mgpcpastor's blog

This week’s Border Watch article.
I ended up using a different starting idea than the one I alluded to last Friday.

What Makes A Local?

It’s the sort of conversation you often fall into in a country town. You ask someone if they’re a local. No, they reply, they’re not a local, they moved here sixty or so years ago from some place over the border or from a place up the highway. They may have lived here longer than most of their fellow citizens have been alive, but they’re not a local. We all share a laugh and then the conversation moves on.
What does it take to make a local? To be born here? I recently celebrated with some friends as they became Australian citizens. Through process and promises they now share all the rights and responsibilities that every other Australian citizen has. They’re as Australian as anyone else.
It’s helpful for those of us who have a citizenship as a birthright to remember that. Citizenship looks like something we just have because of the past, but in reality it functions because we consent to live in relationship with each other in the present, exercising rights and carrying out our responsibilities. The reality of the relationship is what makes citizenship work.
It’s also good for those who have lived in a town like Mount Gambier to learn from that truth. Folk come and make their homes in this town and demonstrate their commitment to its wellbeing by working, investing, raising their children, and participating in sport and cultural pursuits. You can’t tell if they were born here. But you can see their commitment to our home by the way they share their lives for the growth of our city.
It’s about relationship, not birthplace.
Christians are told that their citizenship is in heaven. It doesn’t mean that we have no attachment to our places of birth, or to the places where we currently make our homes. It doesn’t make us less committed to the growth and prosperity of our city.
The idea that our citizenship is in heaven simply points to the relationship that defines us, a relationship with Jesus as Saviour and Lord. It’s one of the reasons why nationalistic or parochial pride can be a bit of fun, but can never define us. (Well, at least it shouldn’t.)
Many of the Christian churches in town have historical backgrounds in different countries. But we’re not here to perpetuate the historical traditions of Europe, Africa or Asia (or even Mount Gambier). Some of you may balk at visiting a local church because it doesn’t reflect your family history. Don’t let it worry you. We’re not living to continue the national identities of the past. We’re here to help the people of the present meet Jesus.