The Flag on the Refinery
Welcome to worship. My name is Danny Bradfield, my pronouns are he/him/his, and I’m pastor here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church.
Two weeks ago, when I was gone, it was because Tristan, Ethan and I were camping in Yosemite. In the weeks leading up to that trip, we realized that we really wanted to take our bikes with us.
But in order to take our bikes, we needed a bike rack for our car. And in order to put a bike rack on our car, we needed to have a trailer hitch installed.
I couldn’t find any place in Long Beach that would install a trailer hitch in time for our trip, but a U-haul place in Torrance was able to, so I made the appointment.
As I was driving up the 405 on my way to Torrance, passing through Carson, I noticed the giant marathon refinery just south of the freeway. Did you know: it is the largest refinery on the west coast, and it refines an average of 363,000 barrels of oil per day.
And on the side of the refinery, facing the freeway, is a giant American flag, which I’m sure you’ve noticed if you’ve ever driven by it.
That flag is huge. It’s about 40 feet by 60 feet, which is big enough to cover all the pews here in our sanctuary - the whole room.
That flag has always bothered me. Seeing it turns my emotions sour just a little. Usually I ignore it and drive on, but this time, instead of ignoring it, I decided to do a little mental investigation, to try and figure out just what it is about that flag that bothers me.
I do that sometimes. I find it helpful. If I find myself all of a sudden feeling unhappy or bothered, it’s not always obvious what causes that…
I find that it’s helpful to pause, and try to figure out what’s going on...What is the source of my grumpiness? What is causing me to feel so negative? Sometimes I need a little timeout to think these things through.
I had time to think these things through as I waited for the trailer hitch to be installed. And I realized it wasn’t the flag that bothered me. I have great respect for the American flag, and I love my country.
It was how the flag was being used.
That refinery has had several changes of ownership in recent years, but the flag has been there through all of them. These oil companies claim that the flag is there to “honor America;” however, oil production and consumption is actually working to destroy America, land that we love.
Effects of Climate Change
More and more, people are realizing that the production and consumption of fossil fuels is a major contributor to climate change, and climate change causes extreme weather events - like the ones we’ve seen in recent weeks.
The wildfires here in California get bigger and more intense each year - and more deadly. And just this past week we’ve seen three separate hurricanes land in North America, the biggest being Ida, a historic, devastating storm that intensified so quickly that many in its path had no time to evacuate. It was the strongest storm to ever hit Louisiana.
Then it moved up to the mid-Atlantic, where it broke records, overwhelmed the infrastructure, and caused dozens of deaths.
Central Park in New York set a new one-hour rainfall record, with over three inches of rain falling in a single hour. And the National Weather Service issued its first-ever Flash Flood Emergency for New York City. Riders were trapped in the subway, in the dark, for hours, unable to see, while listening to the sounds of water cascading into the underground tunnel.
And since all this is aggravated by climate change and the use of fossil fuels, it is no exaggeration to say that oil is killing us and other forms of life on this planet; and the oil companies know this.
So what’s an oil company to do? They make money off of oil production. They want to keep making money. So they wrap their refinery in the biggest American flag they can; they say to the world, “We’re proud to be American.” And they make it so that anyone who dares criticize the oil companies or who pushes for the development of more sustainable forms of energy is perceived as unAmerican.
It’s quite clever marketing, actually.
Called to Protect the Land
But what’s really unAmerican, I think, is destroying the spacious skies, the amber waves of grain, and the purple mountain majesty of this incredible country. God has indeed shed God’s grace on this beautiful land.
But when we wrap the American flag around that which pollutes and despoils this land, it flips things around, so that, now, it becomes unAmerican to defend and protect the natural health and wealth and beauty of this country.
And those who work to protect the land, the water, and all the natural resources of this great country get branded as villains.
So instead of holding oil companies and other polluters accountable for the damage and destruction they cause, we instead arrest those who are protesting against the oil companies; those who are out there trying to protect the land and water.
The polluters have wrapped the flag around themselves and have fooled us all; but the real Americans, - the true patriots - are the ones working to protect the land and the water and the health of us all.
Now, you may be wondering why I’m spending so much time talking about this in a sermon. It’s because it shows exactly how some Christians use the Bible.
There are people who take the most unbiblical, unChristian ideas - ideas and practices that go against the Bible’s emphasis on showing love to one’s neighbor, growing in compassion, being makers of peace - and they wrap these unChristian ideas in the Bible, so that, all of a sudden, anyone who criticizes them gets labelled as unChristian.
The Syrophoenician Woman
This is not a new phenomenon. It’s been around since biblical times. Some of the most influential and powerful religious leaders wrapped the Torah around the wrong things… and Jesus called them out on it.
