May 24, 2025 – Daily Catholic Lectionary Readings for Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter.

“You do not belong to the world.” Jesus isn’t being metaphorical—His followers are literally aliens, expatriates from heaven temporarily stationed on hostile earth. This radical identity explains everything: why the world hates us, why their systems don’t work for us, why we operate by different values, and why opposition confirms rather than contradicts our calling. We’re not failed earthlings trying to fit in—we’re successful aliens living under divine orders from our true home.

This cinematic reflection explores:

• What it literally means to be chosen “out of” the world, not into it
• Why alien citizenship is strength, not weakness in hostile territory
• How heavenly identity explains inevitable earthly opposition
• Why divine joy flows from belonging somewhere else entirely

Readings: Acts 16:1-10; Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 5; John 15:18-21

Perfect for anyone struggling to fit into worldly systems, facing opposition for living differently, or wondering why following Jesus feels so foreign to everything around them.

#AlienNation #ChosenOut #HeavenlyCitizenship #SaturdayReflection #FifthWeekEaster

The Alien Nation: Living as Citizens of Another World

“You do not belong to the world.”

Five words that change everything. Not “You’re different from the world” or “You should be better than the world.” You literally don’t belong here. You’re aliens. Foreigners. Citizens of another kingdom operating undercover in enemy territory.

This isn’t metaphorical. Jesus means it literally. His followers are expatriates from heaven, temporarily stationed on earth with radically different values, loyalties, and operating systems.

The world runs on power, accumulation, image, and survival. You run on love, sacrifice, truth, and eternal perspective. The world’s currency is worthless in your economy. Your treasure looks like foolishness to theirs.

This is why they hate you.

Not because you’re religious. Not because you’re moral. Not because you follow rules they don’t. They hate you because your very existence exposes the bankruptcy of their system. You’re living proof that their way isn’t the only way, or even the best way.

When someone chooses love over leverage, they threaten everyone who chose leverage over love. When someone finds joy in surrender, they make everyone else’s pursuit of control look desperate. When someone lives for eternity, they make everyone else’s obsession with the temporary look tragically small.

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.” Of course it would. The world loves its own because they validate its values, confirm its choices, and join its delusions. But you don’t. You can’t. You’re wired differently now.

This is what Jesus means when He says, “I have chosen you out of the world.” He hasn’t just saved you from hell, He’s relocated you from one kingdom to another. You have new citizenship, new allegiances, new priorities that make no sense to your former countrymen.

Paul discovered this alien identity during his missionary journey. The Spirit blocked his perfectly reasonable plans because heavenly citizens don’t operate by earthly logic. The vision calling him to Macedonia wasn’t just geographic redirection, it was kingdom assignment. His citizenship in heaven trumped his comfort on earth.

Notice he didn’t argue with the vision. He didn’t demand explanations. Aliens in foreign countries follow orders from their home government, even when locals don’t understand.

But here’s the paradox: Living as aliens doesn’t make us miserable. It makes us free.

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth!” David’s explosive celebration comes from understanding his true identity. “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Not citizens trying to find our place in a hostile world, but beloved sheep under the care of a perfect shepherd.

The world’s hatred can’t touch our joy because our joy doesn’t come from the world’s approval. The world’s rejection can’t damage our worth because our worth doesn’t come from the world’s acceptance. We belong somewhere else.

This alien status isn’t punishment, it’s protection. When you don’t belong to a sinking ship, you’re not worried about rearranging the deck chairs. When you’re not invested in a collapsing system, you’re free to live by better principles.

“Because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” The therefore matters. The hatred isn’t arbitrary, it’s inevitable. It’s the natural reaction of a dying system to the presence of living alternatives.

But remember: You were chosen out. This wasn’t accident or punishment. You were specifically selected, deliberately relocated, intentionally repositioned. The King of Heaven looked at you in the kingdom of earth and said, “You’re coming with me.”

The question isn’t whether you’ll face opposition, you will. The question is whether you’ll remember why. Not because you’re doing something wrong, but because you’re living something right. Not because you’re failing, but because you’re foreign.

Your alien status is your strength, not your weakness. It’s your freedom, not your burden. It’s the reason you can love when others hate, hope when others despair, and joy when others mourn.

You don’t belong to this world. Thank God.