2 Lent 2025
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Citizenship is a big issue today. There has been much in the news about
citizenship ceremonies and when to hold them, and each election year several pre-selected political candidates are forced to withdraw because it is found that they are citizens of more than one country. We read also of those who have live most of their lives in Australia, but never formally took up citizenship, being deported if they are convicted of a serious criminal offence.
In our own congregation we have a number of people currently working through the ever more complex process of getting a visa that will eventually allow them to obtain Australian citizenship.
Being a citizen is a big deal.
It was a big deal in earlier generations also. Early German Lutheran migrants in the mid-19th century were keen to swear their allegiance to the king and be Australian citizens. It was symbolic of their new life and the fact they were here to stay.
After the second world war waves of migrants came to Australia, most eager to take up citizenship as soon as they could.
But others in this period resisted taking up Australian citizenship, choosing to live their whole lives here as permaent residents. They were reluctant migrants in the aftermath of war and it was too hard emotionally to let go of their previous citizenship – because that citizenship continued to mean a great deal to them.
Citizenship also becomes important if someone gets into any legal or medical strife while traveling overseas. Citizens of strong countries who actively care for their citizens get consular assistance quickly and are often flown out of dangerous situations by special flights. Citizens of impoverished nations get no such help. So in such cases, again, the question of citizenship becomes important.
In the Roman world, the world in which the Apostle Paul lived, citizenship was also important. The prized citizenship to have at that time was Roman citizenship. If you had Roman citizenship you had some special rights. You could not simply be arrested and tried anywhere in the world by local authorities without Roman involvement. And if you were convicted of a series offence anywhere, you had the right to appeal, all the way to Ceasar.
Paul, by virtue of his birth in Tarsus and other considerations, was in the rare situation of being a Roman citizen. This is something that assisted him often in his travels and in times of difficulty. Many would have been envious of him for having Roman citizenship as it was greatly prized.
Paul uses citizenship several times in his writings to illustrate a point. Today’s Epistle reading is one such text.
After talking about the way some who do not know Christ live, Paul reminds his readers that they are not to be like that. ‘But our citizenship is in heaven,’ he says.
There are three important points about citizenship that the Apostle makes in this text.
First, citizenship is about identity and belonging.
Everyone wants to belong somewhere. There are few things more difficult than the situation of those people who are considered ‘stateless.’ They are in a terrible limbo in which no country will officially recognise or claim them. When we migrate to a new country, it is often very important to officially belong to this new country. That is why citizenship ceremonies continue to be very popular despite disputes about when they are held. New citizens want to celebrate that they are now officially Australian. They want to celebrate that they belong here.
Paul reminds his readers that there is a citizenship that is even more prized and more important than Roman citizenship. That is the citizenship of heaven.
It is nearly impossible to gain citizenship to some countries if you were not born there, and born to citizens of that country. Even immigrant countries like Australia, the US, Canada and NZ are increasingly difficult to gain citizenship to.
In Paul’s time, if you were not born a Roman, Roman citizenship was not only prized, it was rare.
But the greatest and most powerful kingdom of all, Paul reminds us, is the kingdom of heaven. And citizenship of heaven belongs to everyone who is in Christ. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you are a citizen of heaven. That is our true identity. The citizenship of heaven trumps all other citizenships. When we are in Christ, we belong to Christ. And we are citizens of his heavenly kingdom, and of the kingdom that will one day also be manifest on earth.
The second point the Apostle makes is this: Citizenship comes with expectations.
We see this in our own context today. When one takes an oath of citizenship, it is clear that there are certain expectations. It is expected that one will be loyal to one’s country, follow its laws, etc.
Paul reminds us that as citizens of heaven we are expected to live like citizens of Christ’s kingdom. We are not to live like those who care only about the flesh, about filling our bellies, about earthly glory. We are to live as those following the Way that Jesus showed us. We are to live lives modelled on the love we have in Christ and the love he calls us to show to one another. We are to live lives focused on the importance of heavenly things. We are to live lives of service and discipleship.
Paul is telling us that being a citizen makes a difference. And being a citizenship comes with certain rights and expectations. And this is true especially of being a citizen of the heavenly kingdom.
Finally, citizenship brings with it the right and expectation of assistance.
I think we are all familiar with the expectation of consular assistance that we, and citizens of most other countries, can expect if we get into strife abroad.
Paul reminds us that as citizens of Christ’s heavenly kingdom, we are all living ‘abroad’ on this earth. Our true citizenship is in heaven. And we can expect help from there. The Apostle writes: ‘It is from heaven that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.’
The kingdom of heaven does not simply send some consular staff member to check on our well-being. The king himself will come to us, and will come as the one who rescues and saves us.
And what services can we expect when this heavenly assistance comes to its citizens? It is a pretty impressive. Pual tells us that when our king, Jesus, comes to the citizens of his kingdom, ‘he will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory.’ In other words, when Jesus returns, he will transform us all and we will be given resurrected bodies that no longer faulter under the strain of sickness and age and other mortal limitations.
And Jesus can do this because his is the king, he can do it through ‘the power that enables him to make all things subject to himself.’ Our king is more powerful than any other king, and he does not forget the citizens of his kingdom.
So in knowledge of who we are in Jesus, of who we are as citizens of Chrit’s heavenly kingdom, Paul urges us to stand firm. That is, we are not to become overwhelmed. We are not to lose heart. We are not to stop living as citizens of Christ’s kingdom.
We know who Jesus is. And we know who we are citizens of his heavenly kingdom, awaiting the return of our king.
Amen.
Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie