“The Christian Citizen” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – July 3, 2016
Patriot and Saint
Did you know that you are probably alive today thanks to a Russian submarine officer? The year is 1962 and the world is on edge during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The US Navy has initiated a blockade around Cuba, and one Soviet submarine is testing the resolve of the Americans. The captain of the ship panics as depth charges start going off around his submarine. Convinced that the Americans are attacking, he gives the order to fire the opening nuclear salvo that would mark the beginning of World War III. But his first officer refuses to follow the order. The first officer eventually convinces the captain to surface and check in with Moscow first. And it turned out the US had indeed dropped depth charges at the submarine – warning shots, not live ammo. The world is still here and not glowing in the dark because the second-in-command of a Soviet submarine refused to obey a direct order.
One year earlier, in 1961, a B-52 was flying over North Carolina when it suddenly broke apart. This is tragic at any time, but especially worrisome in this case because it was carrying two live thermonuclear bombs. One bomb deployed, began the arming sequence, and parachuted down as it was designed. But since the safety switch was still on, nothing happened. The second bomb was damaged and smashed into the earth without its parachute. As they searched the wreckage, a lieutenant found the safety switch for that second bomb. It was set to Arm, not Safe. It should have gone off. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara remarked that the only reason we don’t have a new Bay of North Carolina was “literally the failure of two wires to cross…the slightest margin of chance.”
On this Independence Day weekend, as we consider what it means to be a Christian citizen, I believe it is important to notice and celebrate where God has been at work in our history. In the sermon teaser this week I talked about the miraculous escapes of George Washington. These moments – slim margins, narrow escapes, fortuitous bounces – are littered throughout our history. Maybe that makes us thank our lucky stars. For me, it leads me to give thanks to the Lord.
Looking at how people in the Bible interacted with their governments, there are two basic concepts. One is that we are called to be patriots – to love our country, to be loyal citizens, engaged in its social and political life. But we are also called to be saints – our primary allegiance is to Christ. So how do we do both of these at the same time? Part of it, for me, is noticing those moments where God has been at work in our history and celebrating that. Other countries have their stories. We have ours. We can celebrate that.
Daniel: Patriot and Saint
In our text today, I think Daniel gives us a pretty good model of how to be both Patriot and Saint. For a little context, this is well after Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians. Daniel and his friends were some of the young leaders who were taken back to Babylon. But then the Babylonians were themselves conquered by the Persians. And Daniel served both – he was an important figure in Babylon and here he is the second-in-command to King Darius of Persia. Listen to how he balances his loyalty to Persia, his allegiance to Jerusalem, and the primacy of his faith in God.
Daniel 6:1-10, 19-22
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, 2and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. 4So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. 5The men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
6So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. 8Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict. 10Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously.
[Skipping a bit where Daniel is thrown into the lions’ den]
19Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”
Invest in the Country
The first five verses of our reading today really paint a picture of how things are supposed to work. Daniel is actively engaged in the government. He is living out the encouragement of the prophet Jeremiah who wrote to Daniel and others, “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Daniel could have spent his time lamenting how much he yearned for the good old days back in Jerusalem. He could have spent his time complaining about how hard it is to live in the midst of a people who have such a different worldview, such a different religion. But instead he invested in the peace and prosperity of the city.
Lloyd Ogilvie was a former pastor at my last church, and I got a chance to meet him. For a while he was chaplain of the US Senate. Maybe the cynical would think that our politicians were just looking for a little Jesus juice to make themselves look better. But he saw it as a way to instead care for them, for their families, for their staff. To care for them as people, and to help them seek God’s will and do it. It was a way to invest in the peace and prosperity of the country.
Our first text today from 1 Timothy 2 urges us to make “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” for everyone, and especially the rulers and those in high positions. Praying for our officials, our politicians, our presidents, or mayors, and yes the bureaucrats. All of them. Timothy says we are to pray for their peace, their godliness, their dignity, to come to the knowledge of the truth of Jesus. Praying for those in positions of power, and praying for those who seek positions of power, is another way to invest in the peace and prosperity of the country.
