Citizens of the Mountain

Paul reminds us in today’s second reading that “Our citizenship is in heaven.” To be a citizen means that you are at home, you are protected by the defenses of your city, you have certain rights. Especially in biblical times, citizenship meant the peace and security of a walled city. If “peace and security” aren’t the best descriptors for your life right now, then we start to understand what St. Paul meant. This is not our home. Here we will never have the kind of permanent security that we would like. That’s because what we really want is heaven. Jesus gives the apostles a glimpse of this in today’s Gospel. Although we can’t have heaven permanently in this life, we are all called from time to time to go up the mountain, to pray, the talk with God, and there experience a little bit of what our true citizenship has to offer.