Silence. My silence and bended knee are my only appropriate response for the dead of the terror attacks that happened here, have happened for decades in other parts of the world, and are happening today. As you pause to remember the many that died on the day of the attacks, Sept. 11, 2001 and their families, here are some others I will be holding in my meditations and my silence.
– The families of the 1% that are fighting America’s wars and the deployed loved ones;
– The thousands maimed, injured, and dead from “Shock & Awe”, “Enduring Freedom,” surge activities, and drone attacks;
– The leaders, military and civilian, that are making decisions on good and bad intel and advice;
– The first responders that ran into buildings or calmly helped people out of the towers and never made it home;
– Those that cleared debris, lived to tell the story, and have become collateral damage;
– Dick Chaney and others that believe that “might makes right” and that Americans deserve more privilege than other members of the planet because we are Americans, or because of skin color, language, wealth, or by what name you call God;
– My own apathy to challenge the institutions and leaders that are fear profiteers, that legislate discrimination, or prefer segregation to the melting pot that made the greatest generation, great.
God sees,
I see you averting your glances.
I see you cheering on the war.
I see you ignoring your children,
And I love you still.
And I love you still.
I see you altering history.
I see you abusing the land.
I see you, your selective amnesia,
I love you still.
And I love you still.(1)
May God bless everyone with vision to see past grief and greed, race and class, and individual gain at the expense of the common good.
I’m a Nascar fan. There I said it. I’ve been a Nascar fan for a long, long time. I can remember watching the race recaps on the Wide World of Sports, tape delayed Indy 500, and I remember when networks started broadcasting races live. There was a time when I thought I was a “car guy”. By that I mean weekend mechanic, but I never had the patience for it. I can do basic repairs and the like, but I was never good enough to rebuild an engine or do an align the tires. I like car racing. I’m not a fan of the invocation before a sporting event because it has become a Christian evangelism tool or a moment of political Christian nationalism that I think would give Jesus pause. One way to read the synoptic Gospels is to insert America, or any of the “first world nations”, in the place of Rome in the text.
As I have grown older in my service in ministry I experience embarrassment more often by the prayers offered at sporting events. Well intentioned Christians cannot seem to comprehend that everyone in attendance may NOT be a Christian or even religious. Yes, like the church of baseball, some experience community at Nascar events, but these are not specifically “Christian” racing events, nor is any sporting event a religious event where one might invoke the name of God to assist in winning. Many of America’s citizens practice some form of Christianity, but our founders were at best deists and shaped by the enlightenment period. Seeing Christianity in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States is like reading Jesus into the First Testament texts. It is eisegesis. Public prayer must represent all the gathered community and not the person’s particular religious view. I guess it is possible that the Nascar marketing people have done surveys to determine the religious practice of those attending races so maybe that is why the prayers of Christian-centric and male focused. Rare is the occasion when a female minister or someone other than a non-denominational minister or Baptist minister ever give the prayer. Where is Nascar’s HR department? I do not have any problem with the kind of Christianity a person wishes to practice in their private life or that of their congregation as long as it is not doing harm to the vulnerable. But, when one steps to a microphone to pray at a public gathering I expect a level of respect and awareness of persons of all kinds of beliefs sitting in the stands or the auditorium. Here are two examples of moments when I felt embarrassed for Christendom and witnessed the arrogance, though performed in humility, of evangelizing through public prayer. It makes Christendom look bad, appear wed to one specific political party, and does not do justice to the life and teachings of Jesus. My guess is my prayer would not be considered ‘Christian” enough. Bless my heart, its not my fault that I show my arrogant educated elitism from time to time because my parents did encourage me to see the world from another persons point of view.
Joe Gibbs giving the prayer at the August 2011 Bristol race. I appreciate his remembering those living through the hurricane and the many, many serving in the military.
Here is a pastor living up to the caricature of southern preacher. Does he mean well? Sure, but there is the old saying in the south, “bless his heart.” At least he got his 15 minutes of fame and advertising for his congregation.