Isaiah 55:1-9 (first published 7 March 2010, updated for 2013)
In 2010 presidential candidate Mitt Romney came out with a new book,
No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. In the book, Romney
criticizes President Obama for being too willing to apologize for some
of the past actions of the United States, and he lays out his vision of
where the country needs to go in terms of economic and foreign policy.
Although I haven't read the book, its title and description suggest that
Romney adheres to a doctrine increasingly popular in some circles,
especially on the political right, called American exceptionalism. This
idea states that the United States of America holds a unique place in
the history of the world because of its commitment to civic virtue, its
high ideals, and its embrace of democracy. This view is popular among
many on the religious right as well, where American exceptionalism takes
on the added dimension that America is uniquely blessed by God and is
God's chosen vessel in world history. What is the appropriate Christian
response to such a theory? I believe the answer is simple: American
exceptionalism is a heresy that is contrary to the basic teachings of
Christianity, not to mention other religious traditions, and its
proponents are laying the foundation for undermining the very nation
they claim to honor with their praise. American exceptionalists do not
claim that the U.S. is a perfect country or that it has not made
mistakes in the past, but they tend to minimize or even excuse what they
admit to be the sins of America's past (slavery, Native American
genocide, and not much else) and glorify America's triumphs, especially
its military prowess. Today's reading from Isaiah helps to put this
heretical doctrine in its proper light. "See, you shall call nations
that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has
glorified you." The unknown prophet living among the Israelite exiles
in Babylonia makes it clear that the exalted future he sees for Israel
will be based not on the people's greatness but on the grace of God.
Furthermore, he explicitly warns them not to rely on ordinary human
strategies for attaining greatness, such as building great armies or
acquiring enormous wealth: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are
your ways my ways, says the Lord." Only when God's people turn from
their wicked ways and seek God's forgiveness can they receive
forgiveness: "let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous
their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on
them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." As Jesus taught
his followers, an important aspect of receiving forgiveness is admitting
one's sins and asking God for mercy (see the story of the Prodigal Son).
The same principle applies to nations as well. America has
traditionally stood for freedom for its people, it has welcomed
strangers to its shores, and it has embraced the principle that all
people are created equal and should be treated equally. These are
stances of which anyone could be proud. The reality, of course, is that
the nation has frequently violated its principles, by imprisoning people
of Japanese descent during World War II, by discriminating against
immigrants, and by denying equal rights at various points in its history
to Blacks, women, and homosexuals. In its foreign policy, America has
sometimes stood with the weak against the strong, and at other times it
has exerted its military muscle to bully weaker nations. In these and
many other ways, America has shown itself to be just like other nations,
possessing high ideals but often failing to live up to them. At present
the U.S. does have exceptional military might and exceptional wealth,
though the Great Recession has taken its toll on both. In the final
analysis, America has the opportunity to be exceptional, but only if it
can take its eyes off itself and its delusions of grandeur, its covetous
desire for global economic hegemony, and its idolatrous pursuit of
permanent military supremacy. The path to true exceptionalism does not
lie there. Instead, a truly exceptional country will show its greatness
by eliminating poverty within its own borders and striving to eliminate
it worldwide. It will stand with the oppressed against their
oppressors, even (or especially) when those oppressors represent the
corporate interests of the wealthy. Finally, a truly exceptional
country will recognize the futility, the lunacy, indeed the evil of the
pursuit of military superiority and will beat its swords into plowshare,
its spears into pruning hooks, and convert its military budget into an
aid package for the country's and the world's neediest people.
Psalm 63:1-8 (first published 11 March 2007)
Every year thousands of men, women, and children cross the border from
Mexico to the U.S. in search of economic prosperity, political freedom,
and peace. Hundreds of them die in the effort. To cross into the U.S.,
would-be immigrants have to pass through either the Sonoran or the
Chihuahuan Desert, whose combined size is more than 750,000 square
kilometers. By car the trip is difficult. On foot it is extremely
dangerous. Poisonous plants, spiders, snakes, and even lizards inhabit
the desert, and a brutal heat beats down on people throughout much of the
year. The most dangerous element of all, though, is lack of water.
