A Homily for Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Friday, November 8, 2024
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Philippians 3:17—4:1; Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5, 5-6; Luke 16:1-8
Audio Recording
Listen again to these words from our first reading today. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Here we are, just two days after learning of the results of our nation’s presidential election. Some of us are very happy with the results and some are unhappy. Whatever our thoughts might be on the outcome of the election, as Christians we must ask ourselves an important question, are we PRIMARILY citizens of the United States of America or are we PRIMARILY citizens of heaven?
You may be thinking, well Deacon, I’m a citizen of both the U.S. and a citizen of heaven. What’s your point? Yes, it’s true. Most of us are citizens of both the United States – with one notable exception, of course – AND we are citizens of heaven. But what I’m asking is are we PRIMARILY citizens of a given country or are we PRIMARILY citizens of heaven?
Regardless of who our candidate was in this election, as Christians we must see that neither political party has all the answers to solving our country’s problems. While one party’s economic or social programs may resonate more strongly with us than the other’s, the fact is that neither party can offer us the peace, joy and eternal security we should have as faithful Christians.
In today’s first reading, St. Paul reminds the Philippians that they are first and foremost citizens of heaven. At that time, many in Philippi were Roman citizens, protected by the laws of Rome, whereas others were mere Greeks and did not enjoy the security of Roman citizenship. The Roman citizens in Philippi looked to Rome as the source of their sense of identity, allegiance and security. They even worshipped the Roman emperor as “Lord” and “Savior.” Like the general population, the Christian community in Philippi consisted of both Roman citizens and Greeks.
I was struck by how little things have changed nearly 2,000 years later. While our Christian communities aren’t split between Roman citizens and Greeks, we are certainly communities who have both U.S. citizens and non-citizens, Democrats and Republicans, as members. We are divided today in much the same way the Philippians were divided in St. Paul’s time.
After listening to all of the rhetoric, and witnessing the passion and emotions of supporters of both parties for their candidates, both in the months leading up to and in the aftermath of this election, I’m left wondering where many Christians’ allegiances PRIMARILY lie? Is our savior the leader of a political party or is our savior Jesus Christ?
Is the source of our identity and security the risen Christ, or is it our political party, our nation and its leaders? If Jesus is Lord and Savior in the most absolute sense, then Caesar is not. The point is that as Christians, our ultimate allegiance must be to the Lord Christ, not to “Lord President.”
Certainly, this primary allegiance to Christ does not relieve us of our legitimate obligations to civil authority. Patriotism is a good thing, but we should not hold it in higher esteem than we hold Him to whom our ultimate allegiance is due.
Our lives must reflect the values of Christ and his Church. To the extent that a given political party promotes those values, we must support its efforts to create laws that enshrine them. But to the extent that it does not promote those values, we must oppose legislation that is contrary to the gospel. We must identify as Christians in ALL that we say and do, more so than we identify as Republicans or Democrats.
Let this election be a reminder that we are called as Christians to exercise our political citizenship in a way that implements our Christian social vision, that is, our pursuit of the universal common good, supporting policies and programs that promote genuine justice and peace, with special attention to the poor, the neglected, the suffering, and the unborn.
First and foremost, we must identify as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are, indeed, Christians and they will know us by our love.