SUNDAY: Bible Study - 9:00 AM | Worship - 10:00 AM | PM Worship - 6:00 PM WEDNESDAY: Bible Class - 7:00 PM ~ 8110 Signal Hill Road Manassas, Virginia | Office Phone: 703.368.2622

September 11, 2001. President Roosevelt used the word "infamy" to describe December 7, 1941 - but what word is dark enough, severe enough to describe what we experienced that day (and countless times since) when we watched the plane slice through the second tower, both towers collapse, and the Pentagon in flames. This is new territory — we have nothing in history with which lo compare 6000 and more civilians killed in the security of their workplaces in an attack against History's greatest nation by a loosely connected network of terrorists.

We may remember the Challenger disaster, the Tet Offensive, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Fall of Saigon, the Kennedy and KJng Assassinations, even Pearl Harbor - yet none compare - none provide a paradigm, a frame of reference and meaning.

And so we must turn to what we have read to find a comparison — for reading allows us to transcend personal experience and connect with the past and with imagination. I was reminded of Pietro Di Donato's novel Christ in Concrete, which describes, in leirifyTng detail, what it is like to die in a collapsing skyscraper. I thought of John Hersey's Hiroshima, with its detailed stories of those who did and did not survive the explosion at "ground zero". I recalled C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters, which was written during the London Blitz, and in which death by bombing brings a saved man immediate victory and bliss.

But mostly I thought about scripture — especially the Psalms. And so did everyone else. Mayors, Military men, fire fighters, EMTs. the President, and Network news anchors, repeated the phrases of scripture. Even the Hollywood crowd reminded us "God is a great God" (Julia Roberts) during last Friday night's national telethon.

It is not surprising that a tragedy of biblical proportions leaves us groping for biblical comfort and perspective. But what about the reverse? Should we the people of the book be comfortable with the language of nationalism of American patriotism?

I have often used these essays to remind us that Christians are engaged in a cultural war against the West, using language not unlike some of the accusations Osama Bin Laden makes against Americans. I refuse to retreat from such a stance. Jesus frequently tells us the values of the kingdom are opposed to the values of the West (Matthew 5.47, 6.7, 6.32, Mark 10.41 among others). Paul reminds us we are in a war ofworldviews, and we will not capitulate (II Corinthians 10.4, Ephesians 6.12). We are not citizens of any nation; we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3.20). As long as we are here we are pilgrims and strangers (II Peter 2.10-12).

So can a pilgrim be a patriot?

Can we be devoted to love for our enemies - overcoming evil with good and devoted to our country, its defense, and those in uniform who wage war on our behalf?

I believe these roles - God's pilgrim and American patriot - are not exclusive - and that the word itself expects OUT patriotism.

In the same passage which tells us to overcome evil with good (Romans 12.9-13.7) we are also told that our government is God's servant to protect us and punish those evildoers who plot harm against us. We are told that our government has been authorized to use lethal force in the exercise of this responsibility. Praying for our enemies, and praying for our armed services are not mutually exclusive.

In fact, praying for our government is a Christian duty (I Timothy 2.1-3). Such a prayer is "pleasing to God our Savior." Our prayer should be that we are allowed to live "quiet, peaceful lives." This is the case. We, in America, enjoy more "domestic tranquility" than any people at any time m history. The United States of America answers this prayer as no nation ever has. We can not but be grateful to God for our nation.

This crisis has served to remind us just how "Christian" our nation continues to be. Same-sex marriage, stem-cell research, and partial birth abortion not withstanding - we are still molded by our Christian past. We are still shaped by the great awakening that formed our founding fathers, and the great revival that shaped our frontier fathers. We still believe that "all men are created equal", and are endowed by lheir creator with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We still believe that we can have "malice toward none", and still fight to ensure the "government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

We still believe in God.
We still believe in grace.
And so the pilgrim can be, must be a patriot.

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