to save us from sin and death. Now I remember!
That sounds pretty sarcastic, but periodically I do have to go through this thought process as I remember why I’m here. I’m not here to prove the might of a particular government, or to represent a particular State’s interests. I am here to witness to the love God has for each of us, the love He calls us to have for each other.
It really is awe-inspiring that this international organization functions as well as it does, and continues to set such lofty goals. Every delegate, minister, advocate, and intern at the UN knows what the problems are, but the prevailing atmosphere is still one of hope and determination: there is a way to make life better for each and every person, and together, we will find it.
I see God in this hope and determination. I see God in the people reminded by a stranger that they are loved. The question now is: what will I do about it?
Susanna Seibert
Bronx NY, 2011-2012
Subscribe