From Sea to Shining Sea

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a political person. Call me cynical, but I guess I’ve lived long enough to know that neither political party in our country has a corner on virtue or has the ability to solve all of our nation’s problems. And it seems that in my lifetime the chasm between the two sides has grown larger and deeper. It has certainly become more contentious, but so has society as a whole.

As we celebrated Independence Day last week, and as we head into the last four months of another presidential campaign, the words to the chorus of an old patriotic anthem have been stuck in my mind:

America, America

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

Was there really a time in our country when these words actually had a chance of coming true? In our current culture and atmosphere, it doesn’t seem very likely. The two words that stick out to me are “grace” and “brotherhood”. As I look around in my neighborhood and daily life, I struggle to find much evidence of either of these. There is less and less participation in anything that binds us together as brothers and more and more opportunities to behave independently and separate from others. Even with all of the calls to become “woke”, most in our society are still looking out for themselves first and foremost. And while grace refers to God’s unearned and undeserved favor, it has become less and less likely that America has any right to ask for this gift from God.

The words to America the Beautiful were originally penned by Katharine Lee Bates during the summer of 1893 while she was teaching at Colorado College. Taking a prairie wagon and a mule ride to the top of Pike’s Peak, she was inspired by the view and felt that “all the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse”. In keeping with the culture of the times and her upbringing as a minister’s daughter, Bates included in her poem a prayer for God’s grace and a call to come together as a nation during the severe economic depression happening at the time. A lot has changed in our country since 1893.

But here’s what hasn’t changed: God is still sovereign and regularly gives grace freely and unconditionally. And, with his help, each of us can still choose to treat others as brothers and let good win out over evil. No, we will never completely rid our country or the world of evil and all of its consequences; and American politics will never provide all of the answers we need to function as a peaceful and successful nation. But we can each brighten our little corner of the world by showing more love than hate and giving others more grace than judgment. And when we do, we will be bringing a little bit of God’s kingdom to earth.