With the Eyes of a Foreigner

 1 Peter 1.1 - This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

1 Peter 2.11 - Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners”

       A week ago I had the privilege of taking part in an intellectual retreat in Grand Rapids, MI. The retreat centered on the development of religious liberty in America, and it utilized texts written by colonists and founders from 1610 to 1815. Included in the text were sermons, letters, drafts and final pieces of early state constitutions, notes from constitutional debate, and Supreme Court reflections. 

    The reading was invigorating and insightful. The discussion was engaging and robust. At the conclusion of a couple of sessions, one and one-half hours in length, participants celebrated with applause at the end of our time, not for its conclusion, but as prize fighters pleased with that round and ready for more. 

    The discussion did not stay on the texts themselves. Engaging with the texts often brought modern concerns that were embedded in the text. There were times when the conversation was hopeful and there were moments of despair. A trademark of most Americans is our capacity to despair about the state of the country, regardless of political affiliation. We are united in despairing that the 'more perfect union' has yet to achieve its goal. 

    One of the beautiful aspects of the retreat was the inclusion of 'temporary residents and foreigners,' to use a line from the Apostle Peter. At least 1/4 of the participants were foreign born. They came with perspective insights, superb questions, and an appreciation for the prospect of the American experiment, not only as it was in the text of old, but what it offers to the world at this very minute. 

    Reflecting on the hopefulness and appreciation of those who were not born here, and their ability to see with the eyes of a foreigner, their thoughts sent me back into history, past Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1835), to the writings of Saint Peter and the Prophet Jeremiah. Saint Peter called the church he wrote to as 'God's chosen people, living as foreigners.' Peter did not have in mind just one state of being a 'foreigner' but two. The recipients he addressed were most likely not Roman citizens, but neither were they citizens of other earthly kingdoms; they belonged to the Kingdom of Heaven. 

    In Jeremiah's writing, chapter 29.5-7, the people in exile were told to:

“Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”    

They were to invest in the place they lived. Some would call this the task of putting down roots, even as their hearts longed for a restoration of Jerusalem. How does one do this? How does one put down roots and retain the eyes and heart of a foreigner? How does one pine for a place that was, or a place that is to come, and invest in the moment and love the place you find yourself in? 

    I suggest, we who have seldom or never been outside our own borders have much to learn from those who live everyday as 'temporary residents and foreigners.' The eyes of the foreigner can see what we take for granted. They eyes of a foreigner has an eye for what is possible. The eyes of a foreigner imagines how they can plant gardens, and invest, even while pining for a different place. Since it was a foreigner God made covenant with in Abraham, we might say it's in the eyes of a foreigner that we can perceive 'the earth is the Lord's' (Psalms 24.1). This frees us to appreciate, to wonder, to celebrate, to rejoice, to invest, and to pine - for the place where we are, and where our hearts long to be.