on being parishioners

 

Years after the death, resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus, his former apprentice Peter—now himself apprenticing others in the Way of Jesus—wrote to the still-infant church.

He calls them aliens and exiles. And that is what they were, in a worldly sense; and this is true of some but not all Christians today. But these sacred writings are handed down to us to shape our imagination, to frame how we see the world and ourselves within it. And Peter encourages us to see our primary citizenship as belonging to the kingdom of heaven.

The word Peter uses for aliens is ‘paroikos,’ from ‘para,’ meaning to be close alongside (as in, parallel lines) and ‘oikos,’ meaning house or household. Paroikos meant resident alien, those who lived close alongside the citizens of a place, but did not possess all of the rights of a citizen.

This is the word from which we get our words ‘parish’ and ‘parishioner.’ We primarily think of a parish as an area, and the parishioners as those who live within its boundaries. But most people do not think of themselves as parishioners; and even those who do, don’t think of themselves as resident aliens.

Peter pairs this word with ‘parepidemos,’ or pilgrim: one passing through a place, dependent on the hospitality offered by the residents. We are to think of ourselves as immigrants and pilgrims.

How we see ourselves determines how we see others. If we think of ourselves as possessing a place, we may find ourselves seeing others who move in alongside us as a threat. If we understand ourselves to be resident aliens, here (wherever ‘here’ is) to be a blessing to the local population, then we will more likely see other immigrants as a blessing. Certainly as deserving compassion.

But this is hard, which is why Peter tells us to actively distance ourselves from fleshly desires, which, given the context, must include the desire to possess a place in the world.

1 Peter 2.2-5, 9-12