We must come from a spirit of love and compassion to help our leaders and many of our fellow citizens come to see that if we truly love God then we must make a drastic change of direction in the course of our country. The only way we will gain respect is by showing it to others, even those we disagree with. The only way we will gain love is by giving it to others, even those we disagree with. Love of country must always be subordinate to love of God.—Tom Fox, on his blog, “Waiting in the Light”
He loved his country to the end, even in its madness. He believed in those things that made America great: freedom of speech and religion, respect for the dignity of every human being, “the hope and promise of democracy.” He went to fight for his country in the only way he could: by working with and among the innocent victims of the war in Iraq. He knew it could cost him his life, but he chose to deny himself, pick up his cross and carry it in the footsteps of his Lord. And he gained the whole world.
His struggle was not “a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world.” (Ephesians 6:12 Weymouth Bible) Those dark forces tortured him, murdered him, stuffed his body in a plastic bag and tossed it in a pile of trash. Like Jesus, he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. For such is the way of the cross.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; even so saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labors.—Revelation 14:13.
Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as yet by faith, that thy Holy Spirit may lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days..—Book of Common Prayer, p. 481.
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