Such a potent timely reminder of who we truly are as God’s children and that our homeland is infinitely larger than any one particular geographical location, which means, as Jesus’s sisters and brothers, we are never away from Home, in the deepest sense.
I listened to a podcast the other day about reclaiming America's traditional slogans and symbols, such as the American flag and the "Don't Tread on Me" slogan, which reminded me of similar conversations about people whose faith has taken a different shape reclaiming the symbols and language of Christianity, elements of the faith they temporarily had to put aside while they went through a necessary period of sifting and discarding. So, as I think about my identity as an American, I'm thinking about how I can lift up what actually makes this country great. We have genuine American heroes, people who have put everything on the line to move this country closer to its founding ideals, people who were often unpopular in their times, and to some remain unpopular. They represent America as much as or even more than those who seem to be branding themselves as America right now. If I think of the American flag representing MLK, the flag becomes tolerable to me again. If I think of the flag representing Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the flag becomes tolerable to me again. It is not lost on me that both of these examples would hold their Christian identity above their American identity, and yet, their clear voices of dissent give me cause to celebrate.
If I feel empowered to disagree with those who hold power every time I see an American flag, that could be something worth celebrating, right?
Although I like the Stars and Stripes Forever et al, this year it's hard for me to march to that tune. Maybe the PBS program tonight will get me out of this funk!
I did appreciate the story of the Statue of Liberty on PBS last night and I recommend it!
Thank you, Diana. Your clear, beautifully written piece finally helps me understand why I’ve always felt somewhat “out of step” with everyone on the 4th.
thank you for the emma lazarus reminder. i've sent that on to everyone i know. maybe france should ask us to return lady liberty. we don't deserve her anymore.
Thank you Diana for your encouragement. In Indianapolis some clergy gathered in vestments at the Indianapolis area office for Senator Todd Young and held a funeral service after the Republican bill passed. The service was a protest to the destruction caused to the lower and middle class and the deaths that will be brought about by this bill.
This is such a needed and rare unpacking of the tension many of us feel but rarely name—especially around days like today. There’s something disorienting about living in a land that simultaneously shaped you and betrayed what you hold sacred. Your clarity around “holy insecurity” hit deep. That phrase alone reframes so much.
Thank you for reclaiming patriotism as something not synonymous with nationalism—but as something wrestled with, lamented, and reexamined through the lens of faith. The idea that “rendering unto Caesar” isn’t always clean or obvious resonates powerfully. It’s messy, it’s risky, and it asks for more discernment than most frameworks are willing to hold.
This kind of reflection feels like an anchor—especially in times where spiritual language is so often used to justify power instead of question it.
The poems really spoke to me, as did your writing. But Emma Lazarus... we memorized that poem in grade school and it has stuck with me ever since . Thank you for this beautiful post.
Nations, even empires, come and go. Supreme worldly leaders pass into eternity, mostly not remembered. Geopolitical tracts, called countries, are quite labile. But, core human values, steeped in Christian faith and responsibilities, are eternal. When Jesus said that he was going to prepare a place for his disciples in his father’s home, he was not referring to the latest high end motel. His father’s home is timeless, endless and fully complete to receive the faithful. No piece of human civil authority can compare or compete. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. All else earthly is folly. First, seek the kingdom, and that is the way, the only way.
Dennis not being a citizen of your country I could not name a specific instance regarding 'treatment'. It is simply my perception from reading about what is said and the disrespect and mocking to those who endeavour to live as Jesus would have us do.
This poem by Shirley Erena Murray, “God of Freedom, God of Justice” is an anthem for today. Shout it from the hilltops and mountains, parade it in your streets, sing it to your children and whisper it to each other in the silent hours of night.
I read somewhere that Hauerwas and Willimon described the Lord's Prayer as a pledge of allegiance to the kingdom of God. That stuck with me. Since then, I have declined to recite to the pledge of allegiance to the US flag because, if I am serious about Christian faith, allegiance to a flag conflicts with allegiance to God. It inevitably does.
Thanks also for posting Emma Lazarus' poem. I committed it to memory last year because it reflects the side of America in which I can take pride. I've spent much of my career in persuasive communications. What I learned about branding made me think about what Emma Lazarus achieved with that poem. The statue the French donated was christened "Liberty Enlightening the World" with a message that said something like, "Look what we've done and go copy that in your own countries." But the idea animating Lazarus' poem is more like "Liberty INVITING the world": If you yearn to breathe free, come here and make a life for yourselves; we don't care about your wealth or status in the world you're leaving behind. And that is what the statue became for millions of immigrants who sailed into New York Harbor between 1883 and 1914. It is how we as Americans came to see its meaning. Now, I wonder if we should just tear it down, or maybe put a giant tarp over it. It just feels like a lie right now.
Late in his life, my dad started wearing his flag pin above a cross pin on his suit lapel. I figured this was a Tea Party thing. I asked him about it once, trying to be non-judgmental in tone or words. He could not articulate why he felt country above God/religion/faith/denomination was where he was at. But I've often recalled those 3 or 4 conversations, he was late 80s at the time and we touched on some new perspectives for him.
Such a potent timely reminder of who we truly are as God’s children and that our homeland is infinitely larger than any one particular geographical location, which means, as Jesus’s sisters and brothers, we are never away from Home, in the deepest sense.
