pat loughery

God as revealed in history is… the One who has elected Israel. The purpose of the election is service, and when this is withheld, election loses its meaning. Primarily Israel is to serve the marginal in its midst: the orphan, the widow, the poor, the stranger. Whenever the people of Israel renew their covenant with Yahweh, they recognize that they are renewing their obligations to the victims of society.

From an early stage, furthermore, there has been the conviction that God’s compassion embraces the nations also.

“Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission” (David Bosch), (p.18)

I have hard time thinking, let alone singing, “God Bless America.”. My patriotism – especially after the illegal war that our current president has led us disastrously into – is at an all-time low. The biggest reason for this is contemporary America’s desire for more, More, MORE. We lead the world in consumption; we lead the world in a restless need for MORE.

If you spend time outside our nation – and as much as I hate the idea of forced military service, I think there’s great value in requiring Americans to travel to the 2/3 world – you begin to see this more clearly, in contrast to your everyday life. I’ve seen it in Nicaragua. I’ve seen it in Mexico. i’ve seen it in Belfast. I’ve seen it speaking with my friend from Kenya. i’ve seen it (perhaps most horrifyingly) visiting Indian reservations here in the land of the Free and the home of the Brave.

Our country HAS been blessed by God. We are well truly blessed. We choose to use that blessing as a nation by bullying the world’s nations, by refusing to lead as servants, by believing that we’re the only nation with rights and opinions, and by beating our chests when we accomplish something good for the purpose of furthering our own national interests.

Here’s what truly scares me about the abundant blessing that God has lavished on us. Jesus told a story to his friends in Luke 12, and then he interpreted it this way:

47″That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

49″I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

(Luke 12:47-49)

We are the wealthiest nation in the history of planet Earth. Undoubtedly, this is God’s blessing. It is not a right, and we cannot expect it to continue in the future, simply because we are a democracy, or because we were established by faithful Christians three centuries ago.

We’ve been given much. Much will be demanded of us as we are called to account for how we steward this blessing on behalf of those at the margins.