Theological Truth: God’s blessings are always meant for the good of all.
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Happy Independence Day! Or, as Susan Palmer suggested—Interdependence Day. Because while we declared our independence from England 250 years ago, by doing so the colonies became even more interdependent on one other.
I was reminded of interdependence this week while listening to Woody Guthrie sing, “This land is your land, this land my land…this land was made for you and me.” It occurred to me that those lyrics—like so much of our faith—are paradoxical, faithful, and true. He opens with the generous, unselfish, and counter-cultural assertion that this land is your land. By placing that first, he eliminates any possessiveness or competitiveness in the next claim that “this land is my land.” This land belongs to each of us, all of us. It’s communal. Shared. Interdependent. We’re in this together.
This land was made for you and me. These resources, this experiment of democracy, the possibility of liberty and justice for all, has been gifted to us by God. Does that mean that America was founded as a Christian nation? If so, what are the implications for us now? What are the risks…and the responsibilities?
A lot of people are contemplating those questions right now, including Trinity. We’ve been reading Historian John Fea’s exploration of the question, “Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?” in his book by the same title. I agree with Fea that a question with only a “yes or no” answer is insufficient to handle the complexity of such an issue. The better question to ask is “What is the relationship between our faith and our country, between Christianity and our nation?” Unsurprisingly, Benjamin Franklin had some thoughts to share on the subject.
But first, to give some background, Fea points out that, “In 1784 [Franklin] professed his belief in a God who ‘abases the Proud and favors the Humble.’” (p. 219) Cautionary words for anyone claiming divine authority. Franklin might have been thinking of today’s reading from Zechariah: “Lo your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey.” Those particularly proud of their Godly chosen-ness and willing to wield their moral superiority like a weapon would do well to remember that an authentic encounter with the Almighty both inspires and humbles us. That’s the paradox of God’s sovereignty. It’s deeply gratifying for God to work through us, but incredibly dangerous to assume God works for us.
Franklin understood these risks, but it did not preclude him from seeing God’s hand at work in the founding of the country. In 1788, reflecting on the Constitutional Convention, he wrote: “I beg I may not be understood to infer, that our General Convention was divinely inspired, when it form’d the new federal Constitution…yet I must own I have so much faith in the Government of the world by Providence, that I can hardly conceive that… a Transaction of such momentous Importance to the Welfare of Millions…should be suffered to pass without being in some degree influenc’d, guided and governed by that omnipotent, omnipresent, and beneficent Ruler, in who all inferior Spirits live, and move, and have their Being.” (P. 219)
Franklin is saying of course God was involved in the formation of this country. The loving, powerful, caring God made known in Jesus Christ would not ignore such important work. But I also hear his humble and faithful wisdom admitting that it’s complicated. It isn’t a question of if God is involved, but how?
That’s the important and faithful question we should be asking? Of course, God is working his purposes out, and the Incarnational God revealed in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit continues to do so through human beings of every race, nation, and creed! But that doesn’t give us license to privilege Christianity in the halls of government or impose our chosen religion or denomination on others. (Can you imagine the Mayor of New York requiring the reading of the Koran in city schools? Or if JFK had mandated praying the rosary?) Our job, as disciples of Jesus and citizens with primary allegiance to the Kingdom of God, is to love God and our neighbor. Or as our collect for today prays, “that we may be devoted to [God] with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection.”
Dependent on God; interdependent with neighbor. This land is your land. This land is my land. God made this land for you and me. God blessed us with this land, this country, these freedoms. It’s taken 250 years and we are still struggling to live into the truth that all people are created equal, but there’s no doubt: God has indeed blessed America. The question for us as people of faith is what will we do with the blessing?
Unfortunately, too often humans see God’s blessing as exclusive. Consider this pivotal passage from Genesis, where God promises Abram, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (12:1-4).
Our tendency is to hear the first part and miss the second. “British missiologist Lesslie Newbigin said these words addressed the greatest heresy (or dangerous idea) in the history of monotheism. Many people understand being blessed by God as an exclusive matter, Newbigin said, as if God blesses some to the exclusion of others. But no, Newbigin says. From the very beginning …. God’s blessings have been universal, because that is who God is and how God lives, an overflowing fountain of blessing. When God calls Abraham … God doesn’t bless [Abraham] and his descendants to the exclusion of others, but for the benefit of others. God’s blessings are not exclusive, but rather instrumental.” (https://cac.org/daily-meditations/jesus-came-for-everyone/)
If we believe that God has blessed America, and I do, then the question for us now and for the next 250 years, is what will we do with God’s blessing? Will we be gratefully devoted to God with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection? Will we be faithful stewards of this bounty, or will we use it for our own selfish purposes and endless need for power and security? Will we be instruments of blessing, or hoarders? Conduits, or dead-end streets?
I don’t think we were founded to be a Christian nation, nor do I think we should claim to be one. But it is my sincere hope that we will be a Christ-like nation. Saying to the world, “Come to me all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” This is the work that’s been entrusted to us: blessed to be a blessing. That’s why his yoke is easy and his burden is light, because it’s what God has made us to do, blessed us to do, blesses us to do.
This land is your land. This land is my land. God made this land for us all. What a blessing! Share it abundantly…as citizens of this country but even more importantly, as citizens of God’s kingdom. Happy Interdependence Day!
