Image above: “Coming to America”
“America,” by Neil Diamond (1941- ), written to honor his immigrant grandmother, and the dream of freedom in America (don’t miss it!):
Far, We’ve been traveling far; Without a home, But not without a star
Free; Only want to be free; We huddle close; Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes; They’re coming to America
Never looking back again; They’re coming to America
Home. Don’t it seem so far away; Oh, we’re traveling light today
In the eye of the storm…
Home. To a new and a shiny place; Make our bed and we’ll say our grace
Freedom’s light burning warm… Everywhere around the world
They’re coming to America; Every time that flag’s unfurled
They’re coming to America; Got a dream to take them there
They’re coming to America; Got a dream they’ve come to share
They’re coming to America… Today, today…
My country ’tis of thee (today); Sweet land of liberty (today)
Of thee I sing (today); Of thee I sing…
(…continued) Despite all the problems with our government, and for all that we complain about it, in this sinful world, this is about as good as it gets in government. That is why dozens of the world’s nations have patterned their constitutions after ours. One writer called the United States Constitution ‘our greatest export.’ Abraham Lincoln called our Constitutional framework the world’s ‘last best hope.’
Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar (that is to say, the government) the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s;” encouraging our respect and obedience. In his letter to Titus, Paul said, “Remind everyone to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, and to be ready for every good deed.” And Romans 13 tells us to, “be subject to the governing authorities…” But there is a limit to that obedience, as we see in Acts 5 where the authorities told Peter to do something in opposition to God’s will, and Peter refused saying, “No, we must obey God, and not men.” That huge exception is there because, as you know, as good as our government is in comparison to most others, it has been far from perfect, and we have been guilty of some terrible national sins.
Our most grievous sin, and the major problem in the formation of our new government in the late 1700’s, was the huge religious and moral issue of slavery. From the beginning, this was a moral abomination to most in the North, but it was an issue on which the Southern colonies would not compromise. Many feared for the future of a nation starting out with such division, and in less than a century, it took a horrific Civil War to rid us of that curse. There have been other outrageous failures. We have much to be ashamed of in our history.
But, isn’t it interesting that we do know how to be ashamed? We are indeed ashamed of our treatment of Native Americans; Southerners are ashamed of their heritage of slavery; and our whole nation is ashamed of the decades of discrimination that followed the Civil War. There has been much in our past to regret.
But our Christian foundation has meant that we do know something about shame and guilt and honesty and confession and repentance. You don’t find that in all nations. So, when Martin Luther King told us we ought to live up to the Christian principles we were founded upon, and provide freedom and justice for all people, the nation listened to that Christian preacher, and began to change. We also know something about forgiveness and about serving others. So, when we defeated Germany and Japan in WW II, we spent a great deal of money to rebuild those devastated nations. Our Christian heritage, even if appreciated by fewer and fewer people, still maintains some of its moral memory and steam. Politics in a sinful world is always a messy business, and though we muddle along imperfectly, this is still a pretty good place to live. Many of the world’s people seem to think so, anyway. Have you noticed? — So many people, from so many places, want to come here. (NOTE: My enthusiasm for immigration does not mean I am enthused about our current approach to immigrants at our border. My point here is that we should appreciate what we so often take for granted here in the “Land of the Free” because people all over the world want to be here. We have always been, and continue to be, enriched as a nation by our immigrants, and we should continue to welcome “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” as it says on the Statue of Liberty. But we must find a more responsible and orderly way to do that.)
I began with the words of Paul in Galatians, and I will let him have the last word. The book of Galatians was written to clarify how we are made right before God by the Gospel and not by the Law. It is a very religious question, and Paul’s argument is theological and not political. But as I said, a by-product of religious faith is moral behavior that makes good citizens. With that in mind, read these words from St. Paul in the fifth chapter Galatians:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then… You were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire Law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ So I say, live by the Spirit… and the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Be free, Paul says, but use that freedom to be good people.
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To hear Os Guinness give an extraordinary speech on Can Freedom Last Forever? go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw6BQXOHod4
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Psalm 33:12a — Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Isaiah 33:6 — (The Lord) will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
Matthew 5:14-16 — (Jesus said), “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Titus 3:1-2 — Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
I Timothy 2:1-4 — I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
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A PRAYER FOR THE NATION from The Book of Common Prayer:
Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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