Friday, June 03, 2005

Is there a place for patriotism and/or nationalism in Common Prayer?

Citizenship of the heavenly Jerusalem & the Holy Eucharist
A discussion starter!


Let me begin by talking about Britain, which I know well.

In the Church of England, which is an established Church, there is in all the Sunday services the possibility of appropriate prayer [and in the classic BCP it is a requirement] for the Monarch [Queen Elizabeth II) and the royal family. The reason for this inclusion is that the Monarch not only rules the nation as Queen in Parliament but that in England alone she is also the Supreme Governor of the National Church. All Bishops are appointed by her, on the advice of the Prime Minister (who himself is advised by a commission of the General Synod of the Church), and any major changes in the worship, doctrine and discipline of the Church have also to be accepted by her.

In the [Anglican] Church in Wales and the Episcopal Church of Scotland there is also the possibility of prayer for the Queen who rules in and through Parliament. However, this prayer is not for her as Supreme Governor, for she does not have this position in these Churches.

Though there is prayer for the Queen, the government and nation in the intercessions of “The Order for Holy Communion” of the Book of Common Prayer (1662) in the Church of England, it is not usual, for there to be any obvious patriotism or nationalism displayed in this traditional service. For example, the singing of the National Anthem or any patriotic type of hymn is extremely rare within this service. This is how it ought to be, I think.

However, with public services of Morning and Evening Prayer the case can be different. Here patriotism (not nationalism or racism) is displayed from time to time as when the flags and banners of organizations are taken in procession through the church and when the National Anthem is sung at civic services, as when the dead of the World Wars are remembered on November 11.

Why do I suggest that anywhere in the world the celebration of the Eucharist should never include the expression of patriotism? Here is the beginning of an answer.

Wherever one is in God’s world, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, by the means of any orthodox rite/service, is a celebration of the heavenly Jerusalem, beyond space and time, not of an earthly city of kingdom. Those present lift up their hearts and, by the Holy Ghost, they are lifted up into the heavenly place, where they feast at the Messianic Banquet on the Body and Blood of the once crucified and now exalted Lord Jesus. They are in communion with the Father through the Son and with the Holy Ghost. There is absolutely no place for patriotism or nationalism or racism here in this holy and rarified ethos. The family of God is from every tribe and every tongue and the heavenly Lord is lord of all peoples, races and nations. So those celebrating the Eucharist in Australia or in Bolivia or in Estonia or in New York City are all lifted up to the same Place and are present there are citizens of heaven, as fellow members of the Body of Christ and of the Household of God. In terms of their relation to earth and nations there, they are sojourners and pilgrims, for their true home is in the heavenly paradise, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

If we have a right view of what the Order for Holy Communion/ the Mass/ the Eucharist is all about, then we surely know that in its celebration we leave behind all nationalisms, patriotisms, racisms, ethnicities and whatever else. For only in so doing by God’s help and grace can we become that which God actually reckons us to be in Christ – that is, his adopted children, citizens of heaven and dwellers in the heavenly Jerusalem, who have been made clean by the blood of the Lamb. The experience of the Eucharist is for pilgrims & sojourners on earth a foretaste of heaven, the first-fruits of the heavenly life and the anticipation of what shall be for ever!

This being so, I suggest, the place (church building or anywhere else) where the Christian assembly for Eucharist takes place ought not to display obvious signs of patriotism, let alone of nationalism, or racism, and there should not be the singing as solos or as congregational hymns patriotic songs. There is plenty of space and time for healthy patriotism outside the sacred hour of the Eucharist. This hour belongs to the patriotism of heaven, of the heavenly Jerusalem, and of the new heavens and the new earth.

I fear that I may be seen as attacking the practice of “conservative” and “traditional” parishes in the USA where there is obvious patriotism [proudly] displayed at the Eucharist. Let me say that I am all for healthy patriotism (but not for nationalism and racism) but that the Eucharist is the one place where this conviction and expression is not appropriate!

The Revd Dr Peter Toon June 4, 2005 petertoon@msn.com

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