Presence Weekly 09/11/2023

The Devo:  The Patriotic Actions of Christians

Today, news outlets, civic groups, first responders, and families recognize Patriot Day. We do so to honor the  2,977 innocent individuals who lost their lives in the horrific 9/11 attacks twenty-two years ago.

Many of those individuals were working in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, while others were serving and leading in government in the Pentagon. That number also includes the hundreds who died simply because they got on one of the four airplanes that were hijacked that day by terrorists hell-bent on destroying American lives and property to make a religious and political point. Finally, there were the brave men and women who rushed into the aftermath of the attacks to save lives, only to lose theirs in the process.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a patriot as “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.”  Given that definition, it seems appropriate to focus on those individuals who knowingly and intentionally entered into the unfolding narrative of that day with the purpose of thwarting the terrorist’s efforts.

The first-responders who rushed into burning buildings, and the heroic passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who brought down an airplane headed to the U.S. Capitol in a field in Pennsylvania were the definition of “patriotic.” They selflessly placed the lives of others and the security of their country above their own.

Of those who died as patriots on 9/11, many were also Christians. However, not all Christians are patriots and not all patriots are Christians. To be clear, the two words are not coterminous.

A Christian is someone who has been saved by the grace of God, professed their faith in Christ, been united to Christ through the Holy Spirit, and received by the Father as adopted sons and daughters. Christians are also those who see their primary allegiance to Christ and in participating in Christ’s mission of making all things new in whatever country they reside.

That is not to say there are not some areas of overlap.

Peter writes to the young Christian converts in Asia Minor, who had almost zero political agency to,

13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”  1 Peter 2:13–17

It’s important to note that the person who wrote this is the same person who, believing he was showing loyalty to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, cuts off the ear off a Temple guard named Malchus, who was attempting to arrest their leader, only to have Jesus rebuke him and restore Malchus’ ear.

A week later, this same Peter is “locked in a room for fear of the Jews” when Jesus appears after his resurrection. Then, despite being told by Jesus that “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you,” they are still in the same locked room eight days later.

In the space of 2 weeks the rock on whom Jesus would build his Church had wildly vacillated between devotion-based violence and fear-based isolation. This is why the distinction between Christianity and patriotism matters.

Again, Jesus was calling his disciples to be Christians - not patriots. He was calling them to follow the two Great Commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

How does that work itself out in a situation that also results in patriotic action?

13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

Yes, I realize that verse has already appeared in this devotion. There is a reason.

Whether Christians or not, the patriots who died 22 years ago today were living out what Peter had defined to the earlier church as the marks of a Christian citizen of any country, regardless of how much political agency they enjoyed.

Contrary to these patriots are the actions of those treasonous individuals, including Christians, who stormed the U.S. Capitol twenty years later,  hell-bent on destroying American lives and property to make a religious and political point. In recent weeks, several of those terrorists were sentenced to federal prison for their actions which included praying over the podium of the Speaker of the House to reclaim it for Christ - after they had destroyed her office, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage, and beaten members of the United States Capitol Police (some of whom later died as the result).  

As Christians we must always put our allegiance and obedience to Christ over pursuit of political goals or ideological viewpoints, recognizing that not all patriots are Christians, not all Christians are patriots, but sometimes, Christians are able to act as patriots as they participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new.

Today, our prayers are for the comfort of all the families whose members died as patriots on 9/11.

Last Thoughts

We are hard at work on the Presence Journal's second issue, due out later this week. Our post-production team is finishing up our video-based podcasts and are looking forward to sharing them with you.

Please let us know how we can pray for and encourage you as you serve and lead in government or engage in the public square.