By The Rev. Dr. Carl Grosse

In this multiverse of podcasters, streamers, influencers, and media personalities, I live in a very small world. I don’t use TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat. Occasionally, I use YouTube to listen to music; rarely do I visit Facebook, mostly when an old friend from Montana posts incredible nature pictures. If I’m home when it’s on, I’ll watch a little broadcast news on a local channel to see what might be going on in that big world out there. Rotting my brain when I was young and stupid didn’t work out too well, so why would I do it now that I’m old and stupid?

There’s one exception. I’m a big fan of Steve Hartman, a correspondent with CBS News. His On the Road segments profile people who do good things. The stories often have twists and turns that amaze and inspire. Saying I’m a big fan doesn’t mean I scroll every day through everything Mr. Hartman posts. I just make a point to watch when I can. 

Every year, for example, On the Road features a Secret Santa character who wears a red tweed cap and hands out $100 bills to unsuspecting people buying groceries or other necessities. In recent years, the Secret Santa enlisted middle school students as elves to help share $100 bills with more unsuspecting people. What gets me every time are the tears. Recipients start crying not so much because of the money, which definitely helps, but more out of feeling that someone cares. The kids cry seeing the recipients cry, and because they feel overwhelmed at this new power to affect someone else so profoundly; again, more because of a smile and a hug than the money. 

These stories seem like parables of the kingdom to me. The values and behaviors highlighted in On the Road match up with pretty much everything Jesus said we should believe and do. I can see a direct line from the scarlet-robed Roman centurion who was kind to both Jews and Gentiles in his jurisdiction, to the red-hatted Secret Santa. And in both cases, I can almost hear Jesus saying, “I wish everyone who claimed to follow me were more like this.”