My dad was right, as he usually was, the day that he and I
were talking about whether or not the American flag should be displayed in a
church sanctuary. “Dad,” I said, “the sanctuary is the place where we worship
Jesus, not a country. People from all nations come together in church in the
name of Jesus. The cross is the symbol for the Christian church, not the
American flag.” He replied, “Sal, it is because of the flag that you have the
freedom to worship in your sanctuary in the first place.” I’m not sure that I
ever admitted to him that he won that discussion, but he did. His logic made
perfect sense and reminded me of what a privilege it is to be free to worship
however I want. I think of that conversation often when my gaze falls on the American
flag that sits beside the Christian flag in our sanctuary.
I try not to dignify much of the craziness of politics with
a response, but today I need to let my father’s words speak. “It is because of the flag that we have
freedom to worship.” This nation was not founded so that only people who fit a
narrow definition of Christianity could worship in freedom. Some of our most
important stories of the origin of our country relate to people who had to flee
nations who did not think they were Christian enough. Members of several religious sects whose
practice of religion had been outlawed came here so that they could worship as
they felt called.
To declare that people should be prohibited from entering
this country if they are Muslim is abhorrent to our founding principles. It
should also be abhorrent to us as people of faith. Freedom of religion isn’t
really freedom if it only applies to me and not to other people’s religions.
We were not founded on the basis of “freedom of my religion.” If we think that the only way we can live as
followers of Christ is to fear people of other faiths, then we have missed something
in our Scripture reading. We are called
to welcome the stranger and to treat the world- even the people that we might
call enemies- with tender love.
There will always be rhetoric on all sides during a
political season, and it’s not worth it to chase after every offending comment. With these comments about a faith issue, though, I can't not speak up. I must say out loud that I am thankful
to live in a nation that offers freedom of religion to me and everyone else. We can never let that freedom be diminished
for anyone, nor should we condone rhetoric that celebrates that possibility.
You see, my dad was right all along. He pretty much always was. He was always one of the smartest men around, and I am convinced that's still true.
