July 2, 2006
As our nation prepares to celebrate its 230th birthday, this service from Plymouth Congregational Church remembers the the words of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, 143-years-old now. Rev. Peter Luckey suggests that these words are as relevant today as ever: "...The great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Today, as throughout our short history, the idea of our nation - that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness - is being tested. As Lincoln said, devotion to this nation and its ideals - patriotism - is our unfinished work, our great task. War and all manner of violence, immigration and persistent prejudice, widening inequities between rich and poor, religious-based strife... all of these issues confront us, the dominant nation in the world.
We are admired not for our military strength, not for our economic might, but for our ideals: our freedom, our laws, our capacity to be openly self-critical. It is those ideals that form the foundation of this "city upon a hill, a light for all the world to see," as John Winthrop said of the United States of America.
Amid the challenges we face today, Rev. Luckey poses the question: are we still admired for our ideals? If we can no longer admit our mistakes in the world, or if we forget our goal of seeking a more perfect union, how can we be surprised that other nations find us arrogant or resent us? Our challenge is to be mindful of our patriotism, not to be motivated by fear or xenophobia or greed, but to mindful - as Adlai Stevenson implored - of when our humility and steadiness is morphing into arrogance and blindness.
Rev. Luckey suggests that faith can lead the way, though it can cut both ways: faith can promote humility, but it likewise can promote a sense of infallibility. God is not the sanctifier of whatever it is we most fervently desire. After all, as Lincoln observed, each side of the battlefield prays to the same God, but "the Almighty has His own purposes." For what does the Lord require of us but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
This service features a special performance of "Stars and Stripes Forever!" by the Plymouth Bell Choir, which recently performed in Washington D.C. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.