Where Do You Live?
If I were to ask you, "Where do you live?" you would probably answer with the name of the city you live in, although we also often speak metaphorically about where we live. I'm sure you have heard people say, "I live in hope, I live in constant anxiety, I live in fear." We have a lot of interesting ways of describing where we live.
Our parish Bible study group is beginning a study of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians. They lived in the ancient city of Philippi. You can read about St. Paul's first visit to this city in Acts 16. He started a small Christian community there, but the city as a whole rejected him. While ministering in the city, St. Paul was attacked by a crowd, soldiers beat him with clubs, then he was arrested and jailed for disturbing the peace. If this were me, I would be asking the Lord for early retirement at this point, but St. Paul always found comfort in the Lord even though his life was rarely comfortable. St. Paul continued his journeys to other cities, but you can imagine what an unfriendly place the city of Philippi was to that small Christian community St. Paul left behind.
Now, ten years later, St. Paul was in jail again, likely in Rome, and the Christians in Philippi sent him a gift to strengthen and encourage him. St. Paul wrote his epistle to the Philippians to thank them for this gift. At the time of this letter, St. Paul was living in prison, and the Philippians were living in a city that persecuted them, so I find it surprising that a major theme of this letter is joy. How can we have joy wherever we are living?
St. Paul's answer comes in the very first verse of his letter. Philippians 1:1 says, "Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ. To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi." Yes, they live in Philippi, but more important than that, they are living in Christ Jesus. St. Paul speaks of being "in Christ" over 140 times in his letters, so this little phrase holds a big meaning. The phrase, "in Christ," certainly has to do with our identity in Him, but it also has to do with where we live.
You can view the whole Bible as a depiction of humanity's journey to find their home in God. In Genesis, Adam and Eve lost their home, but Abraham was promised one. In Exodus, Moses, then later Joshua, brings the nation of Israel to their home. Israel's history in the Old Testament is a repeating cycle of repentance, coming home, forgetting God, slavery and losing their home, then repentance. The Psalms tell us where we should live. One of many examples is Psalm 91, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty... Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you" (vv. 1, 9, 10), and the beloved 23rd Psalm states, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
In the New Testament the theme continues with the person of Christ. Jesus says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). And in addition to all the times St. Paul speaks of being in Christ, the New Testament ends with Christians finding their home with God in the book of Revelation, "He who sits on the throne will dwell among them." (7:15) "God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (21:3-4)
In order to find joy wherever we are living, St. Paul and all of Scripture invites us to find our home in God, so perhaps the next time someone asks you, "Where do you live?" you can pause, and from deep in your heart, you can know, "I live in Christ."
Originally published in the Holy Apostles E-bulletin. Subscribe here.
