Now and again at a Federal Government level, a debate occurs about the merits of stripping dual citizens of their Australian citizenship, if they engage in terrorist activities or similar. So, the argument goes, that a person who has dual citizenship with Syria, for example, who then goes off and fights for the rebels there, should be deprived of his or her Australian citizenship. There are all sorts of arguments about whether that penalty is just or fair, and all sorts of debates about who should decide such things, whether it’s an Australian Government Minister or whether such significant power should reside with the Courts. Regardless, there is no doubting that stripping someone of his or her Australian citizenship is a massive step to take.
Citizenship is rightly valued very highly. Australian citizenship is considered one of the most valuable in the world, because of the standard of living and the level of education we enjoy.
In the time of Jesus, Roman citizenship was considered to have that kind of value. To be a Roman citizen gave you many privileges and quite a lot of protection under the law. You could potentially earn your citizenship, which often involved paying a big monetary contribution for the privilege, so it wasn’t just restricted to those who had been born Roman citizens. Nonetheless, the Romans were fairly restrictive. For example, if you were a Roman soldier serving in one of the many conquered provinces of the Empire, and you had a child to one of the local tribes-women, the rules were very clear: that child was not a citizen of the Empire.
Citizenship was carefully guarded and it was valuable! It helped you avoid some taxes and certain tributes that everyone else had to pay. You had the right to sue someone if they wronged you; non-citizens couldn’t count on being able to do that. You had the right to have a legal trial (to appear before a proper court and to defend yourself) and if the decision went against you, you could appeal that decision, just as we can in our courts today. The non-citizens didn’t have the right to a trial: if they were arrested and couldn’t bribe their way out of gaol, or get a wealthy family member to pay the bribe, they could potentially spend a long time there, or be sold into slavery. Finally, a Roman citizen could not be tortured or whipped, nor could he or she receive the death penalty, unless found guilty of treason. If accused of treason, a Roman citizen had the right to be tried in Rome, and even if sentenced to death, no Roman citizen could be sentenced to die on a cross.
St Paul, one of the most important early Christians because he wrote so much of the New Testament and because he helped found so many churches throughout Western Asia and Europe, was a Roman citizen. He had rights and protection under the law. It is very interesting that his letter to the Ephesians, he uses the word citizenship as the key word to describe what it’s like to be a Christian (see Ephesians 2: 11–12, 17–22)
We are no longer strangers and aliens, but citizens and members of the household of God. So, what does it mean to be a citizen of God’s house? What are the benefits of this citizenship? Ultimately, it means we have the promise of eternal life. Eternal life has two complementary meanings in Christianity. First, it means that death is not the end, but that we can look forward to eternal life with God. Second, it means fullness of life right now – abundant life.
What other benefits are we given as citizens of God’s house? A citizen is never just abandoned. When countries work properly, their citizens are looked after. One of the things about being a Roman citizen was that you could expect the protection of the Roman Army, and the Roman courts, if you got into trouble. In Australia we enjoy the protection of the police, with the courts to back them up, if we get into trouble. It also means the Government will go into bat for us overseas.
I still remember the case of the Australia journalist, Peter Greste. He was found guilty (in hotly debated circumstances) in an Egyptian court in 2014 of falsifying news and having a negative impact on overseas perceptions of the country. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. The Australian Government intervened and negotiated on his behalf with the new Egyptian government. He was released in 2015, after 400 days in an Egyptian prison, and returned to Australia. He always maintained his innocence.
In the case of being a Christian, it means we are never alone. There is always someone there with us. It means that we always have someone on our side, someone who wants the best for us. I think that fact (that there is always someone who wants the best for us) is the most encouraging thing of all. Whatever happens, God wants the best for us.
The Reverend Dr Theo McCall
School Chaplain
