Dear Friends,
As we are all aware, there is a lot of talk these days about whether we are a Christian nation. We have listened tothe debate as it rages back and forth—from those who suggest that our nation’s founders uniformly intended for Christianity to be the “religion of the realm,” to those who reference Thomas Jefferson and his insistence upon the separation of Church and State. To be sure, there are many different angles and many different perspectives that this debate has raised for us to consider. Not the leastof which is the question of how one determines what a Christian nation looks like (and behaves like) in actual practice. What would the criteria be for deciding whether or not our nation is a Christian nation? Would there be awritten test? If so, what questions would be included? Would they be true/false? Multiple choice? Or, perhaps, an essay format?
Ultimately, the question becomes, “Why is this important to determine?” Is it important because we can then use our “Christian nation status” to deter and exclude those who are not Christian? Are we needing to reaffirm our own privileged status while, at the same time, denigrating the status of others? Just asking.
Setting that question aside for the moment, there is a way, I believe, to discern just what approaches or policies that a nation (ours or any other nation) adopts are actually “Christian” in their nature or not. By “Christian in nature,” I am choosing to use the word and witness of Jesus as a working definition of what that looks like. The Beatitudes, for example, would be a good place to start “fleshing out” just what it means to be “Christian.”
It is important for us, as Christians however, to remember that the faith of Jesus was really a Jewish faith in which the word of the law and prophets was revered. Jesus knew his scripture and was especially mindful of the significance of the witness of the prophets in his people’s storied faith. Therefore, what may have originated in Jewish thought, in time, became a central part of Christian thought as reflected in the teachings of Jesus.
Such was the case, I believe, for our scripture focus this Sunday. Our reading is taken from Micah 6: 1-8 andfeatures one of the “watershed verses” of scripture. After asking the question, “What does the Lord require of you?” The prophet answers his own question by offering severaldifferent options concerning what one might be willing to sacrifice in the Temple.
Was it burnt offerings with year old calves?
Was it a thousand rams or ten thousand rivers of oil?
Was it the sacrifice of one’s first born?
With those questions hanging in the balance, Micah then boldly announces that God has already provided the right answer which was, “None of the Above.” Instead, what God requires, says Micah, is the choice to “Do Justice, LoveKindness and Walk Humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8)
As I was reading through this lesson from Micah for this week, it occurred to me that, in many respects, this text might provide an excellent litmus test for helping to determine whether or not we are a Christian nation. Even though this is a Jewish text, it is one that I believe wasinstrumental in Jesus’ own thought and formation.
So, it might be helpful to ask ourselves if we, as a nation, “Do justice?” Do we insist on standing up for the rights of the marginalized and the poor? Do we go out of our way to include the excluded and to defend the rights of those who live at the bottom of our social ladder?
Do we “Love Kindness?” Is kindness a virtue that we cultivate and put into practice in our daily lives? Are we mindful of the struggles of others and generous in our response to their needs? Are we doing our best to help create a culture that is kind and loving?
Do we walk humbly with God? Is the characteristic of humility one that we, as people, have taken to heart? Is it one that we seek to put into practice in the day-to-day context of our lives? Are we willing to “play second fiddle” to others by not insisting upon getting our own way and what we desire?
I don’t know about you, but I suspect that our honest attempt to answer these pointed questions might go a long way in helping us to determine what kind of nation we really are—Christian or not. I will be exploring this idea a bit more with you in my message this coming Sunday. It’s entitled; “Making the Case for Justice” and I look forward to sharing it with you. See you in Church!!
Grace & Peace,
Ron
Rev. Ron Dunn