Every year, on July 1, our family can be found near the Saskatchewan Legislature taking part in the Canada Day celebrations. More specifically, you will find us watching the Canadian citizenship ceremony, if they’d let us in on it, or applauding the new citizens from virtually every corner of the globe. The ceremony takes me and Sulojana back to a day in 1988 in Stewart
Russell school when we stood up and took our oath of Canadian citizenship.
Most of you were born Canadian citizens, so you may not be familiar with the procedures that must be followed before you can become a Canadian citizen. Once you meet the residency requirement of being in Canada for at least 3 years, you submit an application along with 2 photographs and your
existing passport. The government conducts a security check to determine whether you have a criminal record and once you are cleared, you have an interview with a citizenship judge. Pass the interview and wait for the next appointed day when you will be officially made a Canadian citizen.
By the way, in preparation for the interview, you have to go through a booklet that gives you an abridged version of Canada’s geography, history, government structure, etc. You are supposed to know the names of the present Prime Minister, Governor-General, Premier of the province and other such trivia! The correct answers to these questions is supposed to qualify you to become a Canadian citizen.
Frankly, I think they should come up with a new way of qualifying people. After all, why ask those born outside of Canada questions that those born on
Canadian soil can’t even answer correctly? And, what relevance does the history or the geography of the country have to do with everyday living as a Canadian citizen anyway? How about asking questions such as:
What are Timbits? Name at least 3 varieties. Or the judge could simply say: "Could you please pass me a serviette, I just spilled poutine on my toque in
the foyer?" and watch the applicant’s face for either an understanding nod or a puzzled look that says: “Would you repeat that in English, please?”
True or false: Francophones & anglophones are devices that do not communicate well with one another.
Recite the words to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray’s “You needed me”. or "If I had a million dollars" by The Barenaked Ladies, including the inter-stanza banter between Steven and Ed.
Do the hand actions to Sharon, Lois and Bram’s ``Skin-a-marinki-dinki-do.’’
And, finally, see if they can sing the first four lines of “O Canada” without making a mistake!
In any event, every country has its own requirements for citizenship. And no matter what procedure we follow to obtain that citizenship, we do not realize
its value until we find ourselves outside the country, at a border crossing or an immigration office, when someone looks at the passport or citizenship
certificate we present and gives us the go-ahead.
I vividly remember the difference in treatment I received when I returned to India with an Indian passport several years ago and a Canadian passport
three years ago. The first time they did everything but strip search me, and wouldn’t let me through until I paid the customs officer a bribe, with which he was rather disappointed, because the only dollars I had on my person were Canadian, not American...apparently even Indians can tell the difference! This last time, no questions asked. They simply let me through.
Yes, the citizenship we hold does make a difference. The passport is the ultimate proof of our citizenship. However, in practical terms, how do people discover our true citizenship when we are in another land? Canadians who are not blessed with a natural tan as I have, when you travel overseas, are advised to wear Canadian pins on your lapel, Canadian flags on your jackets, backpacks and other pieces of luggage, especially if you are in a territory that is hostile towards the U.S. This way you will not be mistaken for an American citizen!
Discerning observers can detect the Canadian as soon as you open your mouth and start talking, eh? But, if you did not know how to look for these tell-tale signs, how could you tell?
In our reading, Paul tells us that We ARE citizens of heaven. No matter which country’s passport we may hold, all Christians, all who follow Jesus are
now made citizens of heaven. No residency requirements. No book to study first. You may or may not have had an interview that resulted in your being
baptized or confirmed. But you made a choice to follow Jesus Christ. And when you made that choice, when you received him as your Lord and Saviour, as the One whose life and teachings are now your norm, right then
and there, you were given a passport declaring that you are a citizen of heaven.
Can others tell by your behaviour, by your words that you hold this passport?
Paul is writing to the Philippians. Philippi was a Roman colony. At strategic military zones throughout the world Rome set up colonies. These colonies were not settled in remote areas of the world but in strategic territories. They were placed at the major highways, crucial mountain passes where armies
might march. Their citizens were mostly soldiers.
If they served in the colony for twenty-one years they received their Roman citizenship. A great distinction of these Roman colonies was they remained part of Rome. Roman dress was sported whether they lived in Greece or Israel. Roman governors ruled these cities. They spoke Latin. Roman justice and morals were executed. They never forgot they were citizens of Rome. They remained unalterably and permanently Roman even to the ends of the earth.
You’ve heard the expression: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Unh. Unh. In reality it was: “When in Philippi, do as the Romans do. When in Macedonia, do as the Romans do. When in Corinth, do as the Romans do.” Get the picture?
Many in the church were Roman citizens. They lived in Greece but their citizenship was in Rome. They immediately understood Paul’s analogy. They have a citizenship on earth but they have another in heaven. They were never to forget they were citizens of heaven. Their conduct was to match their citizenship.
