“That’s the Way It Is”

Walter Cronkite died last week, but his voice will always live on in the minds of listeners who grew up with his very famous newscast that always ended with “And that’s the way it is”. He became known as the most trusted man in America, and, of course, became an icon in journalism history as he covered the civil rights movement, the JFK assassination, the Vietnam war, numerous political conventions, the landing on the moon, and Watergate. A lot was being said about him these past few days, but Dan Rather said it best when he said that he had the ability “to get through the glass”. A wonderful phrase that simply describes how Cronkite came through the television set and appeared in your living room like an old uncle.

The more I thought about “getting through the glass”, the more the metaphor reminded me of the glass ceiling that women had to break through to get equal positions in business. Basically, it captures the feeling of distance between people. Cronkite was able to bridge that distance to really communicate with his audience that consisted of much of America. In a certain sense, our goal, as we try to communicate with each other, is to break through that invisible barrier to connect with people in a genuine and authentic way. We live with so much falsehood and hypocrisy, within and without the church. It is always refreshing to come upon real communication of compassion and true caring. We all want to be heard and understood. For Christians, Jesus’ ministry was always one of “getting through the glass” as he spoke to those on the margins of society as well as those in the center.

Getting through that glass is often not easy because most of us have insulated ourselves pretty well. We don’t want to be vulnerable; yet, vulnerability is what opens us up to living life more deeply. So, here is to “getting through the glass” of our self-centeredness, our attempts to be invulnerable, and our need to be the center of attention, and discovering the world of others.