What does it mean to be a patriot?
 
Does it mean wearing a jersey with your favorite team’s colors? Does it mean waving the flag? Does it mean painting your face? Or hanging it from your front porch?
 
Let me offer two examples of patriotism.

Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, residents of North Platte, Nebraska heard a rumor that soldiers from their town, part of the Nebraska National Guard Company D, would be coming through on a troop train on their way to the West Coast. About five hundred people showed up at the train depot with food, gifts, letters, and love to give the guardsmen.
 
When the train showed up, however, it was not the Nebraska National Guard Company D on board; it was the soldiers from the Kansas National Guard Company D. The North Platte residents decided right then to give out their gifts to these soldiers they did not know. It was a spontaneous act of genuine devotion that touched both the soldiers and the people who came to the depot that day. The residents could’ve said – sorry, keep moving. This isn’t for you. We’re saving it for the people who are representing us. Instead, they drew a bigger circle that said we are strong when we’re together – even if you’re from another state. 1
 
That feels good, right? This is patriotism, and we all sit up a little taller in our seats feeling proud. Patriotism is supporting people who are going to fight for you, even if they’re from Kansas! But how about two groups that are seemingly worlds apart?
 
Two years ago this July, members of the Wichita, Kansas Police Department spent a Sunday afternoon eating and talking with people from the community, at a cookout that was planned with the local Black Lives Matter group. The event was called the First Steps Community Cookout — a reference to its goal of bridging the gap between police and the community they serve.
 
Taking place instead of a protest that had been planned for Sunday, the cookout came about after activist A.J. Bohannon and other members of the local Black Lives Matter movement met with Wichita Police Chief Ramsay. The cookout gained even more importance after news emerged of a gunman’s deadly attack on police officers in Baton Rouge on Sunday morning. This cookout and the cooperative efforts it took are an example of patriotism.2
 
So, what does it mean to be a patriot? How do we know who’s on “our side”? How do we define those sides?
 
According to Google Dictionary, a patriot is a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it.3

It’s the root in Latin where we get words like
 
‘father’ or ‘patriarch’, and denotes a lineage or tribal heritage.
 
In other words, the circle can be a big as we want it to be. (By the way, the second definition is the Patriot missile… so weird that a tool of destruction is the 2^nd option.)
 
The bottom line is: Patriotism IS NOT Nationalism

Nationalism is defined as a person who believes in the superiority of their country over others. Nationalism sounds a lot like the World Cup and not like a political platform of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And yet, so much of evangelical Christianity and politics are asserting their nationalism by ideas like “I need to be better than you, at your expense, and I can take what I want because I am better than you.”
 
A nationalist says, “I’m better than you.” A patriot has learned, “I’m better with you.” Yes, you, the tired, poor, hungry, weary. The blue states and the red states. The conservatives and the free-thinkers. A patriot says, “We can be better TOGETHER, because we have so much to share and learn from each other.”
 
Patriotism IS NOT Nationalism

Chapter 5 of the gospel attributed to Mark is a great example of patriotism: the BETTER TOGETHER community.
 
In the first part of the story, a synagogue leader (Jairus) comes to Jesus to ask for help healing his 12 year old daughter. Some context: Jesus was most likely from a Jewish sub- culture of Essenes or Zealots, who incidentally, are not buddies of Synagogue leaders who are trying to keep peace with Rome. In fact, the zealots often stirred up rebellion.
 
In a simple reading of the text, some might assume – oh hey, this is a Jewish guy coming to Jesus, who is also Jewish. They’re all Jews, all from the same country/nation/religion. That’s like saying, ‘Oh you’re a California… you must surf all day and live in an earthquake proof house.’ Yeah right!
 
Also, notice the power differential here – a synagogue leader comes to Jesus, in fact seeks Jesus out! Jesus is the son of a carpenter, some say a bastard. Jesus isn’t a trained rabbi, or sadducee, or pharisee – which is who this man should have gone to for help. This man comes to Jesus in the middle of a crowd, surrounded by people who believe Jesus is more than a carpenter’s son, more than a good teacher. This man, Jairus, risks his reputation because he is desperate.
 
Perhaps he’s tried his own version of nationalism – he’s gone to his leaders, tried their methods, prayed their prayers. Now, he’s willing to see if he can find help beyond his circle. His daughter’s life depends on it! Jairus is invited to see beyond his own nationalism, and gets a call to patriotism, to hope.
 
