The Frustrating 4th

The beauty of God's kingdom is that it is an alternative to all this. It offers generosity in place of fear and interdependence in place of independence. For some, however, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of comfort (the U.S.A.) get confused and the distinctions become muddled. Patriotism and Christianity become synonymous and the Kingdom of God ceases to be the radical alternative society that it was meant to be. Around the 4th of July, patriotic songs get sung in church and American politics take the place of prophetic preaching. The American Jesus puts on the red, white, & blue. To me, this is nothing short of a distraction... a very confusing and frustrating one.
This year, July 4th falls on a Sunday--this Sunday.
I am sure that this Sunday there will be American flags overshadowing crosses, patriotic songs replacing hymns of worship, and copies of the constitution passed out in place of Bibles. Issues such as poverty, oppression, and hopelessness will take a back seat to concerns about "prayer in schools" and supporting "our" troops (the "our" of course referring to America, forgetting that "our" in the church means all nations). For many of us, we'd be disappointed with anything else... but my prayer is that we would enter this Sunday as worshipers of Jesus, the crucified king, who shares his identity with the poor, who is a king to all nations and the lover of a church without borders or military might. I pray that we are not distracted. I pray that our gratitude for the country in which we live would be filled with sober humility. This Sunday, let us celebrate resurrection over conquest, interdependence over independence, and hope over illusory security.
Let us pledge our one and only, undivided allegiance to Jesus Christ, the king of kings, who alone truly sets us free.
Comments
I'm preparing a post on my blog about July 4th. I've had the same issues you do and have struggled over the years to figure out just how to observe it faithfully.
I completely understand and relate to the fact that our priveleges and rights can harden us and make us lose sight of our need for God.
Anyways, I happened to be in Southern Oregon on the 4th and listened to an awesome message that i think you would appreciate.... it addressed some of the things i was mulling over and debating in my mind after reading your blog: mms://71.92.142.68/topical/t464.wmv
In Christ,
DBM (still totally grateful for freedom, brave soldiers, and ancestors bold enough to flee oppression in the 17th century)