As we have come to know each other, you have probably gathered by now that the study of American history is one of my consuming passions. For me, the unfolding of the saga of the great experiment in human freedom and democracy, embodied in our nation's past and destiny, is not just a matter of academic interest. I have always believed that there is an underlying spiritual and moral force that has been at work in the founding and growth of America -- a virtually Providential purpose -- that has shaped our history and that remains clear and strong even in the midst of the many
failures and foibles of our leaders and policies.
I am both an old fashioned, unrepentant, liberal and an ardent patriot --
and I am as unwilling to give up my claims to the love of country and flag
and hand them over to those arrogant reactionaries and extremists who seek to monopolize patriotism, any more than I am willing to hand the Bible over to those fundamentalists who attempt to hijack religious faith. And so for me, this month’s observances of the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on President’s Day, is far more than just a three day holiday or an opportunity to rush out to over-hyped sales at car dealers and department stores. I fervently believe that these commemorations can be, for all of us, part of a cycle of deeply meaningful celebrations that are as sacred as the ancient Biblical Festivals of the Jewish religious calendar, or the great feasts and seasons of the Church. The birthdays of Washington and Lincoln, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Independence day, are, in their highest and noblest sense, times to reflect on and reaffirm profound spiritual and moral ideals…and can be as redemptive and transforming for us as a Nation, as our liturgical observances can be for our faith communities.
And so this morning, I'd like to share some reflections on the spiritual
life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday we will once again mark on this coming Tuesday, February 12.
The question of Lincoln's religious convictions and personal spirituality
has intrigued and divided historians -- and indeed theologians -- ever since
his own time. Even while the Great Emancipator was still alive there was
constant debate and speculation regarding his highly unconventional approach to religion. In the 147 years since his death, controversy has literally raged between those who have painstakingly tried to prove his Christian orthodoxy and those who have steadfastly maintained that he was an irreverent heretic or even an atheist.
The objective historical evidence is that he was neither! Lincoln's faith,
under careful scrutiny, seems rather to emerge as a deeply personal and
non-ritualistic religious humanism that nevertheless was an increasingly
profound influence in his life as he grew and matured.
That process of growth and development, a spiritual journey that continued
throughout his life, is the key to understanding Lincoln's faith. It is an
odyssey that begins with the simple, unstructured, Bible-centered Protestant Christianity of the backwoods of Kentucky, and ends with the inspiration of his immortal Second Inaugural address.
Lincoln's early life in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois did not yet reflect
the spiritual depth that was to come. His parents, Thomas and Nancy, were
descended from Quakers, and themselves joined a rural Baptist congregation while Abe was still a boy. But, while he was exposed to his parents' firm and simple faith, the young Lincoln was a skeptic. He rejected the emotionalism of the itinerant revivalist preachers he heard, and as a young attorney, was highly critical of the prejudices and rampant competition of the churches he knew. We know that he read Thomas Paine's classic statement of atheism, "The Age of Reason", and he certainly went through recurring periods of doubt and even disbelief. Lincoln himself never joined a Church-- perhaps the only one of our Presidents not to have made this concession to popular expectations. He occasionally attended the Presbyterian Church with his wife, who was a member of that denomination, but remained reluctant to commit himself to any particular creed. His reasons for his resistance comprise one of his most characteristic sentiments. He once said: "When any church will inscribe over its altar, as its sole qualification for membership, the creed 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might… And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' that church will I heartily join!"
The Bible itself exerted great influence on Lincoln throughout his life. He
became familiar with its text as a boy when it was one of the few books
available for his eager mind to read. The reflection of Biblical language
and references in his later literary and speaking style is well known. But
on an even deeper level it was a Biblical perspective that shaped Lincoln's
own emerging sense of faith and destiny as he matured. Scholars agree that the Jewish Biblical concept of the "God of History", who directs the destiny of men and nations and who chooses peoples and individuals as instruments of His will, became the very essence of Lincoln's religious convictions. Indeed it became the essence of his own understanding of his -- and America's -- cosmic purpose and mission.
As the challenges and trials of his Presidency unfolded, Lincoln came, ever
more clearly, to a firm conviction that the Union represented a mystical
hope of freedom for all humanity. The struggle to save the Union, and in
turn to fulfill its sacred destiny as the sanctuary of liberty for all its
people, became Lincoln's own destiny as well. That he saw parallels to his
own time in the early history of Israel is abundantly evident in his words
and writings. He increasingly felt that he, like Moses, was commissioned to
liberate, lead and save the American People which, in deference to the
historical context of Jewish history, Lincoln called the "Almost Chosen
People". He fervently believed that the United States was ordained to be a
nation of promise -- in Lincoln's own immortal words "the last, best hope on earth".
And yet, even in this clear sense of personal and national destiny, Lincoln
was never arrogant nor aggressively nationalistic. America's greatness
depended upon its moral character -- and its salvation could not be hoped
for so long as the sin of slavery continued. In another classic statement,
directed to a smug, self-righteous clergyman who assured Lincoln that God
was on the side of the North in the war, the President replied, "I am not at
all concerned about that, for I know the Lord is always on the side of the
right. It is not a question that God is on our side, but it is my constant
anxiety and prayer that I and this nation are on God's side!"
