"God, Bless America" -- A Reflection, by The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith
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The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost July 24 2016 Trinity Church Hartford
With this morning’s Scripture about praying, and finding ourselves in the midst of political party conventions in which God’s name is invoked, here are some musings about prayer, seeking God’s blessing, and politics
Invoking God’s blessing: it’s a practice particular to religious belief, about cherishing our relationship with God, in prayer.
Hosea’s peers in Israel the Northern Kingdom had forgotten about prayer to God: and it would be for them as if God had no pity, and they would be called not-my-people . Can you imagine having children named, No Pity, and Not-God’s People? (And yet, and yet, notice, there was the promise that they again could be called “Children of the living God.”)
Saint Paul, writing to the Colossians, emphasized giving thanks, in prayer, rather than relying on philosophy or empty deceit.
The disciples said to Jesus, John taught his disciples how to pray; would you teach us how to pray?
He taught them about the compassionate God to whom we pray:
Knock on a friend’s door in the middle of the night, and call out and keep knocking, and even though it’s the middle of the night, the worst of times, the friend will come to give you whatever you need.
And if your child in hunger asks for food, of course you’ll give the child food!
And remember, said Jesus, your heavenly father is even more ready to hear, more generous to give, more responsive to us, than a friend or a parent ever could be.
As Jesus taught them, he also gave them some words — what we call The Lord’s Prayer — when you pray,
First of all: give praise: Father in heaven, may your Name always be held sacred.
Next, ask for the blessing of all creation: Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as already it is in heaven.
Then, certainly, ask for our particular physical and spiritual needs: Give us bread for today; and forgive our sins, even as we forgive others their sins; and save us from the evil times and powers.
Finally, an addition of praise to God: For everything is yours, today and for always.
Prayer modeled: Praise of God, asking for Creation’s blessing, then for our needs, including forgiveness, and finally praise again.
This week again I’ve been thinking about how political speeches at political conventions, usually — always — since the time of President Reagan — now end with some triumphal form of .. what? .. “God Bless America.”
Standing in this new tradition, Mike Pence in his acceptance speech at the Republican Convention ended with “”God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.” Donald Trump left out “God bless America” altogether — the blessing that would tie us together — and just ended with “God bless you.” (I wonder if that included just his supporters?) I’m now curious to look for if and how the phrase emerges in the Democratic Convention this week.
Where did “God bless America” come from? Irving Berlin wrote it in a song in 1918, revised it in 1938, and it has been made immortal, especially at Yankee Stadium, by (the other) Kate Smith.
The question I’ve been toying with, in light of the Biblical tradition and gospel teachings: Is “God bless America” a prayer?
If the expression indeed is meant to be a prayer, I wish there were a comma after “God.” “God, bless America.” In which case, God, bless America would be offered in the context of humility, hope, trust, sounding something like, “We praise you, dear God, and ask you, to bless this nation and all its people and endeavors.”
Maybe it’s a command to God? “God bless America!” Frankly, that sounds like a claim on God, as if we’re the ones in charge and we’re demanding that God fall in line wth us, with what we want for ourselves. The question then would be, Who’s in the driver’s seat? Who is serving whom??
Or, Is it an authoritative pronouncement of divine blessing, delivered? To render holiness. In our Christian tradition, the members of the Church who are entrusted to pronounce blessing (and forgiveness) (or withhold either) are our ordained priests and bishops. And we’ve made quite an industry of it; we pronounce blessings on all sorts of things: we bless houses, babies, animals, the fishing fleet, baptism candidates, the whole congregation at the end of the Eucharist, furniture, altar implements and liturgical hangings, backpacks, church buildings, hounds, graves, water, couples in marriage, rings, motorcycles, Iron-man athletes (this morning in Lake Placid). Whatever, it’s the ministry of priests and bishops. Nope, the phrase used by politicians can’t be a declaration or assurance of blessing.
Maybe the expression is a well-wishing hope. Less intended or formed than prayer, more a secular expression. As when we say, God bless you after a sneeze, or God bless you for having done a good deed, or God bless you in a time of great joy, or of trouble. Maybe that’s what it is — a shadow of a prayer, if you will. The opposite of an ill-wishing hope which replaces “bless” with “damn.”
For better or for worse, whatever the motivations for its use, the expression is with us. So, here a couple of thoughts.
1. God already has blessed America. Mightily. What about our politicians’ thanking God for the blessings we have received, and stop acting as if God’s blessing is something unreceived that we deserve.
2. What if in public we asked for blessings for others, addition to America — God bless the whole world, those caught in poverty, or those in what we call trouble spots, or in, say, Syria, Greece, Congo? What if we asked God for our enemies, as Scripture commends?
3. What if we implored not that God bless us — God already does that — but that we as a nation be empowered to be a blessing to God?
4. And what if our politicians, truly addressing God, following the example of prayer revealed in Scripture, even asked forgiveness for those things which they, or we as America, have done or not done, which like anything human, needs forgiveness?
Well, Whatever will be said, and for whatever reasons, the content in political speeches is beyond our control.
For us, then, when we think of our relationship with God, and blessings, let’s always remember how Jesus said our heavenly father is more ready to hear, and more generous, more responsive, than a friend or a parent.
And imprint on our minds how Jesus taught us,
First of all: give praise: Father in heaven, may your Name always be held sacred by us and by all.
Next, ask for the blessing of all creation: Your Kingdom come,
Then, for our particular physical and spiritual needs: Give us bread for today; and forgive our sins, even as we forgive others their sins; and save us from evil powers.
Finally, an addition of praise to God: for everything is yours, today and for always.
It’s the relationship. And prayer is the door for receiving and being empowered to give blessing. From God through Jesus Christ, to whom with the Spirit be our honor and praise, now and forever.