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 I’ve driven past this building for years now. Its construction suggests stability. Its presence in this spot hints at tradition. I have made some assumptions about it based on its outward appearance. The beige paint makes it unremarkable yet also gives the appearance of uniformity. Its stone, like the mountains, seems unchanging and solid.  

Now it is painfully obvious that all is not as I thought. The building has cracks. Lots and lots of cracks. It has stood resolute long enough to have taken a beating from wind and weather. It is still standing, true, but it is fractured and vulnerable. It needs repair and restoration.

Life in this country has often had that “beige" quality…if you don’t look too closely, everything seems to blend together into an appearance of uniformity. Our days go by as they usually do. But underneath, the fissures have been quietly forming and now the cracks have come to the surface. Surprisingly, this surprised me. I had accepted our life together at face value, unaware of the fissures in our human community that have recently been exacerbated by aggressive public rhetoric and its resultant violent activity.

You have heard me refer to Christian Nationalism as a rising problem. Let’s think about that term for a moment. The term “Christian Nationalism” is often thought of in the same light as “patriotism.” The dictionary defines “patriotism” as: “a love for or devotion to one's country.” OK. The definition of “nationalism” is very similar but there is a caveat. So it begins with loyalty and devotion to a nation, fair enough as far as it goes, but then, then it goes on to say: “…especially in the sense of a national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promoting its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.” Now if you take that idea and you supercharge it with the thought that the nation is also in some way favored by God with a chosen role to play in the world or that somehow God has guided its history up to this point or that nothing can stand in our way because God is on our side, well, you have Christian nationalism. In this worldview, “God Bless America” is less a prayer request then it is a statement of our favored status before God. 

Now let me state my own professional interpretation, clearly based on how I understand what the Bible tells us about God in Christ. We are not a Christian nation. We as a nation do not demonstrate a Christ-like approach in our policies, in our systems, in our practices, or apparently in our rhetoric…and we haven't done so for quite some time. We can proclaim that we are a Christian nation all we want but the very fact that “America First” has become a slogan belies that fact. I defy you to find anywhere in the gospels where Jesus says that you should put yourself first. And as we know, that kind of self-centeredness (whether individual or societal) can lead to actions and attitudes that are decidedly UN-Christlike.

You don’t have to look far to find examples of how this idolatrous ideology manifests itself. When insurrectionists sporting Christian signs, symbols, or slogans gathered in the Senate chamber to pray, videos of the moment echo these words: “Let's all say a prayer in this sacred space.” Do you hear it? I'll give the Senate chamber some credit for “hallowed halls” maybe but it is certainly not a sacred space…unless of course you put it on the same par as a church sanctuary. Do we? In much of the rhetoric of Christian nationalism, God and country are intertwined in such a way that it is assumed that God prefers Christians over all others and that we are called to preserve that notion and that understanding of life at all costs.

Apparently, you can hear more of that rhetoric coming up September 16-17 in Post Falls. Promoted in the style of the old-time revivals, it is called "ReAwaken America." As reported at previous tour events, many speakers mix militant talk with Christian language while speaking of life-and-death stakes. Some speakers imply the need for political violence by urging supporters to “win the battle for God” against their fellow Americans. Claiming that Jesus is on their side, they seek to “win back America” for Jesus. They demonize their political and ideological opponents, labeling them in such terms as being on "Team Satan.” (Hmm, I seem to have left my pentagram at home.) This is far from Jesus blessing the humble, the meek, the merciful, and the peacemakers (see Matthew 5:3-11). 

If we profess to be followers of Christ, it is our moral responsibility to protect our communities from violence and hatred. From the apparent experience of other communities, it appears that the tour is designed to divide and radicalize people in our beloved region by pitting us against each other and thereby making us vulnerable to more violence. In opposition to such hateful rhetoric and divisive language, we affirm the gifts of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

It is very concerning that the name of Jesus is used by Christian nationalist speakers to advance an exclusivist vision of our country as a "Christian nation.” Using Jesus and God to gain political power in order to dominate others is the opposite of what Jesus taught us about loving our neighbors. America is a country that has historically cherished religious freedom for all people. We cannot let patriotism become a false idol in this way.

We've seen this kind of thing in our area before. I'm always torn about whether pouring attention on this simply exacerbates the whole thing, or if we must pay attention for the sake of our community. I'm leaning towards the latter this time...obviously.  

Interestingly, this concern over the effects of Christian nationalism on our communities and in our relationships in the world is bringing together people of faith with people of different or no faith. More and more people are speaking out against the misinformation and dehumanizing of Christian nationalism, standing instead for the Gospel values of love, peace, reconciliation, forgiveness, and truth. As St. Paul reminds us, we are to “Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10). 

Maybe we’re in a “this, too, shall pass” moment but I don’t think we dare assume it. After all, we have one group of Christians turning on the rest of us and decrying us as “Christians in Name Only” and heretics. But let me echo the words of The Rt. Rev’d Gretchen M. Rehberg, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane: “To equate Christianity with loyalty to any nation is heresy. To claim that our nation is ‘Christian’ is to fundamentally misunderstand, or deliberately choose to ignore, the realities of our Constitution.” (Her full letter encouraging us all to resist Christian Nationalism appeared in last Sunday’s Spokesman Review.)

This week’s “God is Doing Something New” exercise is to “Take a Stand.” Several people coming out of worship asked what they could do to help “patch the cracks.” It might be going a little too far to say that the masons repairing the Armory are doing a work of love…or maybe it isn’t. That’s a lot of time and effort for them. And in the same way that the repetition involved in the Catholic Rosary leads to a meditative state where the presence of God with the one saying the rosary seems heightened, perhaps this repetitive work of patching cracks achieves a similar meditative and prayerlike quality. It seems to me it could certainly be approached that way. That analogy is supposed to lead to the conclusion that LOVE is how we fix the cracks we find.

So, here are just a couple suggestions:

-  Start with yourself.

     o  Pray that Christianity in this country will reflect the qualities of the biblical Jesus more clearly and that the Holy Spirit will enlighten you to ways in which you are affected by the current national atmosphere. 

     o  From there, find your path. Patch cracks where you find them. Share a compassionate or merciful point of view. Say a kind word in the face of bigotry. Promote the Christian ideals that St. Paul wrote about above. In this process, root out any of the tendencies of Christian nationalism or supremacy that you might perceive in yourself.

-  Write a letter or sign a petition.

     o  Write to your representatives expressing your concern over the use of Jesus’ name to promote political goals. A proper constitutional separation of church and state requires that people of faith (or no faith) be free to believe what is meaningful to them.

     o  Sign a petition such as the local one that is asking Stateline Speedway to reconsider hosting the “Reawaken America” event. (Some of my colleagues and their councils have signed it.) 

-  Attend a vigil.

     o  Pr. Liv Larson Andrews and the congregation of Salem Lutheran are holding a prayer vigil on Friday, Sept 16th, at 7pm.

     o  Other vigils are happening around the area to take some time to pray that the heart of Jesus and the gifts of the Spirit might overcome the declarations of hate and exclusion that are being proclaimed by proponents of Christian nationalism.  

As Lutheran Christians, we have a tradition of self-examination and a confession of the human condition as “saint/sinner.” Now is the time to set aside our safe preconceptions and our moral certitudes, and examine our lives, attitudes, and intentions in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As areas of confession and repentance make themselves known, we are assured of God’s love and forgiveness. We are also called forward to follow Jesus and get back to the basics of “loving the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, and mind…and your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-40). We can start by fixing the cracks we find by the application of a holy paste of “love for neighbor” and “fruits of the Spirit.”