"Patriotism and the Pulpit" by Rev. Jack Copas

My friend Jack has put together a very helpful response to the Rev. Wright flap being used to counter Senator Obama's presidential campaign. Jack doesn't take sides, unless one thinks that challenging someone's thinking is partisan. Here are his thoughts:

The latest news these days about our Presidential election comes from a most unlikely arena. Barack Obama has been roundly criticized for sermons his pastor, The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, preached in the pulpit of the Trinity United Church of Christ. This really intrigued me because I have been criticized a time or two for preaching sermons people strongly disagreed with. Yet to the best of my knowledge no one in any church I have ever served has ever been held accountable for words I said. Some reporters even asked Senator Obama why he still attends that church since he repudiated what his pastor said. Some said he waited too long to distance himself from Dr. Wright. The reason people were so angry about what Dr. Wright said was his words were perceived to be a direct assault on The United States of America. Our traditional definition of patriotism was being challenged and folks get mighty testy over that subject.

When I first heard about this story I thought it was amazing the media was so focused on some minister’s sermon and whether what he said could have some reflection on Senator Obama’s candidacy. This sounded like lunacy to me because Dr. Wright’s statements had nothing to do with Barack Obama. I felt the same way about this controversy as I did when two other prominent ministers endorsed John McCain for President. One of them said the Roman Catholic Church was a “whore” religion and the other pastor said as Christians we must kill all Muslims. Astoundingly that minister even gave some Scriptural references to make his points. My point here is that neither John McCain nor Barack Obama should be held accountable for the statements of preachers who support them no matter what comes out of their pulpits. Why? Because as United Methodists we believe in two things. One is called “free will”. You have the freedom to decide in your own mind and heart how much (if any) of the pastor’s sermon is something you believe in or agree with. Your faith journey is yours alone to walk. The other is freedom of the pulpit which means pastors are free to make prophetic pronouncements at their own peril without requiring the congregation to go along with them.

How you would feel if people asked you why you still attend this church because of words I may have happened to preach in our pulpit? Is the church all about the minister? What about other reasons you belong to church? What about your church family and the nurture you give to each other? If you were married in this sanctuary and if your children were baptized here would you simply walk out if the current minister preached what you felt was an inflammatory sermon?

One thing is for sure after all is said and done - nobody can ever accuse Barack Obama of being a Muslim anymore. He has been a member of that United Church of Chist congregation for more than twenty years.

The reason I feel this controversy is important is because of the way we define the role of “religion” in politics. Let’s face it, we won’t dare elect an atheist to the Presidency and we have equal intolerance of anyone who asks God to “damn America”. We tend to gravitate to preachers who fuse together our national pride with our faith in God. There are no politicians worth their soul who do not usually end their speeches with the phrase “God Bless America." Yet I recall Sinclair Lewis predicting this jolting forecast: “When fascism comes to this country it will be wrapped in a flag carrying a cross!”

I suppose we would all agree that patriotism in and of itself is a good thing and we should encourage people to take pride in this country, right? Of course it is except when our love of this nation blinds us from self-reflection. As Christians we are not called to merely praise our country and reap the harvest of our national bounty. If that were true then we could say “lucky us being born into wealth and privilege and too bad for those unlucky Mexicans or Cubans or Haitians trying to get here. But if they get here we will hire them off the books."

There is a danger in believing that we are entitled to living lives people all over the world can only dream of living. And there is an even greater danger of practicing historical amnesia when we have to answer for how we attained all these things. I read an article that said the United States is on the verge of economic collapse and Godless China is poised to become the new superpower of the world. How would that sit with you?

So what exactly is the role of “religion” in our nation? Well one thing I know is that the Church gives up its authority when it only blesses the established order. Many ministers who have chosen to cozy up to power lose their ability to remain objective. Pulpits all across America are supposed to critique our government leaders and the Gospel requires us to speak truth to power. The Church is not some social organization that has gone mainstream. We must confront powerful sources that cause powerlessness and remind America of what real patriotism is and, more importantly, what it is not!

Personally I grieve over the shallowness of our national pride. The selfish rhetoric about the greatness of our country pales in comparison to the atrocities we have committed throughout the world. Instead of trying to live up to what we stand for as a nation we defend our torturing and we never admit when we are wrong. I doubt I would ask God to “damn America” but I am asking God to “help America” recognize its own arrogance. We have been guilty as a nation of the very things we claim to oppose. Claiming to defend liberty, we have trampled on innocent people trying to enhance our prosperity. We can’t stand for high moral ethics when our national behavior contradicts our words. People all over the world hate America not because they are jealous of our freedoms or what we value. They hate us because we hurt them. I am anxious when the world views my country as an imperial bully whose foreign policy is designed to taunt its enemies.

Few people want to hear sermons that challenge us to live up to the true meaning of our creeds. On the other hand, we all want our country to stand for nobility and honor. We want our leaders to find new peace initiatives to work with hated neighbors and we demand that our leaders stop lying to us. We want our country to actually be the land of the free and the home of the brave. And when our country displays itself to be less than that we must call it to account and make the necessary changes for it to be so. Real patriotism settles for nothing less. It takes a lot of courage to preach a sermon like that.

I love The United States of America and cherish the Constitution we uphold. But, like Dr. Wright, I must express outrage in the pulpit if my country demonstrates conduct that contradicts that very same Constitution. And all ministers must exercise their prophetic call to encourage this country to live up to its own principles. Real patriotism is much more than waving a flag and reciting the pledge of allegiance. Real patriotism for the people "of" God is when we work for justice, when we hunger for peace, when we share our blessings, when we love mercy, and when we walk humbly "with" our God. That is what I think of when I hear Kate Smith sing “God Bless America”.

Grace and peace,


The Rev. Jack M. Copas, D-Min.
Pastor