This is the script of this morning’s Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
A couple of weeks ago I stayed in London for the first time in nine months.
One reason for the trip was to attend the launch of a book* about Britain written by a German friend – the gift of a friendly critical eye showing us how we look to the outsider. Not, in my view, some luxury exercise, but vital if we are accurately to know ourselves … as we are known. Challenging the fantasies that we easily create to explain who and how we are without (what might be called) critical realism.
This works at every level: individuals, societies, political parties, and so on. I might think I am kind, tolerant, generous and hospitable, but if that’s not how people experience me, then where lies the truth?
I have thought about this a lot, and for three reasons. First, to be a linguist, you have to learn to listen through the ears of other people and look through their eyes. When I was learning Russian many years ago I also had to study Russian history and develop a certain understanding of what made the Russians who they are. Secondly, having engaged in religious and political diplomacy in some very different countries – Sudan and Kazakhstan, for example – you can’t find the right language for negotiation unless first you’ve worked at understanding what your interlocutor is hearing… which might not be the same as what I think I am saying.
However, the third reason is, for me, the most powerful in shaping my own approach. At the beginning of his public ministry (after thirty or so years of preparation), Jesus summed up his point in four simple phrases: “The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God has come near; repent; and believe the good news.” What he is saying to his contemporaries – and it is pretty stark – is: The time you have longed for for centuries has now come … and God is among you again. But, you can’t see it because it doesn’t look like you expected it to. So, you’re going to have to change the way you look at God, the world and yourselves … in order to change the way you see God, the world and yourselves … in order to change the way you think about God, the world and yourselves … in order to change the way you live in the world with God and yourselves. If you’re looking for power on a war horse, you might miss the baby in Bethlehem or the carpenter in a village. That’s what ‘repentance’ actually means.
In this sense, someone else’s perspective can be a real eye-opener.
* Helene von Bismarck, Fantastic Kingdom, John Murray 2026
