Are you in the Exit Row?

"I need a verbal confirmation that you are willing and able." That is the request when you sit in an Exit Row on an airplane. Getting the Exit Row seat can be an essential survival strategy for someone who is on a plane weekly. Last week, on a flight to the Archdiocese of Chicago, I was struck when I was asked that question and the insistence with which the flight attendant waited for me to say "yes" at 6am. The reality is the Exit Row is an others-focused seat. In the event of an emergency, I am taking responsibility for others (God truly help the people on that plane). I can guarantee you I didn’t choose the seat for the sake of the person sitting behind me. But, in taking the seat, I said "yes" to sacrifice for others. It struck me that we are always, especially in this time, being asked to “give a confirmation” of just how “authentically" our discipleship extends past ourselves. It’s okay to enjoy the extra legroom, but I hope this week I live up to the “yes” I give…and not just in case of emergency.