Nationalism and Jonah (Part 2)

Patriotism

When I was a child, Memorial Day and the 4th of July were two of the high times in the year. Our little town took these days very seriously. We had a parade, a town picnic, fireworks, softball games and flags—lots of flags.

Early in the morning on these national holidays my Dad would wake up my brother and me. Then, while it was still dark, we’d head out the door. Arlo Zimmerman, the town cop and owner-operator of the town’s lone bar, would be waiting for us in his pick-up. In the bed of the truck were flags, a bunch of flags. Our task was to hang the flags on the lamps lining Main Street.

Tony and I would climb up on the roof of that old Chevy pick-up. Arlo drove while Dad stood in the truck bed handing up flags to us. Tony and I would insert the flag pole into the notch designed for that purpose. It felt like such an important job to be given. My brother and I were chest out all day long. And the sight of those flags waving in the morning breeze, was breath-taking for me.

Good Vibrations

We were proud to be citizens of the United States. Our father was a veteran of WWII and he was a leader in the local American Legion. I can still see him and his military buddies marching down Main Street between the flapping Stars and Stripes. He’d be in his uniform with hat cock-eyed on his head. As the parade came by we’d run out and each grab a hand to walk alongside. It’s a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting and looking back it still warms my heart.

And Yet

I was born in 1948. WWII was the primary backdrop to my upbringing. And, along with the patriotism that arose out of that conflict, was the innate assumption of white superiority. Obviously, as a young boy, my worldview and my sense of self grew out of two unassailable truths—my country and my race were superior to all others. I witnessed this in my community, in my family, and in my country. And it felt true to me then, and maybe deep down I still think it is the truth. I fret about that.

I realize this is old news and probably not needing a revisit. Along with that, I am equally aware that white folks are tired of being blamed for all the woes in the world. This post is not meant to be that. However, I can’t write about patriotism without noting that our love of nation, our devotion to the flag, and all of the rest were connected to our view of ourselves as white men and women. We believed that the United States of America was the best country in the world and that we white folks were the reason why. Maybe we still believe this.

Back to Jonah

This short story of one Israelite’s prejudice is directed at the impatience of the Jewish believers during the time after Ezra and Nehemiah. And perhaps this impatience is something we white Christians can relate to. Jonah was written well after the Temple had been rebuilt and the Jewish people relocated in the Promised Land. Not surprisingly then, these former displaced captives, now home and in charge, slipped right back into the days of old. Once again, the ancient prophetic promises were front and center. And because that was so it meant that the heathen would be destroyed in a movement of God’s judgement. The sages had proclaimed the coming of a day when God’s chosen would rule the world and God’s laws would be the laws for everyone.

And yet, according to the legend of Jonah, God disappoints. Once again, God does not move to make Judah great again. In fact, God postpones judgement of those wicked Assyrians and instead gives them time to change their ways. Jonah hints that maybe God is hoping the entire world would turn from their sins in the eleventh hour.

God’s chosen don’t even try to hide their disappointment. Why would God want their enemies saved? Maybe because, unlike the rest of us, God thinks saving the innocent is reason enough to not destroy the guilty.

Those Pesky Weeds

Jesus told a story about the wheat and the weeds. “Let’s pull those useless, fruitless little buggers,” says we. “No,” says he, “let’s wait.” And we’re still waiting, aren’t we? Does God think weeds are going to be converted into wheat? No, God’s a better farmer than that. What God knows and only too well, is that we are not smart enough to know the difference. We’ll get carried away and pull up wheat that looks to us like weeds. In God’s economy collateral damage is not acceptable. Therefore, God waits! Thank God!

The Line Is Blurry At Best

The sailors were pious men. The King of Nineveh was responsive to the call to repentance. Like Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan, the enemy is not a weed, but a neighbor. Jonah is the negative pole to the positive pole in the Book of Ruth. Jonah shows why God does not destroy the heathen; Ruth depicts why and how God can even accept them among the chosen people and bring them to high honor.

Ezra and Nehemiah’s reforms drew a sharp line between Judah and the pagans. The books of Jonah and Ruth attempt to blur over that line. I recognize that line. It’s the same distinction drawn in the America of my youth and young adulthood. And I fear that the greatest threat today is the worldwide attempt to redraw the line between wheat and weeds.

And God says, “Wait!”

Next time, Part 3–Christian Nationalism and Jonah!