Expectations meet reality: hope ensues

I was expecting “Fiddler on The Roof.”

You know, a romanticized land full of Tevye-type men, where everything is packaged so beautifully that a fabulously choreographed song-and-dance number could break out at any moment. Thing is, musicals aren’t reality.

For some of us this is the first time we’ve left the American supercontinent. We didn’t know what to expect, only what we’ve been conditioned to believe. What we’ve found this first week is a diverse land, with diverse people and diverse issues.

In class, we’re learning a lot about those issues that come about when people are so diverse in their religious beliefs and practices. There’s a great tension here, that’s no secret. But there’s also no clear solution to that tension, something that wasn’t so evident until I was immersed into this environment.

That lack of clarity, though, doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t hope. Certainly there is.

We’ve had great opportunities to meet diverse people here. From the merchants in the streets, to local students and even some seminarians we met last night. There’s a joy here. Yes, they’re well aware of the challenges they face – because they face them every day – and yet there’s a joyfulness about so many people we’re encountering. It’s inspiring being here and being embraced by their welcome.

The first week of our pilgrimage might not have included, Topol singing “Tradition” in the streets of Anatevka, but the diversity of our experiences and our encounters has led to a better understanding of the world outside Mundelein and the people we’re preparing to serve. It makes one hopeful for what will blossom in the weeks ahead, and how that fruit will bring people closer to Christ through one another, no matter one’s race, language or way of life.