Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #27: Luke 22:24-27

 

Luke 22:24-27     New International Version

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Six months before he won the World Heavyweight boxing champion title, Cassius Clay, soon to be known as Muhammad Ali, released an album of poetic verse (a generation before this type of thing would evolve to become rap and hip hop).  The album, was entitled I am the Greatest.  Ali co-wrote the lyrics with comedy writer Gary Belkin, it sold 500,000 copies and was nominated for a Grammy.  In 1977, NBC aired a cartoon entitled, I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali that featured the boxer as a global adventurer with a tag-along niece and nephew; it was cancelled after 13 episodes.  When you try to think of ego run amok, any number of politicians, athletes, actors, and billionaires may come to mind, the list of famous people with a reputation for self-absorption is sadly long and diverse, but few of them could compete with the persona that Muhammad Ali portrayed to the world during his boxing career.

Here's the thing, setting aside a few mega-church pastors whose popularity and private jets might convince the unwary to think otherwise, the path to effective and God-honoring leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ has always been, and will always be, through humble service.  Have there been those in positions of power within the Church, like Cardinal Richelieu (made famous by Dumas' portrayal of him in The Three Musketeers), for whom Church 'service' was a means-to-an-end, a path to self-aggrandizement?  Of course there have been, we'd be shocked if a Church made up of people, some redeemed but still flawed, and others only pretending to be true believers, didn't have within its ranks any number of scoundrels.  But, and this is key, every such person seeking their own benefit and not the will of God, everyone covered in pride, has been working AGAINST what Jesus created his Church to be.

Which brings us once again to 'Christian' Nationalism.  This movement is predicated on the belief that there is only one solution, only one possible path, to cure whatever malady 'Christian' Nationalism decides to wage war upon (sometimes literally), and that one path, or worse yet one and only one leader, just happens to be themselves.  Power must be gained, it must be acquired, even through unethical or illegal means, because they alone can bring about the Golden Age that God must bless them with if/when power is fully in their hands to order society to their liking.  This egotism run amok neither respects the ways in which power has corrupted the Church in the past, nor does it consider in humility that God is at work all over the world, in every generation, and not just this generation in this land.

The greatest?  'Christian' Nationalism may be willing to hoist someone onto everyone else's shoulders confident that he/she must be a savior, but this cannot be an extension of the Church, or even a partnership of convenience, for it ignores one of the fundamental defining characteristics of the Church: humility and service. 

Sermon Video: Bring the Good News - Isaiah 40:9-11

Having brought good news to the exiles of Judah in Babylon, the prophet Isaiah now calls upon them to share that news, shouting it from the mountaintop.  Likewise, when the Advent of Jesus brought forth a greater fulfillment of Isaiah's words, the Good News was shared by the shepherds, later by John the Baptist, and eventually by Jesus' disciples following his command to take the message of forgiveness and hope to the ends of the earth.

What is our calling?  Take the Good News to everyone who needs to heart it.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #26: Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14     New International Version

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

You're probably wondering right away, how on earth is he getting from the Chicken Dance to the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector?  Stay with me, there's a method to the madness.

The Chicken Dance performed at weddings is a glaring example of how idiosyncratic culture can be.  The things people wear, say, and do at weddings, and the celebrations afterwards, vary greatly depending on where on the planet and when in history we look.  Future generations may look on in horror at the prominence of the Chicken Dance at American weddings and see it not as a whimsical bit of nonsense, but a sign of some deeper disturbance that confirms what they think of our culture from their point-of-view.  Personally, I'm not a fan, evidently others love the silliness of this dance.  In the end, there probably isn't anyone who thinks of the Chicken Dance as a moral imperative either way, but much of our cultural heritage, the things we hold near and dear to our hearts as THE way they must be done, are just as morally neutral as the Chicken Dance.

The Pharisees that Jesus contends with so often in the Gospels had elevated their own cultural expression, based on Mosaic Law, but still just their own viewpoint as to exactly how that Law should be interpreted and applied, and made it normative for everyone, period.  In other words, the Pharisees were so convinced that they were right, about everything, that they scorned the way that fellow Jews worshiped God as something between insufficient and outright sacrilegious.  They were far too sure of themselves, and it showed.  It takes confidence like that to be militant, to hold that you know exactly what the government, society, or your religion needs and nobody else has a piece of the truth, nobody else can be trusted, they must all be opposed and crushed if they disagree with you.

Here is where 'Christian' Nationalism comes in.  It has decided that one particular expression of the Church, from one time and place, should dominate not only all other current expressions of the Church, but the entirety of society as well.  It is only our own pride and ignorance that would allow us to think that Anglo-Saxon Protestant Christianity as expressed in America {that's a pretty specific sliver both globally and historically} deserves total power in society over both other variations of orthodox Christianity currently alive America and also over those following other religions, or none at all.  If you think that 'Christian' Nationalism can equally embrace all facets of the Church and America today, you don't know how power in this world works, sharing is not in its nature.

Do I think that I'm following God correctly according to the scriptures and the wisdom of Church history?  Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't be an American Baptist I'd be something else.  But I am far from being prideful enough to think that there is no possibility that I'm wrong on some aspects of the way that my faith is interpreted from the scriptures and expressed in the life that I'm living.  My brothers and sisters in Christ here in America that follow different traditions have things to teach me, not to mention the majority of the Church that isn't American, Protestant, White, or Western.

'Christian' Nationalism doesn't exist without certainty of its own superiority to everything else.  Unfortunately, much of that certainty is based upon a particular cultural expression, not timeless truth, and it fails to reckon with God's work not only throughout history, but throughout the world today. 

Sermon Video: "comfort my people, says your God", Isaiah 40:1-5

The prophet Isaiah offers a word of hope and comfort to the generation to follow that will experience the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God."  Why?  In the aftermath of tragedy, where does the comfort come from?  The Promise of God.

Isaiah was told to encourage them that their exile would mark the extent of God's wrath and that he would soon send forth those to prepare the way to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

Matthew calls upon Isaiah's words 500 years after the Exiles took comfort from it to proclaim that John the Baptist had fulfilled the prophecy a second time when he prepared the way for the Messiah, offering a message of repentance prior to the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.

Lastly, in any generation, we live by faith just as our ancestors did, we too take comfort from our knowledge that God keeps his promises, that no matter how we feel about the present or the future, God is working in our world.  Our calling is to remain faithful, here and now, knowing that like always God's word will stand.

Sermon Video: The Messiah and his Kingdom - Isaiah 11:1-10

A stump has all sorts of depressing metaphorical implications about life cut short and hope dashed, but the prophet Isaiah chose the stump because life can return to it once more.  The long-awaited Messiah is Isaiah's topic, speaking of his righteousness, justice, and faithfulness alongside his power and might.  While Jesus embodied these qualities during his time among us on earth, the kingdom he will establish when he returns will transform that localized impact into a global phenomenon.