Yes, it’s going to be a A Red, White, And Blue Sunday at Park (dress accordingly). Jungwha’s prelude will be Sousa’s “The Thunderer” and the postlude, “Stars and Stripes Forever.” It will be a celebrative Sunday. But as we do on every Lord’s Day, we will gather to worship the Living God we meet in Jesus Christ. While we will not be ashamed to wear red, white and blue and will see the United States flag in our sanctuary, we will gather round the Word of God. In fact, the service is particularly centered on Psalm 33 with its message to the nation Israel and, I believe, an application that can be made to us in our very different context. We will hear the Psalmist first call us to worship. The call to worship is followed by a call to humility – perhaps the most truly patriotic of all emotions, and then by a call to hope; not the vain hope of the war horse, but in the Lord who is our help and shield. Each reading will be followed by a reflection on the word. We will hear some of the Psalmist’s themes echoed in Lincoln’s great Second Inaugural (fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray…). Between reflections we will sing familiar hymns: “God of the Ages,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies,” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

It would not only be nice for you to be in worship this Sunday, it is especially important for you to be in worship. In a world of jingoistic fundamentalism and cynical liberalism, we in the Reformed Tradition have a deep alternative understanding of God’s role in the life of the nation (and, yes, it begins with humility). Red, white, and blue, but also a heart open to the Word.