The second story happens as the undercurrent – it’s a weird, subversive, and subtle tale that aligns with the synagogue leader’s journey in covert ways. A woman with no name creeps into the crowd and touches Jesus, and suddenly her 12 year bout of bleeding stops! Mark doesn’t even say if she’s Jewish or not, she has no name, no nation, no history. Until now.
 
So this passage starts with someone who outranks Jesus socially/politically/nationally (within Judaism) coming to him for help, and now is interrupted by someone ‘less than’ Jesus who doesn’t even ask for help. It’s hilarious in the irony, and robust with invitation. This woman has no manners, she just seems to walk right up, and grabs him to get some Jesus juice. And it works! Then, she tries to sneak away, but Jesus won’t let her!
 
“Who touched me?” he asks while his disciples are probably raising their eyebrows and wondering if the heat has gotten to their leader. Some would say, though, that Jesus is really asking, ‘Who are you – are you part of my nation? Do you have a right to this power?’ SPOILER ALERT: he’s not asking that… he’s actually redefining community, as a patriot to humanity.
 
In this moment, the woman is afraid, comes forward, and falls on the ground before Jesus (also the same posture as Jairus). But Jesus doesn’t want to be worshipped in that moment, instead he tells her to go in peace. Jesus just wanted to know her, to acknowledge her, to make space for her story. To honor her heritage and her healing. In other words, Jesus’ community wasn’t complete without her story – without knowing her. His story and hers are better together – that is what it means to be a patriot to humanity.
 
Meanwhile, someone from Jairus’ house arrives to say, “Don’t bother the teacher, your daughter has died.” I could imagine Jairus having so many responses in that moment. Anger, disappointment, self-righteousness, resentment. Oddly, Mark doesn’t mention any of that. All that’s recorded is that Jesus turns to this Dad and says, ‘Let’s go, don’t be afraid.’ At Jairus’ house a small crowd joins Jesus in the room and the girl is awakened to life again. And again, Jesus doesn’t want to be worshipped; instead he cares for the girls need. ‘Give her something to eat, she must be exhausted.’ Because in this moment, the story gets bigger, it has to, really. It has to get bigger, to include the life of this beautiful 12 year-old girl.

Jesus’ community isn’t complete without her story – our stories are better together. That’s patriotism.
 
Not every story of patriotism makes the front page or a chapter in sacred texts, but you’ve lived it haven’t you? The story where someone tells you you’ve dropped some money. The story where you let someone go first in a line when its actually your hands that are full. The story where you forgive before being asked. The story where you listen when someone needs you. The story where you love, even though someone don’t look like you or believe like you.
 
Jesus’ definition of patriotism goes something like this: ‘My kingdom is not of this world… yet the kingdom is here and now, it’s among you and even in you.’Patriotism is recognizing the kingdom here and now, the circle that is much larger than we had imagined. Patriotism means making room because we’re better together.
 
The irony is that for 2000 years Christianity has been asking “what is the kingdom?” Or sometimes, “where is the kingdom?” (as though it were a literal place). Or better yet, “Who is part of this kingdom, and how do we know?” As though the kingdom is a World Cup soccer match, and we want to be the winners (or need to be). By the way, there’s nothing wrong with winning… but nationalism means I win and you lose.
 
But in these 2000 years, Christianity has often failed to consider the better question, “WHY is the kingdom?” According to Jesus, it is to bring healing, transformation, and wholeness to humanity, not just a nation. “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.”(John10:10).In other words, the kingdom exists beyond our sub-groups, beyond our cliques, beyond our beliefs.
 
Evangelical Christianity in America has attempted to create a framework for political life, but nationalism is not the same as patriotism. Nationalism is me first/me only, people who look like me, talk like me, think like me. Patriotism is a shared experience that honors the collective. Patriotism says we’re better together. Patriotism says, ‘there’s enough to share with you – even if you’re from another city down the train tracks’. Patriotism says, ‘let’s find peace together.’
 
SO, cheer for your team! Paint your face, wear the logo, live passionately! But don’t cheer at someone else’s loss or pain. Isn’t that the stuff we tell our kids on the playground? Often, we forget as adults. Let’s not turn our spirituality into a World Cup match. Yes be proud of your heritage. And let there be room for others to be proud of theirs too – that’s patriotism. That’s a community who knows we are better together!
 
1. Bob Greene, Once Upon a Town (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2003).
 
2. Graflage, Stephanie, “Wichita police department joins forces with Black Lives Matter protest to host community bbq” Fox News July 18, Fox4kc.com.
 
3. Google Dictionaries, s.v. “patriot,” accessed June 16, 2018