Covenant - postponed
Good morning, church! It’s good to see you.
My name is Danny Bradfield. My pronouns are he/him/his, and I’m pastor here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church.
I’ve been leading us through a five-part sermon series on the idea of covenant. Today was to have been the fifth and final sermon in that series, but I’ve decided to postpone that one week...
Instead, today, I’m going to share some thoughts about the connection between worship and patriotism; thoughts that have been brewing in the back of my mind for a long time.
I was quite young - still in elementary school - when it dawned on me how fortunate, how lucky I was to be a citizen of the United States, living in - of all places - southern California.
It would be nice if I could say that our nation’s bicentennial led to this realization, since the bicentennial happened the summer before I started kindergarten.
But no; actually it was a family trip to Disneyland that sparked these philosophical musings in my young mind, and the shocking realization I had one day that not every child in the world could just hop in the family car, spend a day at Disneyland, and return home to sleep in their own bed that night.
My heart went out to the poor children in Africa, in so many other parts of the world, who couldn’t spend the day at Disneyland.
And I wondered how it was that I was born here, and they were born there. What made me the fortunate one? Was it chance? Was it luck? Was it part of God’s design?
I didn’t have an answer to that. I still don’t. All I knew was that I was very fortunate.
Of course, as I would soon learn, there were other reasons to be grateful for the opportunities I enjoyed, and other reasons why I was able to enjoy them. It wasn’t just the location of my birth. It was the hard work of people like my father, who spent his whole career delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service, and devoting time and leadership to the mail carrier's union.
It was also the dedication and sacrifice people like my father showed while serving in the military. Dad may not have volunteered to serve in Vietnam, but neither did he back down from that duty. His country needed him, and he went. I admire that. I admire anyone who is willing to serve their country in that way.
I should say that I also admire those who chose to be conscientious objectors, and those who protest war and march for peace. Our country needs them as well.
Too many wars have been fought. Too many lives have been taken. And for me, personally, the life I enjoy and the opportunities I have are due to the efforts of both soldiers and protestors… or maybe I should say sailors and protestors, since Dad was in the navy.
Growing up, Dad taught me to fly the flag on the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day. In school, I learned to face the flag and recite the pledge of allegiance. In Boy Scouts, I learned how to honor the flag, and honor what it stands for.
But over the years I also learned that the United States is not without its flaws. Growing up in the church, I learned that it’s important to be honest about one’s imperfections and sins, and that it’s important to repent from those sins - and I learned that what is true for the individual is also true for the nation.
I also learned that many church leaders, though they often preach about the sins of the individual, they do not preach about the sins of the nation - even though the sins of the nation were front and center in the preaching of prophets like Ezekiel.
Instead of following the prophets’ lead, many church leaders meld Christianity and patriotism together, which leaves them blind to the nation’s sins. To them, God and nation are one and the same, which means that the nation can do no wrong.
Dangerous Results
Melding Christianity and patriotism together is dangerous. This was most apparent when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Their violence and lawlessness resulted in several deaths and considerable damage to the capitol building; and the U.S. flags and the Confederate flags and the Christian flags they carried all blurred together in the frenzy.
This made me realize that many people today can’t tell these flags apart. That is to say, that in the minds of many, what these flags stand for is one and the same. The U.S. flag, the Confederate flag, and the Christian flag.
I have a confession to make: After that January 6 attack on the capitol, I came into the sanctuary, and I removed both the U.S. flag and the Christian flag from the chancel. Worship was all online then, and the flags weren’t even within the frame that was seen on the livestream, so as far as that goes, it really didn’t make much difference.
But it felt important, because I didn’t want there to be any confusion as to what this space, this sacred space, is all about. Pride in one’s country, and worship of God, are two very different things, and they should not be melded together in a way that one can no longer tell the difference between patriotism and devotion to God.
Many of my fellow pastors consider it to be idolatry to have the American flag in the sanctuary. This is a place of worship, and everything in here should direct our worship to God, who alone is worthy of worship. So perhaps I should have taken the flag out long before January 6.
I have heard from people who have told me, no, that’s not what having a flag in the sanctuary means to them. It doesn’t mean that we worship the flag, or that God and nation are equal or the same. And that’s great. I’m glad they don’t see it that way.
But too many do. And that’s why I removed the flag.
I will say that a few weeks later, I went into the room where I had placed the flags, and I noticed the U.S. flag lying on the floor. Someone had been in there and had knocked it down - accidentally I assume - but the sight of the U.S. flag lying on the floor greatly troubled me. Seeing the U.S. flag lying on the floor was almost as disturbing as seeing it in the place of worship.
