6 November: Philippians 3:17-4:1: Homily

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(Please read this Scripture passage first, before the homily.)

Philippians had two citizenships and two lords and saviors, not only one of each.  Philippi was a major Roman city and its citizens enjoyed Roman citizenship.  The city also enjoyed the protection if its lord and savior, the Roman emperor.

Those Philippians who believed in Christ, however, found themselves ostracized and overlooked by the rest of the population.  They were treated as second-class citizens, not quite up to par with the others.  Because these Christians had strange beliefs and practices, they faced serious obstacles, much as many minorities experience in the United States.

Paul reminded the Christian Philippians that they had a better citizenship, one in heaven, not tied down to a city like Philippi.  They also had one Lord and Savior, not a distant human leader, but the Lord, Jesus Christ.

We pride ourselves on our United States citizenship.  We know that others would like to share this citizenship with us.  Often we do not want to share it, because we want it for ourselves.  As Catholics, however, we must remember that our true citizenship is in heaven.  We must welcome those who share our heavenly citizenship and who also wish to share our national citizenship.

Today, we still await the results of our presidential election.  We need to reaffirm what Paul taught the Philippian Christians, that we have our citizenship in heaven and that we have but one Lord and Savior.  We believe that no President can replace Jesus Christ.  We believe that no country or President is perfect because only the Lord Jesus Christ’s citizenship of heaven is perfect.  We also believe that this citizenship and Lord embrace all peoples, not only those in the United States.

We wait, we hope, but we only stand firm when we stand in the Lord, not in a President.  So while we wait the results of an election, we stand firm in the Lord Jesus.  We have our citizenship in heaven and we have only one Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Responses

    • dvincent

      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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    • dvincent

      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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    • dvincent

      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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    • dvincent

      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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    • dvincent

      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. I do plan to keep writing. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

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    • dvincent

      Thank you for your comment. I am new at blogging. When I started I determined that I should make my blogs accurate and timely. I wanted people think about the Scripture and the thoughts flowing from this Scripture. I use good commentaries of the Bible (one of them is the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which I like very much). I also need to be reminded of faith, so I tend to preach to myself about my duties, my prerogatives and my situations. Thanks again for your comment. Fr David Vincent.

    • dvincent

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