God Bless America - Rector's Rambling for July 6, 2014

God Bless America.

We hear that phrase said by politicians and their promoters.  We hear it sung in the movies and at sporting events.  We hear it muttered sometimes in derision or as a form of sarcastic praise.  And we even see it proclaimed on our sign board this weekend.

But what do mean by that?  For some it is an exclamation of America’s moral, political, and economic superiority.  For others it is a statement that what we have been able to achieve as a nation is a result of God’s special favor.

When I hear, or say that phrase, it is done as a heartfelt prayer.  After all, what can we possibly be, or achieve, if it is not by God’s most gracious favor?  The founding of our country is seen by many as miraculous.  The fact that one early form of government failed (The Articles of Confederation) and was peaceably replaced by a form that continues to our day (U.S. Constitution) is remarkable as well.  And although the doings of our government have not always been noble, peaceable, just, or successful, in the big picture, it has certainly been much more of a positive than a negative.  And I do believe that much of that has been done because people formed by faith have sought to put that faith to work in our communities and beyond.

But it is a prayer, because as much as God has blessed us as a nation in the past, we need to continually be seeking His blessings in what we do, and who we are becoming as a nation.  And in asking Him for that blessing, we need to be willing to DO what He would have us do and be.

God Bless America!  And may we be the people that God desires us to be!