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"Dual Citizenship"
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Hampton Baptist
Charles R. Smith
March 4, 2007 Second Sunday in Lent
Current newscasts regularly report about illegal aliens, and
immigration will be a significant hot-button issue in the 2008
presidential campaign. Citizenship, and what that means, ignites a
variety of emotions and passions. When I consider a symbol of American
citizenship, I think of the Statue of Liberty. I am fascinated by the
words on a plaque at the base of the Statue. It was written by Emma
Lazarus and has illustrated what the statue has meant to millions who
have migrated to the United States seeking freedom. "Give me your
tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the
wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send those, the homeless,
tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door." ( http://www.libertystatepark.com/emma.htm)
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States to be
a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. (http://www.nps.gov/stli)
Six years after the Statue of Liberty was dedicated, the nation’s
premier federal immigration station opened on Ellis Island, found in the
same New York harbor. (http://www.nps.gov/elis/index.htm)
Linking the Statue of Liberty to immigration and citizenship is an
effortless connection.
My seminary roommate was born and raised in the Republic of South
Africa and came to the states for his seminary education. Upon
graduation, he returned to his home country where he taught in a Baptist
school there. In 1990, Craig moved back to the United States, jumping
through a variety of hoops from the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, finally getting his green card signifying permanent residency.
He was called as an Associate Pastor two miles from our house in Georgia
and lived with Jennifer and me for a while. He later became an Associate
Pastor in Vail, Colorado, and while leading a retreat, he met a Texan
who was doing resort missions. When they were married, they completed
appropriate paperwork so that they both now have dual-citizenship.
Marrying citizens of two separate countries, they are both now citizens
of two separate countries. Later, they adopted two boys from St.
Petersburg, Russia; Nikolai and Micah now have multiple
citizenship: Russia, United States, and the Republic of South Africa.
Craig and Mia thought their sons needed that connection to the land of
their birth, realizing that they could return one day if they chose to
do so.
In general, countries define citizenship based on one's descent,
place of birth, marriage, and/or naturalization. Citizenship is not only
a source of birthright and connection, but also one of duty and
responsibility. Because I am an American citizen, I choose to exercise
my democratic right to vote in every election, and to be a good steward
of the rights and responsibilities afforded to me as a citizen of the
United States. I pay my taxes and obey the law; I also expect the
government to uphold their responsibilities as well.
In today’s Epistle Lesson, the Apostle Paul mentions heavenly
citizenship. The Philippian congregation was Paul’s favorite of all
the churches which he had started. When Paul used the term
"citizenship," the attention of the Philippian readers
certainly peaked. Philippi was a major city in Macedonia and a Roman
colony; geographically, they were a long way from Rome. About Roman
citizenship in Philippi, biblical commentator William Barclay writes,
"Here and there at strategic military centers, the Romans set down
their colonies. In such places, the citizens were mostly soldiers who
had served their time--twenty-one years--and who had been rewarded with
full citizenship. The great characteristic of these colonies was that,
wherever they were, they remained fragments of Rome. Roman dress was
worn; Roman magistrates governed; the Latin tongue was spoken; Roman
justice was administered; Roman morals were observed. Even in the ends
of the earth they remained unshakeably Roman." (William Barclay. The
Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians. Rev. Ed. Philadelphia:
Westminster Press. 1975. P. 69) The Philippians could never forget their
allegiance to Rome; the evidence was all around them. There was no
escaping the Roman nationalism. Yet Paul encouraged them to remember
that they must never forget their heavenly citizenship and that they had
duties and responsibilities to uphold.
Paul’s admonition to embrace their heavenly citizenship was radical
for its day. Some would and could accuse Paul of being unpatriotic,
because he allowed his allegiance to God to surpass his allegiance to
the Emperor. Many certainly could have charged Paul with treason,
because his primary allegiance was not to being a Roman citizen.
Religious toleration and diversity were not treasured values in the
Roman Empire of the First Century. Paul was making a bold statement
based upon his understanding of our unequivocal and uncompromised
devotion to God.
A note of contextual interest also deserves to be mentioned. Paul
himself was a citizen of Rome, and he understood first-hand the
privileges of Roman citizenship. There were perks to being a Roman
citizen; when arrested in Jerusalem, he played his Roman citizenship
card which got him a transfer away from the angry Jewish mob that wanted
to kill him. Paul’s Roman citizenship extradited him eventually to
Rome where he could appear before the Roman governor. The letter which
he wrote to the Philippians was being penned from a Roman prison, and he
was writing as a citizen of Rome declaring to other Roman citizens that their
citizenship was in heaven. In the end, Paul was willing to abandon
the temporal for the eternal; he was anxiously awaiting the
transformation of his mortal body to a heavenly body.
Paul was reiterating to the Philippian believers that they could
not claim "dual citizenship." My friends understand the
advantages of multiple citizenships between the United States, South
Africa, and Russia. For Paul, Roman citizenship also had its advantages,
but ultimately it did not save him. It is believed that Paul was
beheaded during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero. Paul’s Roman
citizenship may have stayed his execution temporarily, but ultimately,
he was executed by the Roman government. His Roman citizenship was
inconsequential in the end; at the close of his life, his nationality
and earthly citizenship did not matter, but his heavenly citizenship
made all the difference in the world.
To the Roman Christians in Philippi, linking the cross to citizenship
of heaven was an effortless connection. Jesus gave his life for us on
the cross and expects that we take our heavenly citizenship
seriously. During the season of Lent, we are called to reflect more
intentionally on our relationship with God. Choosing other allegiances
to rival our commitment to Christ cheapens that grace. Our
earthly citizenship will fail us, but aren’t you glad that our
heavenly citizenship will never fail us? Today, all who have
declared their primary citizenship to be an allegiance to Christ are
invited to the table to celebrate that great love.
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