Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force, said yesterday in an interview, “the propensity among Americans to serve has gone down.”
This Sunday marks the 21st anniversary of 9-11. In the aftermath of that terrible attack, Americans did step up and serve. Many enlisted, first-responders were honored, and the country came together. Since then, the smart phone was introduced, social media enabled everyone to be smart or stupid in public, the Great Recession hurt many deeply, partisanship paralyzed government, illegal immigration, January 6th, Covid… Polls show most people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. At every turn we’re seeing what theologians call “incurvatus in se,” “man turned in on himself.” “The propensity among Americans to serve has gone down.” The antidote is turning outward in service to others.
“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
The Spirit of God motivates those who follow Christ to selfless service. A follower of the Suffering Servant does not ask, does not notice, if you agree or disagree with me, if you are in my affinity group or not. Think of the Good Samaritan. Martin Luther: “God’s love does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. Human love comes into being through that which is pleasing to it.” “Human love avoids sinners and evil persons. Thus, Christ says (Matthew 9:13): ‘For I came to call not the righteous, but sinners.’ This is the love of the cross, born of the cross, which turns in the direction where it does not find good, which it may enjoy, but where it may confer good upon the evil and needy person.” (Heidelberg Disputation, 28)
After 21 tumultuous years, our present sorely divided, we’ve got work ahead of us, selfless work for neighborhoods, communities, and country. “The ultimate soul-forming institutions in a free society are frequently religious institutions. Traditional religion offers a direct challenge to the ethic of the age of fracture. Religious commitments command us to a mixture of responsibility, sympathy, lawfulness, and righteousness that align our wants with our duties. They help form us to be free.” (Yuval Levin, “The Fractured Republic,” 204)