The city of Philippi was an important Roman city that stood on the very edges of what was considered to be the western world. The city was filled with people who enjoyed the much-sought-after status of “Roman citizen”. As citizens of Rome the people of Philippi enjoyed the highest privileges granted by the Roman government. They did not have to pay poll-taxes, or land taxes, they were protected from certain legal punishments (such as beatings and being imprisoned without a hearing), and they were free to buy and sell land as they willed. They had it pretty easy, and more than likely the people of Philippi were very proud of their citizenship. Why wouldn’t they be? They were Romans after all. They were a part of the most powerful empire in the world. High classed, educated, and cultured…unlike all of the “barbarians” and “second-class citizens” who occupied other parts of the empire.
Philippi was mainly occupied by Romans, but it also had a significant Greek and Jewish population. Macedonian Greeks and the Jewish people would probably have been considered “second-class” citizens. They did not enjoy the same privileges as the full-fledge Roman citizens, and thereby were not as “important” as the Romans. But then, all of the sudden, Paul comes preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. A gospel in which there is no Jew or Greek, man or woman, master or slave. By converting to Christianity the members of the Church in Philippi had become equal members in the body of Christ.
Instead of being citizens of Rome, Romans were being called to first be citizens of the Church. The all-important citizenship which the Philippians had cherished so dearly was being undercut by the gospel. Instead of being Romans first, the gospel which Paul confronted them with demanded that they be Christians first. They were being called to boast in the gospel, and not in their citizenship. All of the sudden, being Roman was not all that important.
Needless to say, this would have cause a lot of problems. The problem did not just lie in the fact that these diverse peoples were now trying to act as one group. The problem lay in the fact that the gospel demanded that the Romans give up their faith in the government and have faith in Jesus Christ. They were to be Christians first. They are followers of Christ first. Their identity would no longer be based in their “Roman-ness”, but in their “Christian-ness”.
Try going to a church that has an American flag in their sanctuary and tell them that they are Christians first and Americans second. Preach to them that, if necessary, they are called to give up their loyalty to their country and be loyal to the church alone. Preach with fiery conviction that being an American means nothing compared to the glory we have as members of the body of Christ!
Actually, don’t try doing that. You probably won’t make it out of that church alive.
It is a difficult thing, a very controversial thing, to hold the Church up before our government. It can even be dangerous. We are fortunate enough to live in a country with a government that allows us to openly criticize it. Christians in countries like China do not have that privilege and daily put their lives at risk because of what they believe. Yet loyalty to Christ before government is exactly what Paul calls the Philippians to in 1:27 when he says, “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.” The Greek word that Paul uses when he says “live your life in a manner” can literally be translated to mean “live your life as a citizen” or even “take part in the government”. In 3:20 Paul refers to the Christians in Philippi as being “citizens of heaven”.
First we are Christians. Before anything else, we are members of the body of Christ. Before race, gender, nationality, political loyalties, denomination, or (dare I say) sexual preferences. I’m not saying that these things are not important. They all make up a huge part of who we are. They define us and shape our individual identities. But we cannot miss the forest for the trees. We should always be willing to take a step back from what separates us in order to gaze upon what unites us: Jesus Christ. It is in the body of Christ that we find our true identity, our true loyalty, our true citizenship, our true worth. It is as the body of Christ that we must act in the world “standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.” Standing together requires love, humility, and respect. It is difficult. Very difficult. Luckily, we worship the God-Man who best showed us what love, humility, and respect is all about.
What does it mean to you to be a citizen of the Church first, and to your country second?
What do you think of my assessment? Is it fair? Is it unpatriotic?
What do you think?
3 comments:
I think that your assessment is sound. Too often people become wrapped up in their identities as part of a nationality rather than the "oneness" that comes through Christ. I think that it is appropriately unpatriotic to recognize that we are all citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven first and the United States of America second. I think that Jesus would be echoing similar sentiments, and perhaps questioning long-held Christian patriotism in this country. It is not that our country or politics do not matter, but when they get ahead of our faith--our unifying faith--then we have lost our way.
I have to say that I would honestly be scared to mention anything like this in my own church, because even when I mention it to my parents (people who love me unconditionally and who usually give me a fair audience for ideas), they have a hard time understanding my unpatriotic ideas of the Kingdom of Heaven being superior to Christians than the United States. People in my church would be likely to crucify. But then again, it seems that Jesus had some similar things to say about both Rome and strict Religion and he WAS crucified.
What a wonderful God we have in that we are all equal, man, woman, slave, free citizens. We are all equal and are to be submissive to one another. Wait-submissive to one another? We are equal not submissive. What our society is constantly teaching us is our individual rights! As Christians we have no "rights". Philippians 2:3 "Dont be selfish; don't try to impress other. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves." Can you be submissive to your husband when you don't agree with what he may want to do? Change churches, change jobs? Can you be submissive to your boss when you are asked to do something that is not in your job discritpion? Will you think that your individual rights have been violated?
Have you read the book Resident Aliens? They talk about this some in that book.
I think that your assessment is sound; and so that defeats the purpose of whether or not it is patriotic. I get a lot of funny looks for all the times political issues will come up and I claim more or less complete ignorance and lack of understanding about them - I'd much rather think about the church's response to social issues, what it should be, and how the gospel of Christ and the love of Jesus should transform situations, than how the government can come in and fix things. Ultimately, if we aren't thinking that way, is the reliance aspect of our faith grounded in humanity, in structure, in order, and not in the Lord who provides?
A more difficult question, I've found, is the historical (and current) one about whether or not government is instituted by God. If it is, what role should Christians play in it? I know it seems like this question and my last paragraph go against each other - but do they have to? I'm not sure.
All that being said, I'd much rather see Christians taking unwanted children into their homes, sheltering abused and battered women in the safety of their own loving homes - even if they have to rotate between houses for different periods of time - and for Christian hospitality and Christ's love in us to motivate our actions than our political ability to start "shelters" and give ourselves jobs in them. Do such shelters really help people transform their lives? Would a life be far more transformed by the daily and constant love of living with a Christian family - not her own family born, but her family found in Christ - than by a few nights respite in a shelter, and then the tough life back in whatever situation she came from?
Can our preaching ever prepare the average family to accept such radical hospitality to people so broken and marginalized and hurt?
I hope so.
Post a Comment