When one believes, either by self-righteousness or one's sense of one's own "exceptionalism", whether as an individual or church or nation, that one is unquestionably to be recognized by others as the valid expression of nationalism or faith or both, one has become one's own god. It is idolatry of self.
American "exceptionalism", which has fed this most recent expression of nationalism, had its roots in "manifest destiny" and the "doctrine of discovery" before it. It is the false belief that God favors America above other nations. Considering the lessons learned (and not learned) by the nation of Israel from just after its founding until the present, any nation is to recognize that God is the God of all nations and peoples, and not only one nation or people.
American "Christianity" suffers from the hubris of believing that the flag-waving, gun-toting and ungracious Jesus that she has created is "the real Jesus". People who claim that Jesus would exclude immigrants (sojourners, strangers in the land), do not know Jesus, who was a refugee as an infant and who identified with resident aliens, if we are to believe the Gospels. Those who believe that they can be "Christian" and take away healthcare from millions of people, do not know Jesus, who cared for and directed His disciples to care for the sick. Those who believe that they can be "Christian" and exploit others in the world and their own nation for their own profit, or destroy the lives of others around them so that they can have more power, do not know Jesus, who railed against Greed and Power as unfaithful expressions of idolatry.
The problem is that American "Christianity" has re-created Jesus in its own image. Jesus is personal Savior who has nothing to do with the Good News of Agape Love and Grace that the Gospels consistently lift up as God's Will, but rather as one who adheres to an inconsistent use of the Law and Prophets, as did the Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests and Scribes of the First Century. They view Jesus as the one who punishes those who are not "like them" and rewards those who are "like them", because their god is themselves.
So, when faced with the real deal, they found ways to dismiss, disregard and destroy the messengers of God's Will. Believing that they were the ones who "paid the piper", so they got to "call the tune", they rejected God's message and God's messengers, and they still are doing so. Misrepresenting, twisting, spinning and contorting the message of the Gospels, they refuse to hear "sound doctrine", and let their "itching ears" guide them to false guides, teachers and prophets who will play their favorite tunes.
Their false prophets, guides and teachers seem to be wise and faithful, but they preach a different Gospel from that of Jesus. Their personal salvation, personal prosperity and personal righteousness messages are false, but they play well with folk who share their prejudices and desperate need to be "the right ones", "the blessed and highly favored ones" and the dominant ones in the culture. When your whole life is about being self-centered, self-absorbed and self-indulged, it is easy to ignore the plight of those who are being hurt by the system that has provided you with what you have. When your whole life is only about promoting you and yours, it is necessary to back those who would take more away from others in order for you to have more for yourself. When your whole life is about you feeling good, having more and getting what you want, it is easy to see yourself as the epitome of what is "good" and "right", and see anyone not like you as being "less than" or "at fault" themselves for the plight they find themselves in because you want more. When your whole life is about you and yours, it is necessary to find false prophets, guides and teachers who will whisper in your ear that you are the "right", "exceptional" and "blessed" one because of divine intervention, so that you can judge those who are not so blessed.
It is true of American "Christians", who ignore the teachings, commands and examples of Jesus and instead follow the teachings of those who convolute the Gospel to benefit and promote themselves. It is true of American Citizens who believe that Jesus is America's Savior, to the exclusion of other peoples and faiths across the world and within the nation. It is true of this President, who has had these whispers in his ear his whole life, and who has wielded the "righteous anger" of those who have felt that they were wrongly denied the status of "exceptional" by the country for too long. It is true of the racist, classist, homophobic, religiously intolerant, xenophobic, ethnocentric and nationalistic folk who have reacted to the prospect of having to recognize others as children of God and American citizens for what has seemed to them a "long time". They believe that their bigotries are justified and should be recognized as "the American way", legitimized with hateful rhetoric and actions toward others who are not white, misogynist and fundamentalist "American Civil Religionists" and normalized by having more of the same in the White House and Congress, and now on the Supreme Court.
The problem is that it is simply idolatry of self. The problem is that this has NOTHING to do with Jesus or what Jesus taught, commanded or modeled for us in how to live in this part of God's Kingdom. The problem is that it keeps the Gospel hidden because those who have claimed to be "wise, fiscally responsible, patriotic and right" do not know the Son or the Father, do not know the Will of God because they can only see their own will, their own desires and their own benefit, in the end. The danger is that it is killing the soul of our nation, and many individual souls with it. The danger is that with everyone we exclude, exploit and destroy we are putting ourselves at odds with God who is the God of all nations and peoples, and who loves them all.
Jesus' words of comfort here are for those excluded, exploited and destroyed. Jesus' words are for those who are tired of seeing this idolatry and its fruits. Jesus' words are for those who are called to take up His yoke and His burden, because that ultimately leads to justice and peace, in Agape Love and Grace. It is the beautiful fight of the faith. It is the narrow way that leads to salvation for the community and the world. Jesus' way of Agape Love and Grace is the way of restoration in transformation. This is the Good News, in the living of which the rest of American Christians are called to be salt and light.
So, let the other children believe that they are entitled to call the tune. We dance to a different tune - to the music of the Good News, of Agape Love and Grace. Give them a different example from their arrogant and ignorant hubris. Give them the example of Jesus' humble wisdom of Agape Love and Grace. Read it, learn it and live it. Speak it, write it and demonstrate it. Put it out there proudly and re-claim the Gospel in Jesus' name. Even as Jesus (and John before Him) did not dance their dance, so must we not dance that dance, but rather the dance of humble love and service modeled by Jesus in the Gospels. And feed the hungry, satisfy the thirsty, clothe the naked, care for the sick and (unjustly) imprisoned. Associate with them and help them, because they are Christ Jesus and they are the ones being hurt by our nation's religious hubris, our idolatry of self.
Pastor Jamie
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