Return to the Blog and my thoughts on Nationalism

A few weeks ago I hammered out a blog post on my thoughts on nationalism, saved it as "draft" and promptly closed my computer. I was emotionally raw after hearing a message on the topic and experiencing an unanticipated response from the congregation. (Prayer boards were hung to invite people to write prayers for the spiritual state of our country. Suffice it to say some prayers were very "pointed" in partisan way, if you know what I mean.) So, in my emotion my husband reminded of the power of writing and what it does for my emotional state when I can only think in half-finished-exasperated sentences. Enter, this (edited) blog post.

Something else noteworthy about me is my tendency toward extreme, black-and-white thinking that may or may not be playing a role in this. For example, I am an "in all" kind of person (my husband and family know this well). For example: if Jesus proclaims women to be equal in value to men, why isn't the church talking about equal pay for females in the work place? According to Genesis 1, John 4, and other accounts in the Gospel that show Jesus's esteem toward women, it seems this should be a Gospel-infused topic to advocate for. Yet somehow.... I have yet to hear this idea in a church format. This issue on women's equality is just one of many examples of the way my brain processes ideas. On an unrelated note, is it normal to have sweaty armpits and an increased heart rate during church? :)

So, back to the response of some of the congregants. The kind of rhetoric that was written on the prayer boards was not the point of the message we had just heard. As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and not of this country, we were invited to preach the Gospel from our identity in Christ and love others in a counter-cultural way. We were invited to examine how the idol of nationalism and Trump-ism takes us away from serving our one God, Jesus. We cannot serve two masters, as the Scripture says. 

I think this unfortunate outcome was partly born out of the sin that lives deep in our hearts that is constantly twisting the truth and tweaking our Biblical worldviews to accommodating more loves than that of Jesus. But the other part?  I think there was an aversion to preaching an 'agenda' when initially exploring these ideas from the stage. And in many ways I actually think the topic of nationalism was handled very wisely from the pulpit. But as I reflect on the experience as a whole and the responses I observed, I can't help consider the idea that sometimes... sometimes.... a political policy does align with a Biblical truth. And what is important and necessary is that the truth from the Bible is preached. And sometimes... the truth of the Bible is offensive to those who seek to maintain their own perceived power of their American-ness, their straight-ness, their white-ness. And frankly, the phrase "for all have sinned" is indeed offensive to anyone who has sinned.  To summarize, God pretty much does his own thing in ordaining the truth of his Bible. Let us listen deeply to these truths and really examine the feelings we have from hearing them. Let it start with me.

To sign off, it would be pertinent for you to know, reader, that these are the thoughts of a woman who didn't grow up in America. These are the thoughts of a woman still "figuring things out," a woman who is still appalled by her own biases that are still being obliterated and dismantled. There is so much more learning for me to do in the areas of white supremacy and privilege. Lord have mercy on me if I ever believe I am somehow "done" learning about these things! And these are the thoughts of someone who believes that anger isn't always bad, that Jesus has some pretty strong words to the people of our time, namely the people who live in a very very young country of immigrants who are prone to entitlement and nationalism. Yes, that would be America. It's the land of the free, though only some are indeed free. The land of beautiful vistas and national parks still has so much growing to do. It is because we love America that we challenge her, that we hold her to a higher standard of inclusivity and equality. Do you truly love something if you do not sometimes admonish it and ask it to work and become something more whole? We work for more, and at the same time we do not put our hope in country, any country. Someday we will walk the roads of a Country where all are truly Free, and we will behold Him, our perfect King and our dear dear Father. 

We are all becoming in these areas. But may we call out nationalism for the sin that it is and accept our citizenship as kingdom bearers. May we all seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. (from Micah 6)






(PS- thank you for reading! this was very therapeutic to write and i'm thankful to have an outlet for it.)