Water is essential for survival, and most of those who die trying the
enter the U.S. die from complications related to exposure, including lack
of water. The psalmist compares his need for God to the need for water
that a thirsty person crossing the desert has. The analogy is a good one,
inasmuch as it captures the desperation that many feel at times in their
quest for God. However, the analogy can be turned on its head as well.
Those seeking water in the desert need it just as badly as people need an
encounter with God. A famous Christian song written a couple of decades
ago was entitled "People Need the Lord," and it describes the many
circumstances of life in which people feel a need to call out to God, and
it urges Christians to take the message of God to those thirsty for a
taste of the divine. I appreciate the message of the song, but I would
amplify it to emphasize the fact that those who are literally thirsty in
the desert need the water comprised of hydrogen and oxygen at least as
much as they need the living water. Too often we Christians restrict
ourselves to providing spiritual care to people, when their immediate need
is physical. People are dying in the desert because of a desire to seek a
better life for themselves and their families. As Christians, it is our
duty to welcome them as guests to our land, give them water to drink and
food to eat, and show them the love of God.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (first published 14 March 2004)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan opens on the bridge of the Enterprise, with Lt. Saavik, a young Vulcan officer in command. Faced with a no-win situation, she makes a decision, and everyone on board is killed. The camera then fades back, and it turns out that she has been in a simulation called the Kobiashi Maru, a scenario in which there is no way out. Captain Kirk, we find out, is the only person ever to have escaped "alive" from the simulation, and he did it by reprogramming the computer. "I don't believe in no-win situations," he says, and he proves it later by escaping an apparently hopeless situation once again by cunning and trickery. Mr. Spock, on the other hand, faces his own real-life Kobiashi Maru, and he makes the decision to sacrifice his own life to save the crew. Paul tells his readers that, as far as temptation is concerned, there is no such thing as a Kobiashi Maru scenario. No matter what the situation, God always provides a way out of temptation. Of course, avoiding temptation in the first place is usually easier than extricating oneself from it, but we don't always have both options. Unlike Kirk, we can't reprogram the computer of life, and we're stuck with the decisions we make, even the bad ones. When we're faced with situations that seem too hard to handle, it's good to know that we can trust God to deliver us. And when we do fail, it's a comfort to know that God is always willing to forgive.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes bad things happen to bad people. Or to quote the immortal words of Forrest Gump, "Sh*t happens." Is there rhyme or reason to the events that transpire in the universe? Most materialists (in the philosophical sense of the word) would say no. Most people of faith would say yes, though they would disagree with one another about the details and the mechanisms of how divine reason plays itself out. Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, many people continue to believe that if something bad happens to them or to someone else, it must be because they did something wrong. The responses of some people to Hurricane Katrina or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami illustrate the point, but even a perfunctory glance at the scope of the people affected by these natural disasters, which included many innocent children among their victims, should disprove this persistent misperception. How, then, can we make sense of the seemingly senseless suffering that many endure in this world? Today's gospel reading holds the two positions of the apparent randomness of events and divine providence in tension. When Jesus is told about two relatively recent events involving the deaths of people who didn't seem to deserve their fate (although Pilate might have disagreed about the first group--sometimes innocence is in the eye of the beholder), he denies that they were particularly deserving of their tragic fates, but he then pivots to warn his interlocutors of the necessity for right living. So is there any correlation between right living and prosperity/happiness on the one hand and selfishness/self-serving living and hardship on the other hand? I think so, but the correlation is by no means exact. It's clear, for example, that although random tragedy can strike either camp with equal probability, those whose lives focus almost exclusively on themselves feel less satisfaction, in general, than those who strive for justice for all or who give their time and money to help others. Not only that, but when tragedy or misfortune do strike, as they inevitably do eventually to everyone, those who have fashioned their lives around themselves often find themselves without the human support that is such a help in getting through the difficult times of life. Many people also find themselves drawing strength in tough times from the faith that has sustained them through the highs and lows of their life. So is there meaning in life, order in the universe, and a divine plan that, though beyond our comprehension, is worked out through the glories, tragedies, and daily drudgery of life? I believe there is, and like so many others present and past, I find great comfort in it.