The personal faith that lay behind this broader conviction of national
destiny developed slowly throughout Lincoln's life. He never ceased to
wrestle with doubt. The tremendous pressures of his office, as well as the
personal tragedies of his life -- the death of two young sons and his wife's
mental illness -- continued to challenge his spiritual understanding. And
yet, out of the trial and tribulation emerged a clear set of religious
ideals that sustained and guided him, both as a man as well as President.
Abraham Lincoln's lifelong spiritual journey reached its most dramatic and
eloquent climax with his Second Inaugural Address, spoken from the portico of the Capitol in Washington on March 4, 1865. This address was written during one of the most trying periods in his life, when he faced major crises and challenges to his military and political leadership.
The hope of preserving the Union, which had been the major mandate of his first inaugural address four years earlier, had been dashed by the
succeeding years of bloodshed and internal discord. While the Northern
forces were heading toward victory, the American People, North and South,
were physically and emotionally drained and exhausted. Grief and despair,
vindictiveness and violent hatred still tore the nation's soul asunder. It
was a moment, one of the most critical in our history, that called for a
prophetic voice -- for a reaffirmation of the moral vision that had created
the United States. Also needed was a message of hope and healing and
reconciliation. It was a surely singular reflection of the Providential
destiny that has been so clearly at work in the history of this nation -- a
Divine Purpose that Lincoln so deeply believed in -- that all of his genius
of intellect and greatness of spirit were brought to bear in the writing of
this immortal speech.
After reviewing the causes and progress of the civil war that was raging in
the midst of his inauguration, the great emancipator went on to proclaim a
profoundly prophetic vision of the transcendent meaning of the terrible
struggle. Let us hear Lincoln's powerfully inspiring words once again:
"In this battle both sides -- North and South -- read the
same Bible and pray to the same God; and each invokes His
aid against the other. It may seem strange to us that any
men should dare to ask a just God's assistance, while
wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces.
But let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers
of both could not be answered; those of neither has been
answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. If we
shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those
offences which in the providence of God, He now wills to
remove; and that He gives to both North and South this
terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offence
came, shall we discern therein any departure from those
divine attributes of justice which the believers in a
Living God have always ascribed to Him? Fondly do we hope,
fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may
speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continue
until all the wealth piled up by the slaves' two hundred
and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and
until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be
paid for by another drawn with the sword, still it must be
said, as it was said 3000 years ago, 'the judgments of the
Lord are true and they are righteous altogether' ....
"With malice toward none ... with charity for all ... with
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right
... let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind
up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have
borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan, and
to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a
lasting peace ... among ourselves and with all nations."
Friends -- like so many of us, I first heard these words as a child,
standing in reverent awe before the immortal statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington where Lincoln's words are inscribed on the wall to the right of the great seated figure. I remember my parents reading them to me, and how they choked back emotion as they concluded. I have read these words so many times, and I have never reflected on their magnificent power without tears in my eyes and without a heartfelt prayer of thanks that I am a son of this nation.
A prominent historian once remarked that to even comment on these words is blasphemous. And indeed, they are as clear and direct in their meaning and challenge as are the words of the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount. And with their grounding in the ideals and cadences of the Bible they are a cherished part of the shared spiritual heritage of every American.
This inspiring document is made all the more moving and poignant when we remember that little more than a month after speaking these words, Lincoln was dead -- by the hand of an assassin. The Second Inaugural Address may well be considered his last Will and Testament to the American People.
And today, as we mark the Anniversary of Lincoln's birth, these words are as powerful and relevant in their challenge to this nation as they were the day they were first spoken!
How desperately America needs to hear once again Lincoln's message of moral courage, humility and healing! At a moment in the history of this nation when we seem to be as polarized and divided as America was during the Civil War… at a time when the level of political discourse among our nation's elected officials often sinks to gutter depths of bigoted mediocrity… in an era of strident partisanship, extremism and arrogant self-righteousness on both sides of each of the great moral and social conflicts of our time, Lincoln's words of humility and healing have a special and urgent meaning for us once again!
We need only substitute "liberal and conservative" for "North and South" and stand amazed at how timely and relevant this document remains for this very moment in American history!
America's leaders and citizens in both political parties and on both sides
of the ideological spectrum need to hear and heed this immortal challenge
today -- especially in this politically charged season of a Presidential election that has become one of television’s longest running reality shows… spiraling downward into a combination of American Idol and The Biggest Looser! Republican or Democrat -- Liberal or Conservative… a supporter of Hillary or Barack, John or Mike… We all need to hear once again Abraham’s message of firm, unwavering moral conviction, tempered with humility, compassion, mutual respect and understanding … again in those powerful words, "firm in the right as God gives us to see the right ... but with malice toward none ... and with charity for all."
Abraham Lincoln's broad and courageous faith can serve as a common vision to unite all the people of our nation -- and indeed of our world!
On this anniversary of his birth -- very much a holy day for every American
-- let each of us reflect upon these immortal words and reaffirm their
challenge as we, too, "strive on to finish the work we are in ... to bind up
this nation's wounds ... and to do all which may achieve a just and lasting
peace ... among ourselves ... and with all nations." Amen.
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