Jennifer Joy

This also got me thinking about the Pledge of Allegiance more generally which I find theologically problematic. The deeper I grew in my faith, the harder it was to pledge allegiance to the American flag. I came to see that pledging allegiance to Christ meant that I cannot pledge allegiance to Caesar. We cannot serve to masters. Governments are imperfect… and I can imagine plenty of scenarios when my allegiance to Christ conflicts with my allegiance to my country. I will always choose Christ. So now, during the Pledge of Allegiance, I recite the Lord’s Prayer. And during the National Anthem, I pray through the Magnificat and the Beatitudes. The Bible does not mention anything about God blessing America, but it does say that God blesses the poor, the merciful, the peacemakers. And the Gospel doesn’t say: “God so loved America”… it says “God so loved the world.” I cannot imagine Jesus wearing a “God Bless America” shirt any more than I can imagine Him wearing a “God Bless Rome” shirt. He had a vision that was very different than the empire around Him… So should all of us who dare to call ourselves Christians. Patriotism is too small. The call of Christ to be “born again” means that we have a new identity that supersedes all others - we have a fidelity beyond nationality or ethnicity or biology. We are to love as big as God loves. And God’s love does not stop at the border.