Reflections from an Airport Terminal

I'm sitting in the JFK airport as I write this first post. Airports probably have to be ranked #1 in the list of "Coolest Places to People Watch." All sorts of fascinating and diverse people pass through the terminals and security check points of international airports. Particularly a global hub like JFK.

It is here that I see the Muslim women, probably somewhere from Southeast Asia, who have clearly just arrived as they stand with their heads wrapped, gawking at the New York city skyline out the window of the terminal train car (in actuality, it was just a few apartment buildings nearby, as JFK is still quite a distance from downtown Manhattan. Nevertheless, they were excited.) Their younger brother, however, stood rather unimpressed beside them. When they exited the train, I noticed one of the girls was wearing Chucks.

There was the Korean girl who jumps onto the train sweating beads frantically trying to catch her connecting flight. I had an urge to fan her in the same way you get an urge to clear your throat when someone else has a frog in theirs. Then there's the gazillian Hasidic Jews diasporing out from Jerusalem II, also known as New York City. Some were on their pilgramage to the real Holy Lands, while others were going elsewhere, particularly on Austrian Air for some reason.

There was the....uh...woman, I guess, in the security line who clearly used to be a man but is no longer. There was the businessman with his Bluetooth in his ear waiting to pick someone up and numerous TSA employees, most who seem to be African American. And then there was the Italian-American TSA official who was just sitting beside me who used the f-bomb in each sentence while venting to a co-worker about his work schedule. There was all the French people at the Air France counter heading back home, and the Eastern European lady who barely spoke any English and needed help from an American.

I've been beside numerous Spanish speakers and it's reminded me of how much I long to go back there, even as I'm going to Thailand.

And of course there are the countless people who appear very similar to me in appearance, dress, and probably background, too.

These people-watching experiences exemplify the fascination I have with the cosmopolitanism of New York City. As many of you know, over the past year I've fallen in love with Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. I seriously wish that I could call him up right now, tell him I'm in the neighborhood, and have him come meet me here at JFK so that we could chat. If only that was a reality...

Listening to Tim Keller though has made me think differently in many ways. One thing he constantly stresses is the strategic value of the City (not New York, per se, but any urban area). Everyone lives in the City...except for white, protestant evangelicals. Buddhists, Jews, secularists, Muslims. The people that evangelicals should be interacting with the most. Unfortunately, we've had a tendency to flock to and congregate in groups of people just like us. In some ways, evangelical Christianity has become more militaristic and political and engaging, and yet in other ways, we've grown more insular as we flock towards people just like us in suburbia. I guess that's fairly natural and human. I do it all the time. And yet JFK reminds me of how many people out there are extremely different from me - and how many different "differents" there are! These people are both fascinating to learn from, and yet as a Christian, I also have things that I hope they can learn from me.

Living in suburbia isn't wrong or evil. We need Christians in all circles of society. I love being within driving distance of a rope swing or a mountain to climb. I love being around people of my own kind, too - my deepest friendships are with the people who understand me and my faith the most. And yet, as a Christian I want to be mingling with as many people who are different from me as possible. It's a constant struggle I feel.

I figured I would whip out my computer and jot down a few of these thoughts as I wait for my flight. By the time I board, I’ll have been in JFK for 9 hours. Too bad I have to pay to use the wi-fi here. I guess I’ll just have to post later!