This is the first of a four-part series covering the sensitive topic of religion and the state in the US, including war, peace, patriotism, allegiance, and Jesus. I understand that many of you, my dear readers, will not agree with some, most, or even all of what you are going to read. I would love any feedback, positive or negative, questions, concerns, what-have-you. I would only say two things – one, please email me any critiques…I don’t want the “comment” section to turn into a debate. Second, I feel like it will be all-too-easy to give a shoot-from-the-hip gut reaction. I beg you, please think about and pray over what I have written. My intention is not to cause dissension or anger, but rather to provoke thought and stir the imagination…
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Ahh July fourth… hot dogs, snow cones, fireworks, little american flags fluttering in the breeze, and of course Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the USA” …truly a beautiful sight, something to stir the good Christian to patriotism and pride in the United States.
Right?
Well, maybe not.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately (always a dangerous thing to do) and I’ve come to a profound realization – Jesus wasn’t an American. I know, I know, it’s a crazy concept. But I think it just might be true. In fact, given my understanding of world geography (thank you ninth grade social studies) I’m pretty darn confident about that. This newfound understanding has also led me to another revolutionary breakthrough… since Jesus isn’t from the US, Jesus isn’t patriotic! In fact, I don’t think he gives a hoot about any man-made borders or national boundaries that are nothing more than artificial constructs created by some corrupt kingdom-of-the-world government. I think probably if Jesus was filling out a form that asked for his nationality, he would’ve simply put “human.” His green card might say “Earth.”
So maybe instead of July 4, we should remember that our independence and freedom as Christians is because of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. And maybe, instead, our allegiance should lie not to the american flag, with its rockets‘ red glare and bombs bursting in air, but to the Slaughtered Lamb, with his bloody cross and empty tomb. Maybe, instead, Easter should be our day of independence and freedom – from self-love, from money, from war and violence, and from unblinking national allegiance.
Easter is our day of independence from independence. Americans love the idea of the “american dream” – independence, self-reliance, and “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps” (have you ever tried that one??). Americans, so proud of their Manifest Destiny-colonizing, frontier-settling, nuclear-bomb-and-unmanned-drone heritage, can’t get enough of the idea that if you work hard enough and you push through whatever you have to, you can get what you want — financial security, a hot wife, quiet [medicated] kids, and a well-manicured lawn — and still feel good about yourself in the morning.
But how in the world does that line up with the truth of the gospel of Jesus?
The one who told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us…without qualification or stipulation. Who told us that we cannot serve both God and money. Who dined with tax collectors and prostitutes and the crippled and lame and poor and homeless and all sorts of disreputables. Who chewed out Pharisees — the religious leaders whose arrogance, hypocrisy, and desire to maintain the status quo did not allow them to understand what their faith truly stood for. This Jesus who told us not to worry about our clothing or our food because his Father would take care of it, and to instead seek first the Kingdom, because we can’t do anything on our own anyway. Who told us to give away money–to despise money–to have heavenly treasures instead.
Surely this Jesus would not approve of the “american dream.” Surely this Jesus would decry the warmongers and jingoists proclaiming his name as divinely blessing their government-sanctioned murder. Surely he would chew out the religious leaders whose arrogance, hypocrisy, and desire to maintain the status quo still will not allow them to understand what their faith truly stands for.
Surely.
