Readings for Proper 8A:
Deut. 15:7-11; Collect [BCP 242]
June 25, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA
Thomas Jefferson (who drafted the Declaration of Independence and eventually became the third president of the United States) once said: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.” If God is just, the God in whom “we trust”, then what kind of a nation does God call us to be? And what happens to that nation if it ignores the poor, the vulnerable, the left behind? The God that was revealed to us in the person & teachings of Jesus, pleads with us to resolve conflicts without the terrible consequences of war. God pleads with us to choose justice, peace, and the dignity of every human being. God pleads with us to choose life so that we and our children may live. As we remember and appreciate our liberties during this 4th of July holiday, I would like to talk about having the grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace. I will use today’s collect for Independence Day and the reading from Deuteronomy as my texts.
“Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” [Collect for Independence Day, BCP 242]
Liberty is having the freedom to make choices: both politically and personally. It is freedom from bondage and oppression. Liberty does not come easily. It is something to cherish. Liberty often requires a great deal of effort to attain as well as self-sacrifice to maintain. When we want to exercise our liberties, we need to remember that we are not the center of the universe. God is the center and thus we need to take into account, the rights and dignity of others. For instance, during the 18th and 19th centuries, many large landowners in the Southern states wanted economic freedom. They wanted the liberty to have slaves to tend the crops so that they (the landowners) could make a good living. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to make a good living. But there is something wrong with making a good living when it offends the principles of righteousness and peace.
Righteousness is doing that which is right, just, and virtuous. Peace is freedom from war, strife, hostility, suffering, and fear. Christians are people who strive after righteousness and peace. Christians are people who have pledged their allegiance to God as revealed in Christ. This religious “pledge of allegiance” means that we conform our lives to the teachings and spirit of Christ first and foremost. So when we vote for a political candidate or show support for a national policy, we need to do so on the basis of our primary allegiance. What does God ask of us? Will righteousness and peace be upheld? This was a question that John Winthrop answered in 1630 as he led a fleet of eleven vessels and seven hundred passengers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the New World.
Winthrop preached a sermon in which he declared that the Puritan colonists were members of a special pact with God to create a holy community and that the wealthy had a holy duty to look after the poor. While his vision failed to take hold, he did say some important things that are relevant for us today. He believed that if the new immigrants were selfish and only sought great things for themselves, then God would become angry and break his covenant with them. He went on to say:
“Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck, and to provide for our prosperity, is to follow the counsel of Micah: to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, we must be knit together, in this work, as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection. We must be willing to abridge of our superfluities {curtail our excesses} for the supply of others’ necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience, and liberality. We must delight in each other; make others’ conditions our own ... So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ... And if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, we shall be made a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of our enemies to speak evil of the ways of God and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the face of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are a-going.” [City on the Hill Sermon, 1630]
As Christians, we believe that caring for the poor and vulnerable is important. We believe that caring for the environment, God’s creation, is also important. We believe in truth telling, not political jingoism. We believe in ethics and values that enhance human life, human rights, family life, racial reconciliation, social justice, and human dignity of all people. We believe that we are called to be peacemakers; realizing that in a sinful world, some of us may hold that there may be times when war is a necessary evil. But that Christians should never identify violence against others with the will of God and should always work to prevent and end it. And if and when we stray from this compassionate stance in life, we (like many empires before us) will be cursed.
It is into this context of following God’s law that we read the passage from Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is the 5th book of the 1st Covenant (i.e. Old Testament). This book is set in the form of a speech of Moses delivered in Moab just before his death and the entry of Israel into the promise land. He is warning the people to walk in the ways of God or else they will fail as a vibrant and holy community. In today’s reading, the focus is on caring for the poor of the land:
“If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be ... Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work ... Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’ ” [Deut. 15]
The health and faithfulness of any community or nation is judged by how well they take care of the poor and vulnerable.
Since we are talking about righteousness and peace, I want to say a few words about the difference between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is a love of country. When we say we love our country, we are saying we love its principles, ideals, and policies. “Patriotism is a commitment to the ideas for which we strive as a people. Real patriotism welcomes, encourages, and commits itself to the great national debates that question war, resist taxes, and determine penal systems. Patriotism asks hard questions: Are we really putting enough money into education in this country? What exactly does an ethic of life require at all levels, at all times? Should we be putting over half the national budget into military establishments? These questions engage the patriot with honestly and courage.” [Joan Chittister]
Nationalism on the other hand, is an exultation of one nation over all others. Some religious nationalists believe America is God’s choicest nation and that war is a helpful tool to accelerate God’s plan, the destruction of non-Christians and the supremacy of the United States. These folks believe that the American military should be used to spread this “gospel.” Some of these religious nationalists believe that God is always on our side. This kind of distorted thinking is not only bad theology, but it leads to triumphalism, self-centeredness, and dangerous foreign policy. Signers of the Declaration of Independence knew that they would have to sacrifice a great deal in order to obtain liberty for the colonies in the New World. The Declaration ends with their commitment to give their all for the principle of freedom: “We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” I wonder how many of our political leaders who create domestic and foreign policy today, would first pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, to accomplish their goals?
In regard to religious nationalists, I think Abraham Lincoln had it right. Our task should not be to invoke religion and the name of God by claiming God’s blessing and endorsement for all our national policies and practices-saying in effect, that God is on our side. Rather, Lincoln said, we should pray and worry earnestly whether we are on God’s side.
So, are we on God’s side? Are we faithful to the teachings and spirit of Jesus? May almighty God grant us the grace and the wisdom to pursue our liberties in righteousness and peace.
| Updated 6/19/06 |
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