Just as Rome had colonies all over, so too does God have colonies scattered all over the world. They are patches of heaven on earth. Christians live under
the principles and ideals of heaven. We perform an important function on earth while we are here. God has placed us on earth to glorify him here in time. Yes, we vote and pay our taxes according to the law of the land...boy, do we ever! Yes, we become involved in the affairs of time. However, we should not allow our citizenship here to put our citizenship there in the shade.
There is a fine balance between these two citizenships. Yes, some are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good. On the other hand we can also be
so earthly-minded that we are no heavenly good, can’t we?
Jesus said in John 17 that his followers are “in the world, but not OF the world.” He tells Pilate that he is a king, but “My kingdom is not of this world.” In the book of Acts we read about Peter and John being thrown into jail for saying: “We must obey God, not humans.”
Listen to this letter written at the end of the fourth century: "Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life....With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign. And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country....They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven".
Young Billy had just been baptized as a teenager when he went off to camp for a week. This was not a Church camp and there was nothing spiritual on the agenda. The minister who baptized him was quite worried about he would fare as a sheep among wolves. So he gave the neonatal Christian a good pep talk and sent him off. When Billy returned from camp, the minister said:
“Hey, Billy, I was really worried about you. Tell me now, how did the others react when they found out that you are a Christian?” “Well, sir” replied Billy,
“you had no reason to worry, because I got so involved in everything that everyone else was doing that they never found out I was a Christian!” “But, son”, replied the minister, “didn’t I remind you that you are a soldier in the Lord’s army?” “Yessir”, said Billy. “I did remember what you said. It’s just that for this week, I chose to be a member of the Secret Service!”
Do your neighbours, your friends, your co-workers know that you are a citizen of heaven? Do other members of your family know? Or are you in the Secret Service?
Has there ever been a time in history when our heavenly citizenship needs to be revealed more to our society than right now? Listen to this piece that came
from one of my American friends, entitled: “A Student’s Prayer”
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple or orange or green,
That’s no offense, it’s the freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise,
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God’s name is prohibited by the State.
We’re allowed to cuss & dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues & cheeks.
They’ve outlawed guns; but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the unwed daddy, our Senior King.
It’s "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We’re taught that such "judgments" do not belong.
We can get our condoms, & birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires & totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No Word of God must reach this crowd.
It’s scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns, the school’s a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot, My soul please take.
Canadian society is not all that different from American society in this respect, is it? Or for that matter, Philippian society? The challenge is still the
same. Will followers of Jesus allow the world around them to shape their lives or will they allow their lives to shape the world around them? Paul talks
about people whose “god is their belly.” That’s his way of saying that our temptation is to live our lives according to what feels good. “Belly” is an euphemism that stands for more than just satisfying our appetite for food. It is a reference to how easy it is to give in to the message: “If it feels good, do
it.” “Feels so right, it can’t be wrong.” Citizens of heaven live by another maxim. “If it is the right thing to do, do it, no matter how it feels.”
Isn’t that how Jesus lived his life? He did what God wanted him to do. He showed us how to be a citizen of heaven while on earth. Paul begins today’s reading by saying something incredible: “Imitate me as I have imitated Christ.” Can we say that to our children and fellow members of the church? “Be a citizen of heaven the way I am.”
What is more important to a citizen of heaven? To please God? Or to please another human being? What is more important to a colony of heavenly citizens, the church? To do what God wants us to do, no matter what the cost? Or to do what keeps the membership happy?
Friday night, as we sat here for a wedding rehearsal, someone made a comment about the cross. It was barren. No banners on it. No decorations. It seemed such a stark contrast to the flowers, the white cloths, the lacy tablecloth. And I said: “Well, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Especially in this season of Lent when we are called to focus on the cross of Christ.
Because that is what we live our life by. That is why Paul labels people as “enemies of the cross” when they claim to be Christians but live their life by
earthly values.
A man visited his longtime friend, a British military officer stationed in an African jungle. One day when the friend entered the officer’s hut, he was startled to see him dressed in formal attire and seated at a table set with silverware and fine china. The visitor asked why he was all dressed up and seated at a table so sumptuously arrayed in the jungle. The officer explained, "Once a week I follow this routine to remind myself of who I am--a British citizen. I want to maintain the customs of my real home and live according to the codes of British conduct, no matter how those around me live. I want to avoid substituting a foreign culture for that of my homeland."
You ARE citizens of heaven. That is why you are here this morning. You have chosen to march to the beat of a different drummer. You have opted to live by a different set of values. You value obedience to God over success in the eyes of the world. You choose to serve others rather than lord it over them. You choose to give away your life rather than hoard it.You choose to walk by faith, not by sight. You choose to take up the cross, not avoid suffering at all costs. You choose to love your enemies rather than socking it to them.
You ARE citizens of heaven. Never forget it.
Thanks be to God. AMEN.