How can you invest in the peace and prosperity of the country, in the state, in the city, in your neighborhood?
Electing Leaders
One way that our particular country is different from the Biblical examples is that we choose our own leaders. When Jesus talks about giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s, it gets a little murkier when we are Caesar. It’s “we the people,” not “I, Caesar.” We have infinitely more input into our government than any of the people in Biblical times.
So for us, I think that means another way of being both Patriot and Saint is to be intentional about picking leaders and voting. I’ve heard from some people, “I don’t know how anyone can be Republican and Christian.” And I’ve heard from others, “I don’t know how anyone can be Democrat and Christian.” I’m of the opinion that you can be a faithful Republican, a faithful Democrat, a faithful Independent. You can also be unfaithful in any of those. No party or individual has fully captured the Saint part of the equation. In fact, when the people of Israel ask for a king instead of relying on the prophets and judges, Samuel tells them that kings will disappoint them, take advantage of them, and point to themselves rather than God. No one in power and no one who seeks power has a blank check endorsement from God. Our ultimate hope isn’t in our politics, it’s in Jesus.
But there are some things we should hope for in our politicians and our politics. First, we see in Daniel that things are fine until the government tries to mess with people’s worship and their practice of faith. When settlers first came to Texas the Mexican government required that they convert to Catholicism. Which of course meant they said yes, took the land, and then continued in their normal faith.
Another main trait is seen in Darius. In the part I skipped, Darius is distraught because he didn’t realize this was going to cost him his most trusted advisor Daniel. He tries to change the law, but he can’t. Then he comes to Daniel first thing in the morning, hopeful that he was rescued by his God. After Daniel survives the lions, Darius rounds up all the people who tricked him and tried to get Daniel killed and throws THEM into the lions’ den. Apparently they were tastier than Daniel. Part of being a good leader is recognizing when you’ve made a mistake and trying to remedy the situation.
Another trait of good leads is seen in Proverbs 11:1 – “The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.” When you’re filling your car with gas have you ever noticed that there’s a sticker showing when it was inspected? That’s to make sure that the pump is accurate and not cheating you. It needs to be inspected because otherwise someone would cheat. God doesn’t like a cheat. God likes fairness in the economy – accurate weights, not dishonest scales. God doesn’t like a cheat.
We also see again and again that God wants the leaders to do what the prophet Isaiah commends: “learn to do good; seek justice; correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” Every system of justice, every system of economics, every system of politics, every one has some people that are left out, that have the short end of the stick. What should we do about it? That’s where your own politics come in. We can have different answers about what we should do. We can have different answers about who should be doing it. We can have different answers about how much to do. But there should be some answer to the question.
Finally, we see that Daniel had in v3 “an excellent spirit in him.” His opponents said, “we shall not find any ground for complaint against Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” David, for all his flaws, was called a “man after God’s own heart.” If someone says they are representing God or Jesus with their heart and their views and their actions, they actually should be a positive witness. Daniel wasn’t motivated by political expediency. He had principles that were stronger than his desire to keep his position.
In fact, that’s where we see his Saint win out over his Patriot. He had complete loyalty to his government until it tried to make him do something that violated his faith. Then he went into the top part of his house, threw open the windows, and let everyone know – in public – that he was Saint before he was Patriot. Can your faith challenge your politics, cause you to stop and think, or is faith just a rubber stamp on your politics? Are you Patriot first or Saint first?
Summary
Sisters and brothers, I could probably spend several days going over the balance between Patriot and Saint, but I know you’re going to want lunch at some point. On this Independence Day weekend, it is great to celebrate our country and also to remember how God has been at work in our history. It’s also a good reminder that we are called to seek the peace and prosperity of the city, of the state, of the country, because in its peace we find our peace. We can invest through prayer, through participation, through volunteering or serving. And we can also invest in picking candidates and policies that reflect God’s heart. No candidate and no party and no policy will match up perfectly. And we’re going to emphasize different parts of God’s heart based on our politics, but God’s heart should be part of the equation for us who are Patriot AND Saint. Thanks be to God for watching over our country and our world. Amen.
