Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.
The closing line from today's reading reminds us how far our modern culture is from being Christian. How much of what we heard this eek and will hear next week was and will be boasting, either about an individual, a party or the country? Some confuse patriotism with boasting.
Patriotism is love of one's country. A parent loves a child, but how do we feel about the parent who constantly stands around talking about how their child is better than every other child. Do we consider that simply the normal expression of love? Most of us find that parent and often their child insufferable. Even if the child is gifted is one area or the other it is still considered tacky for the parent to be constantly crowing about their child. How do we feel about the parent who refuses to ever admit that their child was wrong?
As I write this I sit on my porch looking at St. John's Church, where Patrick Henry uttered the words, "Give me liberty or give me death." Those are the parents who gave birth to this country, and saw her through the difficult infancy. They lived in a time when humility was a virtue and pride was a cardinal sin. I pastor St. Patrick's dedicated in 1860 on the eve of a civil war that almost saw the country ripped apart. How many gave their life to hold that union together?
The humble truth is that we who live today simply inherited most of what we call America. Most of us were simply blessed to be born here. We didn't earn it. We didn't make it happen. It was pure gift, and we are called to be good stewards of the gift.
I have accomplish a few things in life, but I know that it was possible only because I was blessed to be born here, and for that reason, I can honestly say I love my country. I also know that every talent or skill I have is gift from God, and I have nothing to boast about. That is why Paul tells us
Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.
Imagine how different all the chatter would be every everyone who calls themselves a Christian lived this command.
