The Power Of The American Flag

The Flag and The Pulpit

Does it belong in our Churches?

The context of this article is a certain kind of reader I have called the "bravehearts" of the world: those generous souls that I have encountered who are about world peace and understanding. They have learned the secret of dignity, for themselves and for others. They strive to be people of integrity and people who really listen with respect to understand others and where they have been in life and what they are doing to make a better world.

To those religious Bravehearts, I'm hoping this theme and its question will immediately resonate. Just to mention Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, is to speak of loyalties that transcend any local national ones. A Christian, for example, is a member of a universal community of believers who confess they are citizens of a universal fellowship. Sometimes we get careless and forget this reality and when we do we endanger our unity as the people of God. I suspect the same thing happens in other communities of faith.

I've thought for a long time that in the context of demonstrating our unity we were going to have to begin to confront this reality in the American churches. I was surprised when visiting a Baptist Church in West Lafayette, Indiana, and actually found myself in just such a moment of truth. It was after the country had gone to war with in Iraq, and in the context of recognizing some families in the Church affected with loved ones being placed in harms way, the congregation was about to have special prayer.

The pastor took time to explain why there was no American flag in the sanctuary. He said it was related to the fact that the congregation was in reality a multi-national one since many of their members were in one way or another connected to Purdue University or one of the large corporate offices in the area such as Caterpillar, and were citizens of various countries. The absence of the American flag in that case was a powerful symbol that in the local church they were united not as citizens of any one nation, but as members of the universal family of God.

Recently, I read about a situation in a pastoral ministry book that comes to a similar conclusion. I think it is so good, and so rare, that I quote it at length. This is from a seminary professor in a main-line Presbyterian denomination where this very subject has been discussed in recent years.

Case Study- The Power of the Flag

"On national holidays the church member who serves as the church custodian plants small American flags in the front of the churchyard adjacent to the main street. The minister has repeatedly asked him not to do that. But as each significant national day comes around, he expresses his patriotic duty once again. The situation has become tense between the minister and this church member. The minister holds this position:

·The church is independent of the state and the government. ·The church's allegiance is wholly and singularly to Jesus Christ. ·The national flag is a symbol, indeed an icon, of the nation and not of Christian faith. ·The placement of a non-Christian symbol in the churchyard represents a blurring of identities.

There followed a detailed procedure the church took in reconciling the member, the pastor, and the congregation in a loving manner that strengthened their unity and confirmed their faith as the people of God."

This is the commentary that the author, Andrew Purves then makes to close the book with."The American flag, indeed any flag, is more than an empty symbol. It is an icon of the country. It directs attention through itself to something greater, which the flag represents. The Eastern Church especially uses icons that are carefully and prayerfully drawn to focus the attention of worshipers through the picture to the unpicturable God. In its uncanny ability to represent more than is in the picture, an icon is more than a symbol.

"A national flag is an icon of the country it represents. That is why it is appropriately flown from government buildings, in civic institutions, and in the military. It points to deep values and shared traditions. It represents ownership of a common history and a given identity. The flag stands for the nation. It has extraordinary evocative power.

"But there is a danger with icons. They invite worship. Sometimes the icon itself becomes an object of worship rather than a conduit which directs worship onward to God. Protestants especially are very sensitive to this danger. An icon that becomes an object of worship is an idol.

"National flags present a similar possible danger especially when placed in the context of a church. One might naturally assume that worship is an appropriate response to an icon displayed in a church context. When the icon is a national flag, there is a double danger. As Christians we worship only God through Jesus Christ. We do not confuse God and country.

"The church does have its own powerful symbol which functions like an icon. It is unambiguous in its power to point to redemption in Jesus Christ. Our icon is the cross. If we are going to display anything in public, it should be the cross. This invites worship of the One who alone is worthy of worship.

"This account is placed in the context of the start of the second Iraq war. I think the minister did well by firmly but lovingly helping the church member and the congregation over a very difficult hurdle by bearing witness to Jesus Christ. In this case it was not in sermon or public proclamation. Rather, it was in more intimate contexts where church members gathered to hear the minister's perspective. Emphasis was placed on interpretation and conversation, some of which proved to be very fruitful."

(The Crucifixion of Ministry, Andrew Purves (2007), Intervarsity Press)

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