CAUGHT IN A BLUE'S BROTHERS TIME WARP

The other day I read a report of a speech by Sarah Palin in a church where she said, in effect, that the US invasion of Iraq was a mission for God. I wonder if she was wearing a black fedora and sunglasses when she said it. Then I got to wondering about what god was she talking about. Mars? Mithra? Zeus? Thor? Odin? The God of the Cross? The stern, exclusive god of the authoritarian right? The 'whatever' god of the secular left? Very confusing, that. And then, I got angry. What a surprise, eh?Now, as a Lutheran (not!), I know that Martin L. taught that we should be loyal to the prince (president) because he was appointed by God to rule over us. At least that is the general understanding of his position. But, the real question is, should we be blindly obedient? Should we ignore scripture (in context)? Should we ignore what God's will is for His creation...shalom? Should we, as followers of Jesus, validate everything the State does in our (His) name? Well, as a contrarian, I think not. Making war, for example. Is it right to make war in god's name on the barest pretext of self-defense? I guess it is if you stick to the OT & pick things out of context AND identify the State with Israel. But, what if you identify yourself as a citizen of God's kingdom and a recipient/bearer of His grace & mercy? Kind of puts a different light on things, doesn't it?Now to my rant.One of the ceremonies of validation that most churches engage in is Memorial day. I know I'm stepping on hallowed ground here, but I'm not one to shy away from controversy. In, and of itself, remembering those who died in service to their country is not a bad thing. It's how it's done that gets my dander up. It is so sanitary, so romantic, so freakin' unrealistic. We say things comforting like 'they died for their country' or prattle on about 'full measure of devotion.' But we deceive ourselves. Having 'been there, done that, got the T-shirt, belt buckle & ball cap' I have an entirely different image. I see a 1 year old baby with a chunk of steel in its head, a beautiful little girl whose body is covered with scars from burns and who has no legs, people so hungry that they sift through half burned feces to find undigested food, bodies rotting in the sun, a woman (an 'enemy') shot in the spleen whose blood drained into her chest cavity looking like she's 9 months pregnant. That's what I see..and I can tell you, that is the reality of war. I think of the time that a command detonated mine killed 2 young Americans, the same mine I had driven over shortly before. What is so sanitary, so romantic about that. I never met one soldier who's goal was to 'lay down his life for his country.' If I had, I'd sure have stayed away from him. I want to make this clear..soldier's lives are not 'laid down.' They are ripped from them in very horrifying ways. War is not a movie or a 19th century Currier & Ives lithograph. It is ugly. It has sights and sounds and smells that will stay with you for a lifetime. Now, is there a Christian message in Memorial day? Yes, I believe so. In war, men will put their lives in jeopardy for the buddies, their squat, their platoon, their team. They will, if necessary, die so that their buddies would live. Just as we should lay down our lives for others. Dying to self. Putting other's first.There is a closeness in combat. A love if you will. To this day, more than 35 years later, I feel closer to the men I served with, than to almost any person I know (exceptions being my wife and children). And, this too, is an analogy of Christian commmunity. So, in my humble (yeah, right) opinion, if we insist on continuing to celebrate Memorial Day, let's celebrate it in Christ's Name & not in the State's.