It’s July. Fireworks and parades and all of that. And I’m sitting here thinking about what it means to be a nation, to have leaders, to live together with people who are different from us.
You know, our prayer life has to be big enough to include all of that. We pray for our leaders. We pray for the leaders of other nations. We pray for the people who are at risk. And we do it all knowing that God’s not on anybody’s side in particular—God loves all of us.
Here’s what bothers me sometimes: we think love of country means we can’t see the ways our country gets it wrong. Or we think seeing the ways our country gets it wrong means we can’t love it. And that’s backwards. Real love includes seeing clearly and wanting better.
I pray for my nation. I pray for its leaders. I pray that they see each other as human beings instead of enemies. I pray that we all learn to do that—to see people who disagree with us as still beloved children of God.
And I pray for people who are at risk. People on the margins. People whose bodies or lives or families don’t fit the way society wants them to fit. I pray God protects them. I pray we all become the kind of people who stand with them.
The prayer you taught us to pray—Our Father—that’s about all of us. Not about my nation or my tribe or my people. About us. All of us. Together in God’s love.
That’s what this season calls us to. Not blind patriotism. Not cynicism. But clear-eyed love. Love that sees what’s good and wants to protect it. Love that sees what’s wrong and wants to fix it. Love that never stops believing people can change.
A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope