Jesus Was Not An American

Words & Music By Bryan Sirchio

Let me start with an overdue apology

To some veterans of foreign wars I’ve known

In my attempts to be a man who stands for peace

I regret some of the arrogance I’ve shown

Looking back sometimes I wish I’d kept my mouth shut

And met you in some human place, beyond who’s right or wrong

And listened to you speak of what can still bring you to tears

And honored what you’ve lived with all these years

And maybe then you could also listen

To why I sometimes say the things I say

As a man who’s trying to walk with one we call the Prince of Peace

Sometimes I’m called to cut against the grain

And I know this is hard for some to hear
But Jesus was not an American
And when the nations rage
And the gears of warfare grind
Jesus weeps for the victims on every side

There’s a tale Hasidic rabbis sometimes tell

About that day when Moses parted the Red Sea

The day that thousands of Egyptian soldiers drowned

As the Hebrews all escaped from slavery

And they say that all the angels in the heavens

Broke out in celebration, they danced and laughed and cheered

But then one of the angels stopped and asked Arch Angel Michael

Why is God not celebrating with us here?

Then Michael said, “God is not here with us…

God’s in way too much grief to celebrate

In fact God’s heart is broken, and God’s alone now weeping tears

‘Cause thousands of God’s Egyptian children drowned today

Chorus (…is not American)

Bridge And I’ll gladly pray for God to bless our troops

But the love of Christ crosses all borders and boundary lines

So I’ll pray for troops of every land and I’ll pray most fervently

For the innocent defenseless whose lives are torn apart

When policies are reckless and so-called smart bombs

Are not so smart…and I know…

Chorus (…is not North American)