Circle of Hope

As we talked last Sunday about whether, as followers of Jesus, we should be
patriotic, I thought about my own difficulties with this question.
Patriotism itself is such a colorful word, that two people could agree to be
patriotic, but act in completely divergent ways.  Also, we have all embraced
Jesus from such radically different angles, and those same experiences which
give one word so many tones and tastes coat everything, so maybe all we as a
body have in common is Jesus.

Absurdly, that division, in me, is what invokes a sense of patriotism.

I’ve been working with Deb, Kim and Rosie, teaching English as a Second
Language (ESL) for about six or seven months now.  In that time I’ve gotten
to know Miguel, Ramon, Sergio, Benito and a few other people from Puebla,
Mexico, who come to B&W on Wednesday nights for class.  Due in part to the
ephemeral nature of their residency in this country, and the insecurity of
their jobs, we are fortunate to have had these same guys come back week
after week for about a year and a half altogether.  We’ve gotten to know
Miguel, especially, who, among other things, requested to learn what “Thee,”
and “Thou,” meant, because he enjoys listening to Goth music, and has also
made some interesting observations on race in our city.

Knowing Miguel and his friends reminds me of all the ways we are separate.
Even were the language barrier to be broken soon, I’d surely encounter our
cultural differences in other ways.  And were it solely a question of
citizenship - THEIR presence in MY country - could I have begun to have this
discussion?  I can’t always agree with my fellow U.S. citizens, or even
other Broad & Washingtonians.  What hope of common ground do I have with
four guys from Puebla, Mexico?

But if Jesus, under grace, covers these divisions, consumes our differences
even as he retools us as individual masterpieces, who else could I possibly
pledge my allegiance to?  No country , no written code or philosophy, could
make Miguel and I more alike than different, but Jesus can, and did.  I
can’t imagine Miguel ever being a U.S. citizen, but I can imagine standing
beside him to worship God in unity.  As proud an American as I am, my anthem
is “Amazing Grace,” for no other word but Grace fills with as close a
sensation as what must be felt as patriotism.