Prayers against "Christian" nationalism
Asking for help from the God of every tribe, tongue, and nation
Congratulations to my friend Emily McGowin on the release of her new book Christmas: The Season of Life and Light.
Gentle reader,
I’ll never forget a pair of parents who came to my office, asking questions about the curriculum. Their daughter was a prospective student, though she sat there in silence.
“We want to make sure she’s getting good teaching about the Founding Fathers,” said the dad, “to know about America as God’s chosen people.”
“Well,” I choked out, “we really try here to pay attention to God’s faithfulness in the whole world, including learning from faithful Christians from many countries.”
Dad looked puzzled; “and you find that that exists?” he said.
He could not imagine Christians who are not Americans. He could not imagine God’s work outside of his own home, his own tribe.
The rise of so called “Christian nationalism” in the U.S. is one of the most troubling treands of our time.
A Pew research study finds that Americans have diverging views of what “Christian nationalism might be.”
“Many describe ‘Christian nationalism’ in terms of Christian dominance in society, while others associate the concept with racism, authoritarianism, bigotry and exclusion. A smaller portion of Americans describe it as the positive influence of faith and morals in society.”
In the widely varying descriptions of “Christian nationalism” reported by Pew most share one unnamed thing in common: “Christian nationalism” assumes that God has a special interest in or loves the U.S. above other peoples and countries. This assumption holds true for both positive and negative readings of the phenomenon.
The “God” of Christian nationalism is a false god, an idol, because that god contradicts the truth of God’s character as revealed in scripture and the person of Jesus Christ.
Albrecht Dürer The Adoration of the Lamb, c. 1496/1498, public domain via the National Gallery of Art
Prayer shapes our imagination. Praying words drawn from scripture shapes a biblical imagination and helps us to see that we live in God’s world.
Today, I offer some prayers to the one true God, asking for God’s power to work among us, combating the idolatry of nationalism.
Holy God,
You are the One whose kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), but we are tempted to confuse it with the kingdoms that we know. Teach us to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God (Acts 28:31) in its glorious distinction from every other kingdom and in its openness to people of every race, background, culture, and country. By the power of your Spirit, transform us into a people who seek your kingdom first (Matthew 6:33) and live as a kingdom people who know “righteousness and peace and joy” (Romans 14:17).
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10),
Amen.
Heavenly Father,
As sinners we are so prone to protecting ourselves at the expense of others, to loving our own people and forgetting your love for the whole world (John 3:16), to supposing that our relationship with you makes us special in a way that others are not.
We pray that you would remind us of the truth of your Word, that “the alien who resides with” us “shall be … as the native-born among” us and that we are those called to “love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”
We pray that you might unsettle our identities. Remind us that we are those who were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise” (Ephesians 2:12), that we “once were far off” but “have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Kindle our love, God, for all who are far off, who are strangers, who are seen as alien in our communities and countries, and so shape us into ambassadors for the gospel which has brought us near to you.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
Three breath prayers to help us know the God of all the nations:
(breath prayers are short prayers that encourage us to meditate on a passage of scripture by praying it repeatedly, as we breathe. Generally, the prayers have two parts, one to be prayed as we inhale, one as we exhale).
(inhale) God cleanses all hearts,
(exhale) making no distinction between them and us (from Acts 15:9).
(inhale) Christ brings the blessing of Abraham to the gentiles,
(exhale) so we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (from Galatians 3:14).
(inhale) Give thanks to the Lord, who foreigners join,
(exhale) who rules a house of prayer for all peoples (from Isaiah 56:6-7).
Dear God,
You are light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6), a “door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27), the one who calls for offerings of incense “in every place” (Malachi 1:11), the maker of all the nations which will “come and worship before you” (Psalm 86:9). Make us into your people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). Lead us into the miraculous hospitality and unity of those who are “all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
Amen.
Air Olive, via Wikimedia commons
God is the God of all creation, the God of every nation. God is the God who elected Israel for the sake of the nations and continues to elect for the sake of others.
We are not the insiders.
We’re those who were far off (Ephesians 2:17); we’re a wild olive branch grafted in so that we might “share the rich root of the olive tree (Romans 11:17).
And God is “our peace,” for:
in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us, abolishing the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God. (Ephesians 4:14-15, 19).
Grace & peace,
BFJ
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Permission is granted to reproduce and use these prayers in church settings, classes, and worship, with attribution to bethfelkerjones.substack.com
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