Many believers probably sang GOD BLESS AMERICA last weekend during worship. It certainly would have been an appropriate congregational prayer to be offered in song. Our country, after all, is rich with the kind of freedom and opportunity for which many in the world are desperately hungry. The very least that we can do is to pray for our great nation and to call upon God’s blessing on our nation’s behalf
And yet, as much as I have come to appreciate prayerful hymns like GOD BLESS AMERICA and MY COUNTRY, ‘TIS OF THEE, I am even more appreciative of the hymn THIS IS MY SONG—a hymn that calls upon God to bring a blessing, not only upon America, but upon all the nations of the world. Here is a portion of the poetry of that great hymn of faith:
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
(Note: The words to the hymn THIS IS MY SONG were written by Lloyd Stone and Georgia Harkness)
What I love about those words is the way in which they communicate both a celebration of American hopes and dreams and a stubborn refusal to slip into a condition of nationalistic idolatry and irresponsible jingoism. The words remind us, in other words, that the hopes and dreams that we celebrate as American believers need not blind us to the preciousness of the hopes and dreams of others around the world with whom we share a common humanity.
By the third verse of the hymn, the tone has become even more prayerful and global:
This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth’s kingdoms:
Thy kingdom come, on earth thy will be done.
Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him,
And hearts united learn to live as one.
O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations.
Myself I give thee, let thy will be done.
Every time I sing those words, I am reminded of the fact that, when believers gather for worship, we bear witness to the existence of a different kingdom. It is a kingdom that transcends national boundaries and ethnic backgrounds (without ignoring them). It is a kingdom in which brotherhood and sisterhood in Christ is more cohesive than political affiliation or national creed. It is a kingdom in which citizenship can be shared by Americans and Iraqis, by British and French, by Asian and African.
The kingdom to which I am making reference, of course, is the kingdom where water is thicker than blood, baptismally speaking. Jesus inaugurated this kingdom with his life, death, and resurrection, and the world will never again be the same.
On this Independence Day, I celebrate our nation, its freedom, and its ideals. May God bless America in a way that leads to an ever-deepening commitment to justice and peace.
In the process, may God bring a similar blessing upon all the nations, so that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of Christ, where he shall reign for ever and ever.
This is my song.
Ahhh Finlandia. Similar to Radar O’Riley’s version of Ahhhhhh….Bach!!!!(hand motion) from the M.A.S.H. episode where he tries to impress a female officer of rather high culture completely out of his league.
I remember it well.
“Ahhhh…Bach!”
A very worthy reflection.
The only thing that I would caution is that there is a difference between the nationalistic idolatry or irresponsible jingoism that you rightly criticize, and loving a country for its principles and ideals.
As the Founders wrote in Federalist #1, we are the only nation on earth that was came into being through “reflection and choice” rather than “accident and force,” and we were the first nation to be founded on philosophical principles rather than the strength and whims of a tyrant.
Our nation has made many mistakes, has not always lived up to those principles, but I still maintain that it has done more good and less harm for humanity than any other nation in history. So while I like and approve of the lyrics to the hymn you chose–and I certainly pray for peace in all nations–I don’t necessarily think it is idolatrous or jingoistic to ask God’s continued blessings upon the greatest nation this side of heaven.
Long live the USA…….
Jeff…
I am not at all suggesting that asking for God’s continued blessing upon America is automatically a form of jingoistic idolatry (although it can certainly cross the line very quickly). GOD BLESS AMERICA, as I said in the post, can be a wonderfully Christ-honoring prayer. I hope that I have sung it that way.
I would, however, maintain two points:
1. The line between patriotism and discipleship has often been blurred in complex, subtle, and, ultimately, unpleasant ways in the history of our country. As history as proven, I think, our theological discernment and our often counter-cultural ethics are compromised when we are too eager to wrap up the Bible in any country’s flag.
2. The non-geographical kingdom inaugurated by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (and, for that matter, the fulfillment of Galatians 3:28) places all earthly nations and kingdoms in their appropriate perspective. Therefore, although “long live the USA” is a legitimate desire (and looks great on a bumper sticker!), the believer’s primary citizenship is in the kingdom of God, which transcends national identity and, in fact, all other forms of identity. This, of course, is not to say that my identity as a husband, my identity a United States citizen, and my identity as a Steeler fan are not significant. They absolutely are. But, ultimately, any form of self-identification that begins to take priority over my identity in Christ is a manifestation of idolatry.
“Long live the USA” is certainly a sentiment that I can share with you as a prayer (and I do). In my mind, however, the prayer is incomplete until it includes a more global perspective. That’s why I love THIS IS MY SONG so much as a hymn. When my congregation sings GOD BLESS AMERICA, we always make sure that it is accompanied by the singing of THIS IS MY SONG. As I see it, the singing of both hymns helps us to remember that, if God blesses any particular nation in any particular way, it is always for the purpose of working toward the redemption of all creation and the salvation of the entire world. Quite frankly, we can’t afford to think smaller than that.
Eric…I love that hymn. I also like the point you made about idolatrous jingoism. Once in my ministry, during the first gulf war I prayed for peace and an end to violence, but did not pray for a U.S. victory. Several people accused me of not supporting the troops.
On September 11th, at a special prayer service. I admonished the congregation to “be angry, but do not sin” in response to the event. Some members of my church used it as an occasion to bash the muslim faith.
There is a very thin line between asking for a blessing and believing that God blesses everything our nation does.
As usual, good post my friend
I have no problem with any of that, Eric. I just get very disturbed by people (and I am not accusing you of this in any way) who refuse to make a moral distinction between the USA and, say, Afganistan or Soviet Russia.
That the USA is not God’s Kingdom on earth, I will not dispute, and like you, my ultimate allegiance is to the second and not the first.
However, to say that all people of all nations have the same fundamental aspirations as the USA is to grossly misrepresent the uniqueness of our country in the history of the world. In fact, I would say that our nation’s real decline began when we stopped valuing our uniqueness and started thinking that we should be “like other nations.” If memory serves, Ancient Israel made a similar mistake….
I often pray for our servicemen and women during our church service, and one of the military members of my congregation reminded me to be in prayer, not just for the soldiers in our country, but for all soldiers all around the world. It was a good reminder for me that, while I am proud to be an American, I need to remember those around the world who are away from home and loved ones, and to pray for peace for all the world, not just in the good ol’ USA. My expansive outlook does not, however, extend beyond the Pittsburgh Steelers when it comes to football. All the other teams can rot!
E - one of my favorite hymns. And one of the reasons that I went to Moscow a few years back. It is a reminder to me that God is the God of all nations, calling us to boarders that are beyond our own. Thanks for the reminder of a great hymn.
Eric-
I’m right there with you on “This is my Song.” I’ve never been a fan of songs like the Battle Hymn..in worship. As is usually the case, however, once I take a firm stand on something, God uses it to humble me.
The Wesley Choir at Christ Church Bethel Park led me out of my firm anti-patriotic-in-worship stance. As I heard them sing I was struck by their faces, many of whom has been in the trenches and rice paddys of war. Some had actually seen the “glory of the coming of the Lord” as the Lord met them with love and encouragement in fox holes. I realized that I had lots of opinion, and little experience to hang it on. For the men who were singing that day, I believe it was an act of worship–a prayer, in fact–”Thank you God for coming to me in my hour of need.”