American Beauty

We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

These are good words; beautiful words. Perhaps there are even better or more beautiful ideas behind those words. We often argue about the good words in this document and in the constitution. After all, they are just words and we can each interpret those words in different ways. We long to know the meaning behind the words. Perhaps, the still larger question is do we believe those words and have we lived those words.

Before we pat ourselves on the back to quickly let us think critically for a moment about our history. When those words were penned you noticed that they used the word men. You could argue that they meant humanity by the generic term men but truth be told they didn’t. Our first constitution did not offer equal rights to woman and some might argue that even today our practices do not affirm the statement that l all human beings are created equal.

The contradiction between the claim that all men are created equal and the existence of American slavery attracted comment when the Declaration of Independence was first published. Congress, having made a few changes in wording, deleted nearly a fourth of the draft before publication, removing a passage critical of the slave trade, and many members of Congress, Jefferson included, owned black slaves. In 1776, abolitionist Thomas Day responding to the hypocrisy in the Declaration wrote: “If there be an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot, signing resolutions of independency with the one hand, and with the other brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves”. (Wikipedia)

All that said, still those are beautiful and true words that were penned in the first lines of the Declaration of Independence. Though we must be critical of our history we can also not ignore the good that has come from those words. Many good things have started and have come about because of those words.

The essence of these words come from the political and philosophical thought of John Locke and Richard Cumberland and others; it is in direct opposition to the idea of the divine right of kings which had its core an idea that people weren’t created equal. Our declaration says in essence that if there is a divine right then it is the right of all people. Of course we’ve had to be careful about that same slippery slope. We ourselves have to be careful with our language around America being a Christian nation or somehow uniquely blessed or chosen. When we go down that route, ironically we begin to embody the very thing those words were penned to combat, a form of divine right.

Let us also remember that America was not founded on Christianity but on religious tolerance; there is a difference. In fact many of the early people that fled to America would not have been considered Orthodox in their Christian belief which is one reason they came to American in the first place. Thomas Jefferson whom we own much of the religious language of our early documents would be kicked out of most bible believing churches these days. Jefferson had his own bible where he took out all of the miracles and many of the things he didn’t like. Jefferson was a theist in a broad Judeo/Christian sense but we can hardly call him Christian from a contemporary perspective or even traditional perspective.

When we come to a day like the Fourth of July we must ask what we are celebrating. Most people would say that we are celebrating America or being American; our independence and freedom. Certainly there are things to honor and celebrate within those things. However, there are also questions raised. Like are we really free and independent. In his poem called America, Tony Hoagland would argue that we aren’t free at all but rather that we are imprisoned by consumerism and the almighty dollar.

Still the biggest question of all for me comes down to a question of identity. Even on the Fourth of July where I am certainly proud to be an American and willing to celebrate the good things we’ve produced and even more willing to pray and work for a better future; still my identity as an American is subservient to a much greater identity.

The church is not a place where we celebrate American identity. The church is where we remember that we belong to another kingdom. We are children of God not of America. The greatest idolatries always have to do with our identity. The question of idolatry is a question of whom and what do I serve? I do not serve, I do not belong, and I am not fundamentally defined by being American. I am a child of God. I am a resident of the Kingdom of God. If we wish to follow the Jesus way there is no other choice; we cannot serve two masters.

This morning I am thinking of Isaiah 52:1-10. Isaiah’s prophecy comes to a nation and a people in exile; a nation that has suffered greatly and that is ruled by an oppressive government.

The prophet calls Israel to AWAKE! When it is time for a people to move forward into a new time there is a certain amount of energy that must be given to the process of shaking of the dust. Moving forward in a new identity is not about forgetting the past but it is also not about living in the past. Today is a new day and we must be able to imagine a future that is not bound by our past but also not divorced from it.

The prophet talks about beauty. That which is defined as beautiful is those who announce peace, those who bring good news, those who announce salvation, and those that say God reigns.

Finally, the prophet talks about God’s heart and intention for all people and all nations; it is a good intention defined by salvation to all.

Certainly, I don’t pretend that this prophecy and exhortation was meant for us in America. Still, the truths exhorted I do believe would serve us well. I a healthy kind of love for America would be tied to a desire to forge a new and evolving identity. Our patriotism often gets stuck in the nostalgia of the past and its remembrances. But the purpose of remembering the past is not nostalgia but rather to inform the present and our future. We need to shake of the dust and realize that we’ve not nearly arrived at embodying all of the things we said this country was going to be about.

Also, I believe that the way in which the prophet defines beauty ought to serve as a template for us as American Christians on how we defined whether America is beautiful. Do we announce and work for peace? Do we bring good news? Do we announce salvation? Do we recognize that we are not God and thus live with a kind of humility that such a concept ought to produce? Finally, have we remembered that God cares for all nations and people; America is nothing special in God’s eyes.

As we shared the Lord’s Supper together in church this morning I was also reminded of John’s gospel chapter 6:52-61. I’ve continued to ask myself what American the beautiful would look like or what American beauty might be. It is the Eucharist that reminds me of a great truth about beauty. That is that what makes something beautiful is that it is true. By true I don’t simply mean factual but I mean something that is true in the broadest and deepest sense of that word. Too often we think about beauty as synonymous with pretty. However, the truth is not always pretty but I do believe it is beautiful. Take the Eucharist itself; it is not pretty but it is beautiful because of the truth that it reveals and embodies about us and God and us and one another.

I think the key to American beauty has everything to do with our willingness to attend to the truth. Too often our forms of patriotism are a lot of sentimentality, a preservation of prettiness, and not an actual pursuit of beauty or the truth. Interestingly enough much of the same can be said of our Christianity. We need to step out of sentimentalist and the preservation of prettiness and into and actual pursuit of beauty.

The invitation for us as followers of Jesus who are also Americans is to acknowledge that the truth is beautiful but that it isn’t always pretty. As followers of Jesus we know the way to beauty. It is the way of peace, bringing good news, announcing salvation (which is literally releasing prisoners), and living with a great humility that understands we are not God. This humility is in the work of all great artists and they often lose their way when they forget it.

The truth is that America is beautiful and quite ugly. As followers of Jesus we first belong to the Kingdom of God. Our invitation is to seek this kingdom first and all things will be added unto us.