Aug 21 2019 Acts 23: 23-35

This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, but when I had learned that he was a Roman citizen, I came with the guard and rescued him.
Paul is being tarried about, imprisoned, rescued, moved, imprisoned. His wanderings are hard to follow, as is his captivity and release. Today, we read that he’s being transported from prison to Caesarea, an area in modern-day Israel, but a stone’s throw from Lebanon and Syria, but was governed by Felix, the Roman governor of Judea.

Paul’s being transported there because his captives found out he was a Roman citizen, not a local citizen. Because the Roman Empire was the occupying force, it made sense for them to treat one of their own citizens with more respect than the local occupied Jews.

As a resident in modern-day US, it’s hard to fathom what it would be like to be living in an occupied country. And what does that even mean? That there are troops monitoring or governing? That there are foreigners who’ve come in and replaced the local polity?

A quick look uncovers that the US has sent troops, or planes or military command staff in to 57 places in the past 50 years. Some are in our own country, like sending troops in for civil unrest, or suppressing indigenous protests, some have been bombings in nearly all continents, like Cambodia, Lebanon, and Libya, and Yugoslavia. We are the occupying force. To be precise, it’s not technically an occupation, unless a territory is placed under the authority of a hostile military. But maintaining a large military presence, and dropping our bombs is definitely something.

Still, I remain largely unscathed. Our overseas and domestic military antics rarely affect me. In Paul’s time, it was commonplace. His residence as a Roman citizen saved him in today’s reading; because he was Roman, the Roman occupying force did not want to let him get killed on their watch. He had the right passport or birthright to be spared by the authorities.

This morning, I’m thinking about how ridiculous national origin is, when it comes to the kingdom of God. Do we really think God cares if someone is from Afghanistan or Iran or Mexico? Aren’t we all children of God? Why should where anyone is born affect how I treat them?

While I take pride in believing I’m above petty discrimination based on nationality, I am a part of a tax-paying electorate that absolutely discriminates based on nationality. What’s my personal responsibility to right those wrongs? Where to even start?

I repent of the evil I have done, and the evil done on my behalf. Lord have mercy.