Dear Friends,
As we conclude a weekend of celebrating the Fourth of July and our country’s initial declaration of freedom, I think it might be wise to ask the question “was Jesus patriotic?” Jesus never addresses the issue directly, but there are a few passages that may help us understand what he may have said.
In the gospel of Luke, there is a peculiar story about Jesus. In the midst of the glory of the Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus begins to weep. He weeps because the city failed to recognize his lordship, and because he knew the impending destruction of Jerusalem. The scene echoed a previous lament over Jerusalem, where Jesus said, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
From that, I think we could conclude that Jesus loved his people, his city, and his nation so much so that he cried over it. He did not despise his country or wish ill upon it. He wanted nothing but the best for it, and it grieved him to see how his people had rejected his teachings.
Jesus’ example invites us to be patriotic with his same focus on justice, truth, and love. Jesus does not advocate a nationalistic patriotism—a love for nation that promotes our nation against other nations. Instead, patriotism is a recognition of love followed by a mournful recognition of shortcomings.
Like Jesus, it is okay to love the place from which you come. All of us are a part of whatever community into which we are born, and proper patriotism takes note of the inborn love many of us have along with a desire to make our home nation as good as can be.
G. K. Chesterton in an essay in The Defendant wrote, “’My country, right or wrong,’ is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case,” Chesterton writes. “It is like saying, ‘My mother, drunk or sober.’ No doubt if a decent man’s mother took to drink he would share her troubles to the last; but to talk as if he would be in a state of gay indifference as to whether his mother took to drink or not is certainly not the language of men who know the great mystery.” In other words, good patriotism lies in the ability to judge one’s nation in its successes and its shortcomings.
Perhaps the important thing to remember is that our first love must be for God and God’s kingdom, over and above any love of country, no matter how pure and honorable that love might be. In his book, The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis addresses the issue quite clearly. He notes that love of country “becomes a demon when it becomes a god.” We can easily let our celebration of nation pervert our love of God. As Lewis explains, humanity has twisted almost every gift of God into an idol that can sinfully replace God. Money, sex, work, food, drink—each of these have become damaging idols for too many Christians.
Our primary allegiance is to God and to his church. That means we may disagree with the direction our country is headed. It might mean engaging in issues like abortion or the environment or immigration. It might mean calling for the righting of past wrongs and the upholding of religious freedom. Christian responsibility always trumps patriotism, even when it is uncomfortable. Jesus died for people of all nations. Jesus asks that we lay all of our loves—including our love of country—at his feet so that we grant God the first fruits of our love.
Peace,
Fr. Damian