Our True Citizenship
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20)
Lately I’ve taken to wearing a tartan scarf in public. Many recognize the tartan as a symbol of British (more narrowly, Scottish Highland) culture. Few people, however, know that the Dominion of Canada has its own registered tartan. I wear the tartan as a loving display of my British heritage: both my family heritage, my ancestors the Hill’s having come over from England to settle the Lloydminster area; and my national heritage, being citizen of the Commonwealth, with which we share a Royal Family and Parliamentary model of government.
Many would also be surprised to know that Canada did not become a sovereign state until 1982 with the Canada Act. Moreover, those who were born before and during the Second World War were actually born as citizens of Britain; the two were only distinguished as late as 1947.
These trivia of history aside. The community of Swift Current features an interesting blend of British, American, and Francophone cultural influence. When I describe the area to friends around the country, I tend to simplify it in these terms: “It is the Deep South of Saskatchewan. Distance is given in miles; napkins are ‘serviettes’; lunch is ‘dinner’;” etc. So it is also in honour of Swift Current that I add the tartan to my regular clerical dress. This parish will always have a special importance to me, having extended my first call as a Lutheran pastor and bishop.
St. Paul the Apostle may never have forgotten the city of Philippi – although for less fond reasons. In the fourth century B.C., Philippi had been renamed by King Philip II of Macedon (father of Alexander III “the Great”). (If Philip had spoken English rather than Greek, the city would probably be named “Philipstown.”) Be this as it may, although the people of Philippi were culturally Macedonian (for example St. Lydia, Paul’s first convert), by the time of the Apostles they were a proudly Roman colony. Public documents were written not in Greek but Latin. Many of the local organizations bore the patronage of Roman nobility.
During his ministry in Philippi, Paul ran afoul of one exploitative magician who brought his grievance to the city magistrates, saying: “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” (Acts 16:20-22) That was just the right appeal to get the crowd on their side and against Paul and Silas. The Philippians were clearly conscious of their Roman-ness. Thankfully for Paul, though, that meant appealing to his status as a Roman citizen for fair treatment by the local magistrates.
But that was only after Paul and Silas had undergone imprisonment and the customary “fourty lashes minus one” without a proper trial to which they had a right. He may not have known that, as a result of that public atrocity, the jailer and his whole family were baptized and converted. Paul was asked: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, both you and your household.” (vv. 30-31) This was not the only time he set aside his rights, whether as a Roman citizen or as a preacher of the Gospel (I Cor 9:12-18), for God’s own aims.
Paul’s exhortation to the Christian congregation at Philippi was a targeted appeal. He urges them: “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” Members of the Church are not to set their minds “on earthly things,” because “our [true] citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Phil 3:17, 19-21) Notice the Philippian soldier was not asked to renounce his Roman citizenship. But his new baptismal identity would now come first.
There is much to celebrate and be thankful, both in the way of our distinct heritages and our status as citizens of Canada. The names on the church registers here and in our sister congregation in Ponteix exhibit British, French, Norwegian, Germanic, and First Nations heritage (to name a few). I may make something of this cultural diversity, or of the fact that my passport bears a royal coat of arms rather than the seal of a republic. But what is key is learning how to live our individual vocations within the three holy realms mentioned in the Large Catechism: 1) the family, 2) the Church, 3) and civil society (Large Catechism, Part I, pars. 103-178).
To speak only of the arena of civil society. Some of us may choose to honour this great land by actively petitioning Canadian governmental authorities to exercise their offices responsibly and according to Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. For a broader circle of us it means dutifully working to grow our community of Swift Current and area, “Where Life Makes Sense.” And yet for some, it simply looks like wearing a poppy; or, just maybe, using the Oxford spelling (e.g. “colour,” “plough,” “programme,” “centre,” “dialogue”).
Bearing all this in mind, though, from the example of Paul and the holy Apostles we know that it is “for freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1). Our Baptismal certificates do not bind us to a particular orthography, much less a cultural identity or political agenda (the latter inasmuch it does not violate the conscience). None of this impinges on our identity and mission as Christians. As Paul writes at the climax of his Epistle: “But whatever gain I had –” whether in the way of pedigree or ethnic customs or “righteous causes” – “I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord.” (Phil 3:7-8)
Father Heide
