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The 4th Sunday after Pentecost
July 6, 2003
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm 123
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13

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The Gospel according to Mark 6:1-13

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

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Good morning. One summer many years ago, I was traveling through Europe as a student with a backpack and a rail pass. In Europe, you can spot American students because they’re the only ones who do not have flags on their backpacks. But my friends and I had brought little American flags, and on the Fourth of July, we ran the little sticks through the zipper on our packs and flew Old Glory — well, sort of.

We were in London, and we quickly learned why American students don’t identify themselves. An elderly lady, apparently still smarting from the British defeat over two hundred years before, lit into me about how arrogant we were to be rubbing it in her face, etc., etc. When she finished, I just said, "Sorry, ma’am, but it’s the Fourth of July, and I’m an American, and I’m flying the flag."

The Fourth is always a great day. The Peachtree Road Race, barbecues, fireworks, and, of course, an opportunity to give thanks for a nation which is, warts and all, one of the greatest experiments in human history.

The Fourth of July is special a day for patriotism, but lately we’ve had lots of calls to patriotism. That’s always the case when we’re attacked, or feel threatened and scared. But even in normal times, the Fourth seems to inspire preachers to talk about patriotism, and that always makes me a little nervous because, based on what I see on TV and on church signs and decorations, the message lots of those preachers seem to give is that, essentially, patriotism and Christianity are one and the same. And since I don’t think so, and since I think it is an important issue for all of us, I’m going to talk this morning about Christianity and patriotism. As I sail into these waters that are probably going to offend somebody, your prayers are welcome!

This morning we hear St. Paul describing a profound and mysterious experience. He says it happened to a person he knows, but no one is fooled — it’s like when someone comes up to a doctor (or a priest) at a party and says, "I have this friend. . . ." Yeah, right! It happened to Paul. Anyway, it’s all very mysterious, but Paul says he somehow had a glimpse, a profound experience, of paradise, of what he calls "the third heaven." That vision of paradise clearly had a huge effect on him; he’s talking about it fourteen years later, and I don’t doubt that in the many, many travails and frustrations of his life, Paul went back to that experience as a touchstone and drew on it to give him clarity, focus, and strength.

Paul’s experience was unprovoked and, apparently, unrepeated. Once seemed to have been enough to expand his imagination for a lifetime.

What I want to suggest is that as Christians, we may not be "caught up in the third heaven" (whatever that means!) as Paul was, but we must expand our imaginations to try to get a glimpse of paradise. And Jesus is very clear; paradise is not some "pie-in-the-sky" or some unattainable return to Eden; it is God’s love; agape; pure, unconditional, no strings attached, unflinching love enacted in the world. God’s love; agape; pure, unconditional, no strings attached, unflinching love enacted in the world. Jesus calls that the "kingdom of God."

The greatest failure of the Church in the last two thousand years, I believe, is a failure of imagination, and the resulting failure of nerve. Jesus begins his ministry by proclaiming, "The kingdom of God is at hand." Agape, pure, unconditional love, walked among us and showed us the kingdom of God. Imagine that! And then imagine, because we must, agape infusing every part of society, agape being the norm. Imagine a world in which to deviate from unconditional love would be socially unacceptable, a faux pas. It’s hard, but, just for moment, just a glimpse, imagine a nation whose character is pure agape.

That would not mean its citizens could be irresponsible; that would not mean there would be no consequences. Far from it. Love sets boundaries, and people in community have obligations and duties. But that would mean a nation characterized by deep concern for the well being for every single one of its citizens, especially the "least of these." And it would mean a nation characterized by respect even for citizens of other nations (children of God all). It would mean a nation which could never allow itself to be motivated by greed, retribution, accumulation, class, race, status, or fear. It would mean a nation that refused to return evil for evil. It would mean a nation that prayed for its enemies.

I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to hold onto that vision for long. This morning Jesus, confronted with the unbelief of his hometown, says, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." Familiarity can be a great impediment to an expanded imagination. The people of Nazareth had known Jesus most of his life. They couldn’t imagine that Mary and Joseph’s kid could be God’s agape breaking into the world. I mean, they knew the family; could he really be the agent of the coming of the kingdom of God? I’m sure they had all sorts of reasons why their familiar world could not be turned so upside down by one with whom they were so familiar.

Ah, familiarity. You know why businesses pay a thousand dollars a day to consultants? To get an outsider, someone who is not familiar. Those outsiders can tell people the same thing they’ve been hearing for years, and often those folks will hear it like it’s brand new to them.

Familiarity can be so restricting. It’s like great scientific discoveries. They are usually made by young scientists. They’re not so indoctrinated as to why something can’t possibly be true, so they’re usually the ones to discover that it is true. Older scientists tend to tweak the known world; younger scientists discover new worlds, because they can imagine them.

What’s all this got to do with us, and with patriotism? Well, as hard as it is, as many excuses as we have why it can’t be so in our so very familiar world, we are called to envision the agape society Jesus longs for. And we must do that because it is our standard. It is the test against which we are to judge the world and our nation.

I’m about to say the most important thing I have to say: being an American and being a Christian are not the same thing. We can be both, of course we can, but we must be Christians first. That means that, out of love for our country, we rejoice when our nation and our faith overlap and our country lives into Jesus’ vision of an agape society.

But it also means that we recognize that there are times, many times, when they do not overlap. And because we are Christians first, we must cry out for a society marked by justice, respect, equity, equality, love for all. We must cry out for our nation to enact that illusive, fleeting vision we can barely grasp and never hold onto for long, the kingdom of God.

This means, of course, that, whatever party is in power, we will often be critical of our government and our culture. Does that make us unpatriotic? The founding fathers didn’t seem to think so. When they established the separation of Church and state in the First Amendment, an important reason for doing so was so that the churches would not be compromised and could stand outside the government in order to serve as moral critics of the government. Why would they set up a system that ensured constant criticism? To make their lives miserable? No. They did it because they knew that the corrective that only the churches could provide would be good for us. They knew that our nation needed to be held accountable and called to a greater vision.

In 1816, while making a toast to celebrate his victory over the Barbry pirates, Stephen Decatur said, "Our country, right or wrong." With all respect to Admiral Decatur, our first loyalty is always to Christ, and so that snappy saying just won’t do. The writer G.K. Chesterton said, "‘My country, right or wrong is a thing no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate cause. It’s like saying, ‘My mother, drunk or sober.’"

But in 1871, Army General and U.S. Senator Carl Schuz added to the quotation. "My country, right or wrong," he said. "When right to be kept right, when wrong, to be put right." That, I believe, is a sentiment that can be held by a Christian patriot, and I believe that it is one that is not only in harmony with our primary obligation to our faith, but is also most loving to our great nation.

As we celebrate its birth, may we honor its greatness, and never be satisfied.

Let us pray:

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer, p. 258, no. 17.

The Rev. James H. Pritchett, Jr. St. John’s Episcopal Church, College Park, GA

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