Sunday, July 05, 2020
Sunday Reflection: Two Flags
Yesterday was a different kind of July 4th for many Americans: no fireworks, no parade, no big barbecue. That all made it a pretty good moment to reflect on actual patriotism, though-- which has nothing to do with parades or fireworks or barbecues. To me, patriotism is connected to sacrifice, and not just the sacrifice of soldiers in wars.
That said, for Christians, we must acknowledge that love of country can't be our guiding force. We can't say that we follow two flags equally, because sometimes they conflict. The demands of our nation do and will, necessarily, diverge from what our faith implores. In those moments, we must choose our faith if it is faith at all. When our nation chooses to forego devotion to the sick, to the poor, to those in prison, we must go the other way, behind Christ.
That means, frankly, that the most devout Christians rarely are successful politicians.
Here is something that made me unpopular at some events in Texas: I don't say the pledge of allegiance. That's because my allegiance isn't to the flag of the United States or the institution of the United States-- it is to the God who formed me and the savior who challenges me to do hard things. The reverence in the pledge to "under God" doesn't help; it simply conflates allegiance to nation with faith, something that we just can't do if we hold Christ in the one and only primary place of authority.
Christ didn't promise that following him would make you popular. The opposite, really: in Matthew 16:24 he says that following him means taking up a cross. Think about that-- it means bearing the implement of your own public humiliation and death.
So the mean looks from the people who noticed that I didn't put my hand over my heart and say the pledge were just a scratch compared to that. Funny, though-- no one of those condemners ever bothered to ask me why I didn't say the pledge. Maybe they already knew.