And one time, Jesus himself got caught up in it… or so it seems. Maybe it was a rhetorical device. I’m not sure. It’s a very difficult passage, a story about Jesus that I’ve wrestled with a lot over the years, and I understand it a little differently every time I study it.
It’s the passage where Jesus meets the Syrophoenician woman.
She begs for his help; her daughter has what the scripture calls an unclean spirit; her daughter needs to be healed. But Jesus responds: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
It’s a terrible thing for Jesus to say. It’s, “Jews first; you and everyone else can fend for themselves.” And it seems so contrary to every other thing Jesus ever said.
Did Jesus really say such a horrible, bigoted thing?
The woman replies, “But sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs,” and this seems to open Jesus’ mind. And then he gives her the blessing and the healing she desires.
Well, what I’m wondering today is, perhaps Jesus was quoting to her a phrase that was commonly said by the religious leaders… She asks for a healing, and Jesus says, “Well, you know what they say… they say let the children be fed first.”
That’s what they say. The religious leaders. The ones who have wrapped the Torah around statements like that, statements that actually go against the Torah. Because after all, the Torah says that God’s people are to be a blessing to the other nations of the world; the Torah says that God’s people are to treat immigrants and foreigners as if they were citizens. But the statement, “let the children be fed first” implies just the opposite.
But, whoever “they” are, they’ve taken the teachings of their faith, and twisted them so that just the opposite is taught, and then they claim that anyone who contradicts these teachings is going against the faith.
So, I think what’s happening here is that, when Jesus responds, he first quotes to her the expected answer, the answer that many religious leaders would have given, the answer that has the Torah wrapped all around it.
And this allows her to respond with words that show just how wrong that is, how unjust and oppressive the teachings of the religious leaders are, and how - even though these teachings come wrapped in the Torah - they are actually contrary to what the Torah teaches.
Which is why Jesus then praises her, and says: “for saying that, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” Through this dialogue, the Syrophoenecian woman has helped Jesus expose the lie taught by the religious leaders. And she demonstrates that she actually has a better understanding of the Torah - a better understanding of scripture - than do the scribes and the Pharisees and many of the other religious leaders.
And I see that a lot today: people who have left the church or given up on the church, doing a better job of living the way taught by Jesus, the way of love, than many who claim to be Christ’s followers.
Grounded in Truth
More and more, I see myself being called to do what Jesus did here, to try and expose the false teachings. Many already know they are false, including many who aren’t even a part of the church. And yet religious leaders continue to persist in teaching them.
Teachings like, “God hates LGBT people.” That is taught by so many religious leaders, even today, and they wrap the pages of scripture around that teaching. But that teaching is contrary to the Bible’s declaration that “God is love,” and it is based on a misunderstanding of a few obscure verses that are intentionally misinterpreted so that they reinforce the prejudices and hatred of those who misuse them.
Here’s another one: “I don’t need the vaccine, because God will protect me. Those who get vaccinated and who wear a mask lack faith in God.” Well, that’s just about the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard. It’s like saying, “I don’t need to look both ways before crossing the street, because God will protect me.” Please: look both ways before crossing the street. And wear a mask, and, if you can, get vaccinated.
We hear so many people say so many things, and they say, “this is what God says,” or, “this is what the Bible says…” And they try to make you feel ignorant if you question them.
Anyone who tries to make you feel ignorant, or tries to shame you, or tries to use fear to manipulate you, doesn’t have your best interest at heart. Because the Christian faith is not about fear or manipulation or even shame. The Christian faith is about hope and assurance and grace.
The Syrophoenecian woman knew that. She knew that the answer presented to her by the religious leaders, and repeated by Jesus, was a lie. She knew it didn’t come from God. So she dared to challenge that teaching, that interpretation of scripture. Even when it meant challenging Jesus himself, and contradicting the words Jesus spoke.
Just because somebody tells you something, and it comes to you wrapped in the flag or in the Torah or in the pages of scripture, doesn’t mean that it is actually right... It’s not right to continue destroying the planet when there are other alternatives available, and putting a giant flag on it doesn’t make it right... It’s not right to preach hate or condemnation or exclusion when Jesus preached love and affirmation and inclusion, and spewing a bunch of misinterpreted Bible verses out of context doesn’t make it right.
If we really want to honor the flag and what it stands for, we need to call out those who would misuse the flag and defile what it stands for.
If we really want to honor Christ and the Bible that testifies to Christ, we need to call out those who would misuse scripture and twist the scriptures to say what they don’t say.
More importantly, we need to ground ourselves in the spiritual practices, so that our faith is on a firm foundation; so that it can’t be swayed or manipulated by those who would seek to corrupt the gospel and twist the truth for their own gain. We need to ground ourselves in the spiritual practices - things like Bible study and prayer and worship - so that we will not stray from the way of Christ.
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