Thank you so much for sharing Bishop Bos’s piece with us. The part about praying for leaders we disagree with feels like a nudge from God.
I listened to a podcast the other day about reclaiming America's traditional slogans and symbols, such as the American flag and the "Don't Tread on Me" slogan, which reminded me of similar conversations about people whose faith has taken a different shape reclaiming the symbols and language of Christianity, elements of the faith they temporarily had to put aside while they went through a necessary period of sifting and discarding. So, as I think about my identity as an American, I'm thinking about how I can lift up what actually makes this country great. We have genuine American heroes, people who have put everything on the line to move this country closer to its founding ideals, people who were often unpopular in their times, and to some remain unpopular. They represent America as much as or even more than those who seem to be branding themselves as America right now. If I think of the American flag representing MLK, the flag becomes tolerable to me again. If I think of the flag representing Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the flag becomes tolerable to me again. It is not lost on me that both of these examples would hold their Christian identity above their American identity, and yet, their clear voices of dissent give me cause to celebrate.
If I feel empowered to disagree with those who hold power every time I see an American flag, that could be something worth celebrating, right?
Although I like the Stars and Stripes Forever et al, this year it's hard for me to march to that tune. Maybe the PBS program tonight will get me out of this funk!
I did appreciate the story of the Statue of Liberty on PBS last night and I recommend it!
Not to be negative, but I doubt it.
Trump is trying to take over PBS. It is very probable that they have adjusted this program to please him.
Oh dear!!!
sorry
Can I share this well written article on Facebook (with credit to The Cottage, of course)?
It is an open post and can be shared with credit given.
Thank you, Diana. Your clear, beautifully written piece finally helps me understand why I’ve always felt somewhat “out of step” with everyone on the 4th.
thank you for the emma lazarus reminder. i've sent that on to everyone i know. maybe france should ask us to return lady liberty. we don't deserve her anymore.
Thank you Diana for your encouragement. In Indianapolis some clergy gathered in vestments at the Indianapolis area office for Senator Todd Young and held a funeral service after the Republican bill passed. The service was a protest to the destruction caused to the lower and middle class and the deaths that will be brought about by this bill.
This is such a needed and rare unpacking of the tension many of us feel but rarely name—especially around days like today. There’s something disorienting about living in a land that simultaneously shaped you and betrayed what you hold sacred. Your clarity around “holy insecurity” hit deep. That phrase alone reframes so much.
Thank you for reclaiming patriotism as something not synonymous with nationalism—but as something wrestled with, lamented, and reexamined through the lens of faith. The idea that “rendering unto Caesar” isn’t always clean or obvious resonates powerfully. It’s messy, it’s risky, and it asks for more discernment than most frameworks are willing to hold.
This kind of reflection feels like an anchor—especially in times where spiritual language is so often used to justify power instead of question it.
The poems really spoke to me, as did your writing. But Emma Lazarus... we memorized that poem in grade school and it has stuck with me ever since . Thank you for this beautiful post.
Nations, even empires, come and go. Supreme worldly leaders pass into eternity, mostly not remembered. Geopolitical tracts, called countries, are quite labile. But, core human values, steeped in Christian faith and responsibilities, are eternal. When Jesus said that he was going to prepare a place for his disciples in his father’s home, he was not referring to the latest high end motel. His father’s home is timeless, endless and fully complete to receive the faithful. No piece of human civil authority can compare or compete. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. All else earthly is folly. First, seek the kingdom, and that is the way, the only way.
Dennis not being a citizen of your country I could not name a specific instance regarding 'treatment'. It is simply my perception from reading about what is said and the disrespect and mocking to those who endeavour to live as Jesus would have us do.
This poem by Shirley Erena Murray, “God of Freedom, God of Justice” is an anthem for today. Shout it from the hilltops and mountains, parade it in your streets, sing it to your children and whisper it to each other in the silent hours of night.
I read somewhere that Hauerwas and Willimon described the Lord's Prayer as a pledge of allegiance to the kingdom of God. That stuck with me. Since then, I have declined to recite to the pledge of allegiance to the US flag because, if I am serious about Christian faith, allegiance to a flag conflicts with allegiance to God. It inevitably does.
Thanks also for posting Emma Lazarus' poem. I committed it to memory last year because it reflects the side of America in which I can take pride. I've spent much of my career in persuasive communications. What I learned about branding made me think about what Emma Lazarus achieved with that poem. The statue the French donated was christened "Liberty Enlightening the World" with a message that said something like, "Look what we've done and go copy that in your own countries." But the idea animating Lazarus' poem is more like "Liberty INVITING the world": If you yearn to breathe free, come here and make a life for yourselves; we don't care about your wealth or status in the world you're leaving behind. And that is what the statue became for millions of immigrants who sailed into New York Harbor between 1883 and 1914. It is how we as Americans came to see its meaning. Now, I wonder if we should just tear it down, or maybe put a giant tarp over it. It just feels like a lie right now.
Late in his life, my dad started wearing his flag pin above a cross pin on his suit lapel. I figured this was a Tea Party thing. I asked him about it once, trying to be non-judgmental in tone or words. He could not articulate why he felt country above God/religion/faith/denomination was where he was at. But I've often recalled those 3 or 4 conversations, he was late 80s at the time and we touched on some new perspectives for him.
Now that the House passed the Bill, I think the hard work of faithful Jesus people begins.