Another US holiday has rolled around, which means I get practice in the Discipline of Silence as patriotic talk increases in churches around Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans' Day.
As someone who has served on the mission field and has looked at the US from the outside, I have come realize that nationalism and patriotism is what is referred to as a "golden calf" inside some church leadership circles. It is something that may not quite line up with Scripture, but if someone suggests toning it down, or leaving it out of the worship service entirely, the leader who left it out will definitely be hearing multiple complaints. So many in leadership do not try to tear down this golden calf.
But I want to be real and open here on this blog today.
Folks, I struggle with these patriotic holidays being in the church, because I can't really see Jesus accepting praising the military in the temple or synagogues in His day & age.
Frankly, I wrestle with these holidays period. The only way that I can go along with them mildly is to create a parallel Christian allegory that I can get behind.
On Memorial Day, I take time to remember the martyrs of the Christian faith and the heroes of the faith who fearlessly proclaimed the Gospel to all peoples.
On Independence Day, I celebrate the freedom that I have through Christ, as He overcomes my earthly nature and tendencies.
On Veteran's Day, I freeze. I don't have a ready allegory to apply, yet even now I hear the Spirit nudging me to pray for soldiers. The Bible teaches that we are to pray for all people and that includes soldiers.
Now my prayers may look quite different from yours, but this is what I'm compelled to pray for soldiers:
1. I pray that they will find salvation in Christ alone.
2. I pray that they will obey God and His laws, over man's law, even if it means that they will be punished for disobeying man's law.
3. I pray that they will have the wisdom to know when to question & refuse to follow orders that would cause them to disobey God. I ask for courage and boldness in living this out.
4. I pray that they will live out Christ's commands to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors.
5. I pray that they will find alternative, non-lethal ways to end violence and conflicts.
6. I pray that God will not leave them broken over the orders they have followed that caused them to end lives. I pray that when they regret and repent of their actions, they will find the reconciliation and redemption that God offers as they seek forgiveness.
7. I pray that they be welcomed by the Church, not as heroes who should be revered for using violence in the name of defense, but rather as prodigals who have wandered into dangerous ground for Christians, but have still walked in the doors of our churches.
I also pray for the Church in the US:
1. I pray that we recognize that we are praising people for using violence to end lives. This is not something to rejoice in.
2. I pray that we begin to mourn for the loss of lives, not just of our soldiers, but of the enemy soldiers as well. May we be grieved by all lives that are ended by weapons, especially those who aren't serving God.
3. I pray that we begin to pray consistently for our enemies. Pray that they encounter the living Christ. Pray that all soldiers turn from their wicked ways and begin to follow Jesus.
4. I pray that we see clearly the ways that our culture has set itself up on the altars of our churches to be worshiped and I pray that we tear down these altars as we fully pursue God.
5. I pray that the church will trust the mercy and grace of God as we are grieved over the ways that we have added nationalism to our religion, until we thought it was acceptable to serve and worship both God & country.
6. I pray that we will see clearly that to worship ANYTHING else in addition to God is idolatry. I pray that we will repent of the idolatry that allows us to see nothing wrong with elevating anything just below God.
7. I pray that we repent of viewing our military as purely good, fighting off other soldiers that we view as wholly evil. I pray that we recognize that war is a complex, ugly thing. That the soldiers on the other side could be protecting civilians that view us as evil attacking them. That soldiers on both sides can have a desire to defend what they view as good and noble. That soldiers on both sides are broken by the atrocities they were ordered to carry out.
I realize these are rough, raw prayers. They are not easy prayers with our eyes fixed on the ideal we hold of the military. These are prayers that dive below the surface-level conversations we have in regards to the military to the murky areas we don't like to think about. It is much more pleasant to look at the polished image presented on the pedestal, instead of the broken relationships and lives that are chewed up by the military machine, on both sides of all conflicts.
Even as I write these words, I recognize that they are words that I would not have the freedom to post without soldiers fighting to defend my way of life. As I have processed through the prayers that I CAN pray on this holiday, I realize that this should not be a day of rejoicing for Christians, but a day of mourning and lament.
I mourn that good, noble, honorable men are trained to end lives and return home with blood on their hands and pain in their hearts.
I lament that we are so quick to endorse and support violence instead of seeking alternative ways to reach peace.
I mourn that lives on both sides of conflicts were ended prematurely.
I lament that atrocities were committed by both sides in conflicts in the name of peace.
I mourn that we have created more effective ways of ending lives. Swords-->Guns-->Cannons-->Bombs-->Death Chambers-->Atomic Bombs-->Drone Strikes
I lament that civilians have suffered thievery, attacks, rapes, and death at the hands of soldiers on both sides of conflicts.
I mourn that we keep reaching for guns to solve our problems after seeing the devastation of world wars and conflicts throughout history.
These are the prayers that I am praying in the face of the ugliness of war. They may not be the pretty, sanitized prayers that we have grown accustomed to in churches in the US, but these are needed prayers, because people are broken by wars. They are coming home devastated and ashamed at the things they have seen and done. They need a church to offer them the real Way, Truth, and Light. They need a church, not to celebrate what has broken them, but to help them heal and repent, in order to find true Hope and Salvation in Christ.
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