I immediately picked it up off the floor and set it upright.
So I hope you see that even though I believe that the U.S. flag does not belong in the place of worship, I do hold great respect for the flag and what it stands for.
Let’s Discuss...
Having said all that, I now admit to you that, in a church like ours, decisions like these are not mine alone to make. So I’d like to encourage our elders to discuss the issue; and I encourage you, if you have a strong opinion on this issue, to let me or one of the elders know your thoughts. Let’s figure this out together.
As we think about these things, here are a couple more things to consider...
Peter Marty wrote in Christian Century that “Whenever the Bible gets wrapped in the [U.S.] flag, we can pretty much assume that a misuse of our nation’s history is at play.” I agree; and I would add that whenever the Bible gets wrapped in the U.S. flag, we can also assume that a misuse of the Bible is at play.
Wrapping the Bible in the U.S. flag leads to statements like the one Jerry Falwell, Sr. once made, that Isaiah’s prophecy of a “nation tall and smooth, a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering” is actually God championing the United States. That is the worst form of eisegesis - the worst form of "making the Bible say what you want it to say even though that's not really what it's saying."
Hypothetically speaking, if God is championing the United States - as Falwell and others claim - then that means the United States can do no wrong. And the church is prevented from calling out the sins of the nation. The church is prevented from fulfilling its prophetic duty.
Prophetic Witness
The ancient prophets were all about calling out the sins of the nation. That's what Ezekiel is doing in today's lectionary reading. The prophets prophesied to kings and rulers, and were sharp in their condemnation when those kings and rulers failed to institute justice. The main complaint of nearly all the prophets was how their nations’ economic policies oppressed the poor and failed to uphold justice.
The prophets refused to wrap themselves in the flags of their nations, because they needed to be able to point out the sins of those nations and hold their leaders accountable. Those prophets needed to be able to set before the people and their leaders God’s vision of how their society should be.
Jesus followed in their footsteps, and took it one step further. Jesus presented a kingdom that was, in nearly every way possible, an alternative kingdom to that of Herod and Rome. His ministry and even his birth were proclaimed as “good news” to all those who had been mistreated; all those who had suffered because of the sins of the nation.
When the nation sins, the people of God need to be in a position to point out that sin; they need to be willing to confess their own role in carrying out that sin; and they need to call for repentance.
Douglass & the Declaration
Which is why, on the Fourth of July, we should read the Declaration of Independence, but probably not in worship; and we should also read Frederick Douglass’ speech titled, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.”
Frederick Douglass was an emancipated slave who, in 1852, was invited to give a Fourth of July speech.
In that speech, he said to his audience: “The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me.
“Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, ‘may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!’"
In this speech, Frederick Douglass used scripture to point out how the United States has fallen short of its ideals, and fallen short of God’s intention for a just, peaceful, nation of freedom.
And the church must do the same today. The church must call out the fact that the peace and freedom God desires for every individual is not given equally in this country - not even to those who are citizens.
Even as I speak, efforts are continuing to prevent African American citizens from voting in the next election. Voter rolls are being purged, ID requirements are being toughened, and obstacles are being put in place to prevent Black Americans from getting the IDs that are required to vote.
Offices where those IDs can be obtained are being closed down in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, which means they must travel farther to obtain them - something that is nearly impossible for the many who do not have a way to travel those long distances… and early voting and mail in ballots are being outlawed or restricted.
Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking this is all about preventing corruption and fraud. Take a close look, and you see that this is racism-infused politics in the 21st century, all part of an effort to suppress the Black vote.
And it makes Frederick Douglass’ speech so very relevant today.
And as a church, as people of God, let us continue to call this nation to its highest ideals and aspirations, ensuring that the God-given gifts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness truly are made available to every person in this country, regardless of race or language or what nation they or their ancestors came from.
And let us continue to call on this nation to provide for the common welfare of all, as the constitution proclaims. It’s not just about the welfare of the wealthy, or the welfare of those whose skin is white, or the welfare of those who were born here, or the welfare of those who speak English, but the welfare of all. The common welfare.
Until we are able to repent of these sins, we will never be the country our founders imagined, and we will never be the society God envisions - that beloved community, that kingdom of God.
It is good to take pride in our country and to celebrate its founding... But when we meet in this space - when we gather for worship - we worship God and God alone.
God is our hope. It is God’s vision for society that guides us. It is God who is lifted up above all else. To God be all the praise and all the glory.
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