“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,  

but you are citizens with the saints

and also members of the household of God.”

–Ephesians 2:19 

Four decades ago, I traveled to Great Britain. It was my first trip overseas and I enjoyed it immensely. Along with touring several historic sites, I loved seeing my own country from another perspective. While there, an economic summit of western nations was underway in Williamsburg, VA.  So on British tv I watched world leaders gather in my homeland and was struck by the difference in the reporting. The camera and reporter’s comments focused on their Prime Minister and not our President.  That’s as it should be, of course, but I suspected it was very different from how the event was being covered back in the States. 

An even more memorable experience was a brief conversation I had with a citizen of that land. It occurred while visiting Lake Windermere in the western part of England. As I exited the train station, I learned that the town center was a good distance away.  With my travel funds running low, I decided to walk instead of taking a cab. Soon, though, a local offered me a ride.

In expressing my gratitude, he picked-up on the accent and asked “You’re an American aren’t you?”  Knowing our country is not always viewed positively around the world, I cautiously replied “Yes, I am.” He then said “We owe a lot to the Americans.” He went on to describe the difference our nation had made in World War II and the re-building afterwards. I felt a deep pride. He then asked how long I would be in his community. On learning I was in town only for one day, he scoffed and remarked “That’s just like you Americans.  You think you can see everything quickly.” That comment did not take away from the impact of his first words one bit! 

Instead, that exchange highlighted for me that good citizenship has always involves a relationship. That even as we unfurl the flag or sing the national anthem we do so remembering those who have gone before and those who continue to protect our freedoms. That even as we express diverse opinions to neighbors or via social media, in emails to representatives or in our voting choices that we do so knowing that we are all in this together.  On a day long ago the Apostle Paul made that point, too. 

In the verse cited above, he tells Christians in Ephesus that both Jew and Gentile have been brought together through Christ’s sacrifice. Prior to Jesus, the view within Judaism was that the non-Jew was outside the reach of God’s love. In writing to believers who mostly were Gentiles, Paul says Jesus changed all that. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,” he wrote “but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” His primary intent was to speak of the citizenship of faith that brings all into the kingdom of God. Yet I hear him offering an important word that is relevant to our earthly experience of citizenship, too.   

Many times in our land, the sentiment expressed on social or political issues has become one of us vs. them. Whether Republican or Democratic or Independent, we’ve all seen the divisiveness. It surfaces when one person is so adamant that she or he is correct that the other side must be wrong. It can lead to surrounding ourselves only with those who agree with our view; of pulling away from those with a different perspective, even questioning their commitment to this land.  

In a far different time, Paul spoke to a similar dynamic in telling first-century believers that they were citizens with each other. That four-letter word is essential still. That even when we disagree with one another we need to remain in relationship. That however else we might define citizenship, it requires being with others, being concerned for our neighbors and working alongside them to bring needed change. 

For whether we like it or not we are citizens with the saints and sinners. And only in working together can we hope to make it a more perfect union. 

God of all lands and peoples, we give thanks for the blessings we enjoy in this country. Help us to work together in new ways to further your purposes as citizens of your eternal realm.  Amen.

Postscript– On a trip to England last December, I had another brief conversation with a local. In referencing some of the world’s troubles he said to me “We Brits expect Americans to swoop in and help and then when they do we criticize them for what they do.  We should stand up for ourselves more.”  Truly, the relationships between countries and within them remain complicated still!