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"I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO..."
A MEDITATION FOR INDEPENDENCE SUNDAY
JULY 5, 2009
PASTOR DAVE RING
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

SCRIPTURE TEXT: I PETER 2:13-17--"For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution; whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (NRSV)

PRAYER: "Father-God, on this weekend when we celebrate the greatness of our worldly nation, help us also to honor You, the founder and ruler of the greatest of all Kingdoms. And later, as we partake of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus, may we acknowledge Him as Prince of our hearts, and You as King of our lives. Amen."

MESSAGE: Anyone here today who is over about 45 years of age, and who has grown up in the United States of America, shares a unique experience with me. You lived through at least a part of the decade of the 1960's in the U.S. Those younger than 45 have heard much about the '60's, because the influence of that singular decade in U.S. history will be felt for many decades to come. Whether you were just a small child or already a full adult during the '60's, you couldn't miss being profoundly affected by that turbulent, unsettling, excitingly strange ten-year period.

The mantra of the 1960's was a two-word slogan: "Question authority." Seldom, if ever before in the history of any nation, was everything--absolutely everything--open to question, debate, challenge by its people. Any and all institutions--government, the military, the press, the judicial system, religion, business, labor--were subjected to minute examination and constant ridicule. Authority became a four-letter word in that decade; respect for any authority went out the window. Our nation, our culture, our entire way of life was nearly swept away by a tsunami of unprecedented individual anarchy.

Fortunately the 60's ran their course. The American people eventually realized that they could not continue to exist if everything was continuously subject to question, challenge, ridicule, and rejection. A combination of human wisdom and the grace of God somehow got us through that decade. But we, as a nation, have been profoundly altered by that experience. While we do, in the opening decade of the 21st century, give assent and allegiance to authorities and institutions of various kinds, such is never done automatically and unthinkingly, as it perhaps was in generations past. Institutions must earn our trust--authority must prove its legitimacy in our eyes.

In every area of life in the America of A. D. 2009, we are inordinately careful and excessively tentative. The contemporary Christian Church is one example of an institution that has been profoundly changed, altered by this pervasive tentativity. An obvious illustration of this alteration is church membership. In the 1950's, virtually everyone in the U. S. A. made sure their name was placed on a church membership roll--somewhere. Church membership was a basic form of identification, as standard as carrying a driver's license or having a social security number. Today, almost as many people in the U. S. are attending church as did back then. But the number of those willing to actually place their name on the roll of a church--thereby committing and attaching themselves to that particular body--is down dramatically. Some of the latter-day church and parachurch movements have responded to this by saying, "That's OK. We just won't have membership rolls at all." To me that's copping out--avoiding an extremely important aspect of what the Bible says about genuine commitment to Christ.

When we are hesitant and unable to pledge our allegiance to any congregation within the Church of Jesus Christ, it logically follows that we will be even more hesitant and unable to witness our allegiance to Jesus Christ in the world outside the church. In truth, as I repeatedly say to you, it's easiest to be a Christian inside the church--it's much harder to be one out in the harsh secular world. That's why I'm not surprised when I read a variety of studies today revealing that only one professing Christian in 20 ever shares their faith, in a lifetime, with any other person.

Our Scripture text today speaks to the issue of authority--and allegiance to authority. If we are honest with ourselves about this text, we probably don't like what it says. "For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution...." Let's take a simple example of that, an example with which Jesus Himself dealt: paying taxes to the government. Whether you personally agree with U.S. tax laws or not, whether you think the IRS is a cousin to Adolf Hitler's storm troopers or not, as a Christian you should be paying your rightful share of income tax. Why, you might ask, in typical post-1960's American fashion? Because it's the law of the land--and because, according to this scripture text, it is God's will that you do so. But, you might again argue in post-'60's fashion, what if I don't think the tax laws are fair or right--what if it's an illegitimate authority? In Romans l3:1-2, the Word of God says this: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." These are plain, harsh words--and they don't need any amplification from me for you to apprehend their clear meaning.

On this Fourth of July weekend we are celebrating the 232nd anniversary (that's right--it's not the 233rd--think about it) of the founding of the greatest nation on earth. We are also, this morning, celebrating in the Church of Jesus Christ the Sacrament of our Lord's Body and Blood. What do these two celebrations have in common? I believe their strongest point of commonality is in the area of authority--and allegiance to authority.

As citizens of the United States of America, we pledge our allegiance to this nation. If we do so with tentativity and reservation, refusing to pay taxes, ducking out on jury duty when called, constantly criticizing our elected officials and our government, demeaning our neighbors' humanity, we undermine our nation and are poor citizens, indeed. But when we support our nation--defending and participating in its political and economic processes, uplifting and helping our fellow-citizens whenever possible, we legitimate its authority, and prove our allegiance to our country.

The same is true of the Church of Jesus Christ and its unique authority from God to dispense the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. Even though we may be "saved" by grace, when we refuse to formally join the church, but notwithstanding complain about decisions that are made by church leadership; when we fail to contribute in a meaningful way, but always expect our children to receive top-notch care in the nursery and solid instruction in Sunday School; when we attend worship, then bad-mouth the sermon at lunchtime; we are extremely poor citizens of the Kingdom. But when we voluntarily take vows to uphold the Church by our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness--and then take seriously those vows from henceforth for as long as God allows us to live on this earth, we are witnessing the truth of our love for the Kingdom and our citizenship therein.

I am proud to be a citizen of the United States of America and I wholeheartedly pledge my allegiance to its authority. I hope you, on this Fourth of July weekend, can affirm the same. I am also very proud to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God, and unreservedly pledge my allegiance to the authority of that eternal Kingdom as well. And I would invite you to join me, if you can in conscience do so, in formally renewing our allegiance--both to the authority of the U. S. A. and the authority of God's Kingdom this Fourth of July weekend. Both the pledge to the U. S. flag and that to the Christian flag are printed at the close of this message. I invite you to stand, and let us, as many as will, re-affirm them together.

(The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the U. S. A.): "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

(The Pledge of Allegiance to the Christian Flag): "I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands; one Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty to all who believe."

Amen. (You may be seated.)

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