The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

A small lake in Ethiopia. We went out on a row boat with questionable seaworthiness.

This is the last of my post inspired by Memorial Day weekend. I meant to post this yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to finish writing it.

At church last Sunday, after the singing of a few patriotic songs, the sermon--with the assistance of power point--highlighted some of the major conflicts of the United States giving specific focus to the number of American soldiers lost in each conflict. This was done so that the laity might be convicted of freedom's steep price and, naturally, it was noted that these sacrifices pale in comparison to the ultimate sacrifice of our lord and savior upon the cross, which gives spiritual freedom. (I can't remember exactly how the clergyman articulated it, but there was some kind of inference at play throughout the sermon that the only reason the U.S. goes to war is to preserve our religious freedom.)

He insinuated that there would be no Christians in the U.S. but for the freedom of religion granted by the state, and I resented that, but the truth is he's probably right. My faith is pretty fickle and if my life was on the line, if there were no freedom of religion in this country, I'm sure I could give it up without much fuss. (Heck, given all the baggage I have from church, it might even be a relief to not have it!)

He insinuated that the U.S. is a nation chosen by God to bring about His will. I've lived in Austria. I have friends there. I prefer the Austrian way of life to the American. My daughter is Ethiopian. Ethiopia has many thousands (millions?) of Christians there. (Austria does too, but they're Catholic and most Americans seem to think a Catholic Christian is only as good as one-quarter an evangelical Christian, but Imma let that dog rest for now.) I just can't feel comfortable with that sentiment, that idea that the U.S. is blessed by God and others are not. I wonder how the Native Americans feel about that type of stuff. What about the Philippines or Okinowa? You can't deny that the U.S. is wealthy and advanced and industrialized and yada yada yada. I just don't know that it's wise to assign the reason for all this to God. Especially when, like I said, there are a lot of Christians in Ethiopia, in Mexico, in Brazil. And, let's face it, the means by which the U.S. has attained it's land and wealth isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, godly.

I'll just go ahead and say it--no one reads this stuff anyway--I do think it is idolatry to sing patriotic songs, to display the American flag (or any nation's flag), to cite the Pledge of Allegience, and so on in our worship service. I do think it's wrong to pray that our soldiers will be successful in killing people the empire has deemed as a threat. Rather, we should pray for our enemies and long for them to be brothers and sisters in righteousness.

But I also know I am a rich beneficary of this nation and its policies.