Born a Citizen
Citizenship can make a big difference in how someone is treated.
'After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw Jesus saying to me, "Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me." And I said, "Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him." Then he said to me, "Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles."' Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.' And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. But when they had tied him up with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, 'Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?' When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, 'What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen.' The tribune came and asked Paul, 'Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?' And he said, 'Yes.' The tribune answered, 'It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.' Paul said, 'But I was born a citizen.' Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. - Acts 22:17-29
In Paul's case, Roman citizenship entitled him to better treatment than non-citizens. He was protected by Roman law. And natural born citizens commanded even more respect than citizens who had purchased their rights.
My grandson is spending this fall semester abroad. He will be subject to the local laws and customs of that country, and even though he is an American citizen, with all the rights and privileges that affords him, it doesn't give him an advantage there.
He will see what it is like to be a foreigner. Not a tourist. An alien.
He will not be able to use his US Citizenship to gain special rights there, or to get special treatment as Paul did when the Romans realized he was a citizen of Rome.
There is a major controversy in this country over citizenship, with the population torn over the rights of non-citizens versus citizens. We are a country that welcomes everyone, but that doesn't mean everyone has equal rights, even though many would like to see that be the case.
When the tribune realized Paul was a citizen, he was frightened because he had bound Paul without due process. He had committed a crime against a Roman citizen, by breaking Roman law.
Now we may say that this is one of the reasons the Roman Empire fell, but just as there were rules protecting citizens, there were rules about the treatment of slaves and subjects, non-citizens. They could be forced to work against their will, but only for a set time or distance. And while they were always treated as second-class, they were necessary to the vitality of the Empire.
So, that brings us to our world and our time.
How will we treat our citizens and non-citizens? Do we envision a time when there is no difference between the two, where all our world citizens subject to a universal bill of rights?
If so, how do we get there?
In the meantime, the value of being a citizen is in how well citizens are protected by law. This we should not destroy, as we work to be more welcoming.
More to come...