I
have a copy of the English Book of Common Prayer from the 1830s. In
the back of that prayer book can be found several commemorations that
cannot be called strictly religious: there is a set form of prayers
to commemorate the failed Gunpowder Plot which was an effort in 1605
to blow up the English parliament and kill the king, James I, in
order to, among other things, restore the Roman Church in England.
Another commemoration is for the date of the death of Charles I, the
king who was forcibly removed from the throne and eventually killed
or martyred depending on your perspective in 1649. Another celebrates
the restoration of the monarchy a decade later with the crowning of
Charles II which brought an end to the nearly two decades of the
English Civil War. The introduction to that brief service reads in
part: A FORM of PRAYER with THANKSGIVING to Almighty God, For having
put an end to the great Rebellion, by the Restitution of the King and
Royal Family, and the Restoration of the Government after many Years
interruption; which unspeakable Mercies were wonderfully completed
upon the Twenty-ninth of May, in the Year 1660. It is thus entirely
in keeping with Anglican custom to recall political events of the
nation and to see them through the lens of our faith.
This
is precisely what we are doing this morning, as we celebrate our
nation's Independence, not merely as a civic holiday but one that
should be commemorated in our churches and by all faithful Christians
who are citizens of this nation. I have noticed an alarming trend
among fellow Episcopal clerics. It is commonly taught by many that it
is not a good idea to have patriotic hymns or services in the church.
Many have worked to remove American flags from the interior of the
church. Perhaps you've heard or witnessed something along these lines
in another church? The reasoning behind this move is to a certain
extent compelling. These religious leaders are trying to avoid the
church adopting an uncritical attitude towards the nation in which it
resides. If the mission and promotion of the nation become one with
the mission of the church, social and political disaster is at hand.
Think of the majority of churches in fascist Germany who largely
remained silent and inactive about the Nazi program of world
domination and racial cleansing. When the church enmeshes itself in
politics, the church's proclamation is often corrupted and its people
can begin to think that God is exclusively on their side of a
political or social issue. There is something to be said for this
argument especially if one is residing in a particularly
nationalistic environment. This qualification, however, is the reason
why I don't think it is a wise decision to remove flags from churches
or to discontinue patriotic services. We live in an age of
ambivalence about a great many things. There is ambivalence about
religion—the fastest growing religion according to the demographers
is no religion at all: the so-called nones—n-o-n-e-s—the nones
are those who have no religious affiliation. It's not that the nones
don't believe in God or in an afterlife—the nones are not atheists,
but simply ambivalent about religious institutions. If it is
possible, there is even more ambivalence about politics in our age.
Very few trust the established political institutions and together
with a big dose of ambivalence, most people cannot be bothered with
patriotism. The kind of heroic sacrifices made by so many during the
grim days of World War II when so many were either fighting abroad or
managing their homes with victory gardens and limited rations seems
like a world apart. No, our problem today is not an excess of
nationalistic fervor, but a seeming apathy about our nation and its
future. In one of his books, G.K. Chesterton, the great Catholic
apologist and satirist, offered the helpful insight that most ages
are blind to their own weaknesses and vices. They pick on the vices
of a former age, and congratulate themselves on being so much more
superior, but all the while they are blind to their own faults. I
think we have an excellent example of that in our own time. If in a
former time, some were uncritically loyal to every action of the
nation, and therefore, forfeited some of the prophetic role of the
church, in this age, what we need is not less patriotism but more.
What
does not it mean to be patriotic? Well, the word patriot is derived
in part from the Latin for father, pater.
To be a patriot is to be loyal to your fatherland, your homeland.
Christians are sometimes accused of being so heavenly minded that
they are of no earthly good. I think this point is overwrought.
Christians should place very high value on life on this world because
it is where we learn to live in the world to come. If you want to be
part of God's family, the communion of love in his eternal kingdom,
then you are going to need to learn how to get along with your own
family, to do your duty to parents, children, siblings, and all those
who might have a claim on your care and responsibility as kin.
Similarly, if you are going to be a part of the Catholic, the
universal Church, the body of all faithful Christians in heaven and
earth, then you will need to learn to be a member of a local
congregation: to offer yourself in loving service and ministry in
whatever way the Lord has gifted you; to overlook the faults and
foibles of others; and to live into the truth that Christianity is
not something to be practiced individually, but as a body, a
community of believers joined together in Christ. Finally, if you are
want to be a citizen of that city above—the heavenly Jerusalem—you
are going to need to learn how to be a good citizen of your city and
state and nation in this world. If you neglect your responsibilities
to these temporal powers, how will you possibly be a faithful citizen
of the City of the Lord Almighty. He
that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and
he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
And what are those civic virtues that we need to practice as
patriots? Well, among other things, we might start with honest and
diligent labour and industry, promotion of the common good rather
than our own private good, establishing justice for all, fighting if
necessary for the defense of liberty and the protection of innocents.
St. Paul tells us that our citizenship is in heaven. May we render to
Ceasar his due, even as strive to live as the children of our
heavenly King and Father.
