Every Tribe and Every Train Car
By Jerry McCorkle
The New York City Subway smells like a mixture of pizza, exhaust, and ambition. But it’s also undeniably beautiful—because people are beautiful.
Every nation, every background, every story—crammed together in one moving metal box—reminding us that every person is made in the image of the Creator, the Imago Dei.
After thousands of subway rides in the Big Apple over three decades, one thing is certain—New York’s subways are full of surprises. David Brooks, the popular New York Times columnist and author, recounts a moment on the subway that changed the course of his life.
For much of his life, Brooks says he wrestled between agnosticism and atheism. But in 2013, standing in the 33rd Street station at Eighth Avenue—what he candidly called “possibly the ugliest place on the face of the earth”—he experienced something unexpected.
As he looked around the crowded subway car, he saw not just faces, but souls. Everyone had a soul. Souls carrying burdens, joys, and questions—each on their own path. That moment marked the beginning of his slow, thoughtful turn toward faith and eventually, to following Jesus Christ. David Brooks entitled his article, “I Found Faith in a Crowded Subway Car.” Author Os Guinness calls moments like these “signals of transcendence”—those surprising, everyday encounters that stop us in our tracks and awaken us to something bigger at work.
When you’re on a subway, you’re not just moving through a city—you’re moving through humanity. You see people who are nothing like you, and yet somehow, exactly like you. And that’s the miracle of it all: on the subway, you catch a glimpse of the world as it really is—diverse, connected, sacred.
You never know—someone might find their faith on a subway car. You might find yours strengthened. Your worldview might be expanded simply by making eye contact with someone from another nation, another walk of life.
In fact, maybe a subway car isn’t just a picture of New York—it’s a glimpse of Heaven. After all, Heaven will be filled with people from every tribe, tongue, nation…and traincar.
As we celebrate our 30th year of visiting New York City, we’ll board that subway once again. We’ll meet new people, witness new stories, and maybe even share Christ with someone who, like David Brooks, is searching for something real.
