| I like the Fourth of July. I like independence. I used to like fireworks. |
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| SmartFaith | |||
| Written by Michael R. Duncan | |||
| Thursday, 08 July 2010 08:15 | |||
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Some of my best and worst childhood memories are connected with the Fourth of July. How many Fourths did we spend in the company of Uncle George and Aunt Jackie? Probably not as many as I recall. Uncle George liked the Fourth of July. He liked to grill out. He was the first man I remember seeing with an apron on and cooking utensils in his hands. Ah, pork chops and pork steaks—those were his specialties. Fireworks were always part of the Fourth. It was in St. Louis at Uncle George’s and Aunt Jackie’s house that some of the fun of fireworks disappeared. A Roman candle exploded in my sister’s hand and burned her arm. (Well, of course, you aren’t supposed to hold those things in your hands . . . but we did.) Today so many years after those childhood Fourths, I find myself thinking of them, savoring again the taste of barbecued pork chops and pork steaks. Hey, I’ll even admit to still liking fireworks, though I do wish my neighbors didn’t like them quite as late in the night. We older people need our rest. The Fourth of July reminds me of patriotism. It even awakens in me a brief regret that I didn’t follow through with the thought of becoming a chaplain in the Air Force. In retrospect, I think I would have enjoyed that role. The Fourth of July also reminds me that Jesus is troublesome. The longer I live and, therefore, the longer I seek to live as a Jesus-follower, the more I discover how troublesome Jesus can be. In spite of his having said, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21 ESV), he really doesn’t come off as a very good patriot. Maybe it was the times. Maybe it was that he believed all that stuff about his kingdom not being of this world. Yet, it was into this world he came. Isn’t there room to be both a Jesus-follower and a patriot? There is. Jesus-followers just have to remain vigilant so that they don’t confuse being one with the other and that they always remember who gets the ultimate pledge of allegiance. I’m not so concerned that some want “under God” dropped from the pledge to our flag. After all, it was not there until 1954. I am more concerned that we who claim to be Jesus-followers may give to our country allegiance that belongs only to our Lord! Comments (2)
  written by Michael Duncan, July 10, 2010
AS,
Being both a Jesus-follower and a patriot looks troublesome and demands constant vigilance and struggle. For me the struggle began in college in the late 60’s, a time marked by rising resistance to the Vietnam war and racial unrest, with rioting in U.S. cities stemming from both and more. The city in which I attended college was not exempt. At the time, I was working for Sears as a part-time salesperson in their hardware department. One of my co-workers was an African-American student from another college in the same city. I wore a flag lapel pin, which I still wear on occasion. Seeing the pin, my co-worker commented, “So, you’re one of those guys who believes ‘my country right or wrong’?” My response was better than my actions. “No,” I replied, “I’m a guy who believes when you country is right you support it and when it’s wrong you work to change it.” Over the ensuing 40 years, I’ve held to that and continued to try to improve my actions to match my words. It has never been easy. Maybe the more important question is “How does it look to others?” I hope they see my struggle to be both a Jesus-follower and a patriot in the actions I take in my community to seek justice, care, and provision for the poor; in my willingness to challenge U.S. military involvement while seeking to be supportive of the men and women who serve in our armed forces, including men and women from our church; in my willingness to write and sit down with elected officials to seek needed change; in my ongoing correspondence with the imprisoned man who in 1998 shot my father and left him partially paralyzed for the remaining eight years of his life; and in my striving never to equate the being a patriot with being a Jesus-follower; and in my determination to choose faithfulness to Jesus when his teachings conflict with the actions and demands of my country. Finally, I remain troubled. It seems to me that Jesus was a pacifist. I would like to be, but I am not. I am more of a selective-pacifist. Do I get this stuff right? No; but I recognize the struggle and seek God’s forgiveness for my failures and strength to do better. Write comment
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I do like and appreciate the freedom that is mine as a citizen of the United States of America. I appreciate the courage and sheer desperation that led our forebears to leave their homes and risk all in a journey to a new land. When I consider the audacity of the colonists deciding to stand in opposition to, and then to launch a revolution against the mother country of England, I am awed. Would I have had such courage? Would I ever have found living desperate enough to lead me to risk my life to be free? Even when I dare to admit that the patriots of old were not always of pure motive, I still find myself giving thanks to God for the battles fought and the freedoms won. At its best, I like what this day represents.
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If we can be both a Christian and a patriot, what does it mean to be a patriot? What does that look like to you?
Blessings and peace, brother!
-AS