The Strangers in Our Midst

I live a few blocks from Cobourg’s Victoria Park, right on Lake Ontario. Every weekend this park is full of new Canadian picnickers. I can’t be sure, of course, but as I walk through the park, I think I’m seeing immigrants from Pakistan, Jamaica, The Philippines, and beyond. I’m glad to see them. Partly, it is for purely selfish reasons. These new Canadians, most of whom are young, are the same Canadians who will be contributing to my Canada Pension Plan when I retire. If Canadians had relied only on Canadian-born to make those contributions, there wouldn’t be enough to go around!

But I’m especially glad to see them because they remind me of my own family history. Nearly sixty years ago, my parents immigrated to Canada too, from the Netherlands. On Saturday afternoons, my family and our Dutch-immigrant friends in the Niagara Peninsula used to take over huge swaths of parkland in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Now I wonder if the people who lived in that village complained about our barbecues, cars, noise, and garbage. 

Further back, my ancestors immigrated to the Netherlands from Germany, France, and Switzerland. I immigrated--for nearly twenty years--to the United States. It is the human way, I suppose. We’re all immigrants or the children of immigrants.

No nation or group has ever been able to claim any patch of the earth as their own, forever and ever. Roman legions retreated before the barbarian--European--tribes that swept into their empire fifteen hundred years ago. Europeans shoved America’s first citizens aside to take over the Americas. These days hungry Somalis trudge to Kenya, Mexicans try to scale the border fence into the United States, and people from all over the world look for a better life here in Canada, just as my grandparents did after war had ravaged their homeland.

In a way, all this moving back and forth across the face of the earth is perfectly understandable from a Christian point of view. Christians believe that ultimately, no land can really be said to be ours alone because it is all a trust from God. We’re just workers in the vineyard. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). According to the Bible, Christians, in particular, are strangers and aliens to the world (1 Peter 2:11) who are actually ambassadors of reconciliation sent here from the Kingdom of God (2 Cor 5:20).  

Unfortunately, most of us, including Christians, nevertheless struggle with prejudice. We forget where we’re from and what our lives are supposed to be all about. We’re unsure, perhaps even afraid, of those who look and sound different than us. We are impatient for newcomers to lose their distinctives and become just like us. We blame strangers for upsetting our apple carts. 

Borders may be a pragmatic way of regulating the flow of people back and forth over the earth for the benefit of all. But Christian hospitality, kindness to strangers, and forbearance in the face of what seems to us to be odd habits and dress--Christian love for neighbors--all these are God’s way for making sure that immigrants to Canada find a new home away from home.

Small Churches

Although the crowds at Cobourg's Waterfront Festival might make you forget it for a day or two, Cobourg is actually a small town. In fact, every town or village in Northumberland County is small. Like the church I pastor.

Most of us are not impressed with small, unless it's our cell phones we're talking about. If we had a choice, we're rather shop at Yorkdale or even the Oshawa Centre than Northumberland Mall. A 3,000 square foot house on ten acres seems more impressive than a 1200 square foot house on a city-sized lot. And, unfortunately for the earth, most of us prefer to drive trucks or SUVs than Chevy Cruzes or Honda Civics.

My church is small. I think this is frustrating, sometimes, for Grace Church's members. I hear things like, "if Grace was big we could have a bunch of more programs, a renovated sanctuary, a real pipe organ, and a parsonage on the lake for the pastor." Sometimes it is frustrating for me, too--and I'm not even thinking of that parsonage. I'd love to have a full-time youth leader instead of a half-time leader, a full-time professional musician and a second pastor on staff, and plenty of people to do drama and volunteer and play different instruments every Sunday.

From God's perspective, though, size isn't everything. In fact, God has a soft spot for small. God runs his kingdom on a "little David and big Goliath" economy. His heroes are people of little courage, like Jonah; foreigners of little account, like Ruth; and just plain little people like Zacchaeus. God chose Israel to tell the world about his grace--a people about as small and insignificant as you could find in the ancient world. Jesus made do with just twelve disciples. The parable of the mustard seed teaches us that God's kingdom is like the smallest seed, which will nevertheless grow--not into a huge tree--but at least a large bush. Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt 5:5). And while the apostle Paul wasn't immune to the drawing power of big cities like Rome and Ephesus, he spent most of his time working with little churches in middling towns with funny names like Lystra, Derbe and Berea; Philippi, Perga and Iconium. Several times he even greets churches so small that they meet in homes.

Small can be frustrating. But if you go to one of the small churches in Northumberland County, your likely to find a group of people who keep track of each others' birthdays and anniversaries, who care for each other's children, and who continue visiting each other even if when move into a nursing home or hospital. Youth groups in small churches are for making life-long friends, and music in small churches is sung with fervor rather than played by a band as entertainment. Small churches are communities where, even if you can't quite remember everyone's name, you know everyone loves you, and keeps an eye out for you.

In fact, in a lot of ways, small churches are like Cobourg or Port Hope or Brighton. It's nice to know that a big city is just down the road for those times you just can't do without the symphony or the Blue Jays, or even Yorkdale, I guess. But do you really want to live there?

And that's why I'd rather go to a small church too. After all, Jesus also said that, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." And if he is there, when it comes to church, you know the main thing has already happened.