Sunday, July 1, 2007
Sermon: "The Dawn's Early Light"
Scripture: 2 Samuel 7: 1-17
Reverend Larry Gerber
What makes a Christian patriot? How does an American church conduct itself? Can the church have a theology of patriotism without slipping into narrow triumphalism? In order to be an effective witness of the power and love of God, the church must be both a part of the culture and country in which it lives, without becoming part of them.
One of Doug Marlette's "Kudzu" cartoons portrayed the pastor Will B. Dunn preaching on "What are some of the tough issues facing the church, you ask? Should the sanctuary carpet be red or green, should the church speak out on social issues, and just who should sing the solo Easter Sunday?" This week we confront the challenge of "patriotism," and its role in the life of the family of God.
Patriotism seems to be an emotion which rides on a tide of fashion sometimes the currents of public opinion find it praiseworthy and virtuous, then sometimes quite abruptly the irresistible pull of events shifts our field of vision and patriotism appears suspect, shallow, or at the very least quaintly old-fashioned. Regardless of its momentary appeal, none of us can escape from the fact that we are all from a particular place a town, a region, a nation and that the experience of that place has, to varying degrees, shaped who we are and what we believe. What begins as an accident of birth becomes an integral part of our very being.
With its strong evangelical tradition, Christianity has a history which reaches across national boundaries. Unfortunately, this has not meant that one culture or one nation has not, at one time or another, seen itself as the "true" or "chosen" embodiment of Christian ideals. Successfully entwining the sentiments and convictions of heart-felt religion and soul-stirring patriotism has always been a tricky business. The historical disasters resulting from imprudently mixing these two range from the barbarism of the European "Crusaders"' attempts to wrest the holy lands from the "Infidels," to the massacres of Native Americans at the hands of the United States Army, and onto the pathetic excuses for "homelands" in the black townships huddling on the fringes of affluent all-white cities in apartheid stained South Africa.
But patriotism coupled with Christianity need not always turn out such tragic examples of bigoted triumphalism. The English churchman/scholar/ politician William Wilberforce, living during the extraordinarily nationalistic late eighteenth century, defined patriotism as "a quality that bound men and women to their homeland without confining philanthropy to a single nation." "Of this patriotism," wrote Wilberforce, "Christianity is the copious source and the surest preservative." ( A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professional Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes, Contrasted with Real Christianity - London: T. Codell and W. Davies, 1797, 395-396.)
Perhaps some of Wilberforce's convictions stemmed in part from the fact that, taken in its most basic form, Christianity is love in action. God's love for humanity is singularly incarnated in the Godmadeflesh Jesus. Jesus' love for his Father and for all his Father's other children was manifested in the sacrifice of his own life on the cross for our sake. But even the universal love of God and Christ were initially particularized. God chose a specific people, the Hebrews, to join the divine in a special relationship. Jesus was born a Jew, a Galilean, and a Nazarene. Jesus' nationality and heritage are an integral part of God's salvation story. Even Jesus' own mission and ministry were initially directed only at God's historic partners, the Jews. It is only after he is rejected by his own people that Jesus feels the freedom to turn his ministry toward the Gentiles.
Christians cannot, then, count it as a sign of weakness or fanaticism to feel a special bond of attachment to a specific place. Persons not able to love their country are seriously handicapped, for it is this same preference for the particular that inspires the ability to love our husbands and wives, our children, our homes. Christians should not be embarrassed to love their nation or fear that their love for one place and one people will hinder their ability to love others as well. God called a halt to the wilderness wanderings of the Hebrews and settled them in Israel. While this week's text denies David the honor of building a permanent "residence" for the formerly nomadic Yahweh, it does reveal that God had decided to pitch his tent among these people for all time.
Daring to love and serve both God and country with integrity was a risk lawyer/poet Francis Scott Key was willing to take. The author of the words to our national anthem took seriously his responsibilities as both a Christian and an American. Key was a strong Episcopalian who seriously considered joining the clergy on two different occasions. But he ultimately declined the offer to serve as an assistant rector at the highly respected St. Paul's Church in Baltimore. He feared that by taking such a prestigious position some might feel he had acted "under the influence of unworthy inducements, and thus the cause of religion in some measure might receive injury."
It was in the midst of the highly unpopular War of 1812, a conflict still noted for its shabby ideology and selfish ends, that Key stepped out of obscurity and into American history. On the night bridging September 13 and 14, 1814, Key found himself sloshing about in a boat on Chesapeake Bay on a mission of benevolence. Key had volunteered to take part in a not-very optimistic prisoner exchange attempt - trading a captured British officer for the release of an aged, but highly respected American physician, Dr. William Beane. With the approval of President Madison and with all the official documentation he might need, Key began a two-week voyage down the Bay searching for the already departed British fleet.
Key's negotiating abilities were apparently quite good, for he duly returned with Dr. Beane, and "The Star Spangled Banner, " an almost completed poem he had composed during his mission of mercy. Originally intended to be sung as a hymn of thanks for the rescue of the city of Baltimore from bombardment from the British fleet, its hymn-like qualities are still quite evident. Unlike other national anthems, "The Star Spangled Banner" does not extol the glories of battle or the nobility of soldiering, instead it offers up gratitude for the event of an unexpected salvation.
In the national anthem all eyes are focused on the Flagstaff, hoping against hope that as dawn breaks, the light will reveal that the United States' flag will still be flying there.
Today as we face the dawning of a new day of challenges and opportunities, what will we be able to see in the first glimpses of that light? If we are content to focus only on the flagpole, we might not notice some of the destruction that has occurred around it. Will we notice the pollution staining the land and the waters lying under the protection of this flag? Will we notice the appalling number of homeless men and women and children wandering aimlessly under the banner of freedom? Will we notice the bullet holes that drug lords have shot into this flag or the layer of cocaine powder sootily smudging its colors? If the light that dawns is not strong enough or bright enough to reveal these faults, then it is up to the Church, like David's prophet Nathan, to increase the intensity of the light and to boldly speak the word of God to the country we love.
We live in a country that is proud to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. We serve a God who says that we are blessed to be a blessing and we are to be a light unto the world. We live in a free country where we can worship openly, pray proudly, and serve humbly. And regardless of threats to take "in God we Trust" off our coinage, and remove the words "One Nation Under God" and remove manger scenes from public places, we as Christians still have the power to witness God in our lives. We are blessed and we are free.
As we prepare to break bread and drink from the cup let us be ever aware that we have been blessed and we are summoned to be a blessing to others. Supper is served, let us eat.
