In the beginning of the book of Acts in the Bible, there is a fascinating story that takes place on the day of Pentecost, also known as Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks.  The disciples of Jesus, having recently witnessed the resurrected Jesus ascending to heaven, are waiting in Jerusalem as instructed by Jesus.  As they are together in a certain house, the Holy Spirit descends, each of them is filled with the Spirit of God, and they begin to speak in other languages to the crowd of people who have gathered from all of the surrounding nations to celebrate the holy day.  And after Peter shares with the crowd the message of salvation that is found in Jesus, the writer of Acts records that about 3000 became followers of Jesus that day.  Pretty genius move by God, of course (not that He needs the compliments), to convert 3000 pilgrims who are now able to go back to the countries they came from to spread the gospel. 

What I find amazing is that this story is the beginning of a dramatic shift in the history of salvation.  Throughout the Book of Acts, God continues to expand of the people of God, from the Jewish people of Israel to a multi-national, multi-ethnic group of both Jews and Gentiles that will come to be known as the church.  From Peter’s experience with Cornelius in Acts 10-11, where the disciples marvel “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18) to Saul’s commissioning to bring the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 9:15, God demonstrates to His people that the people of God are not to be defined by national or ethnic boundaries – a truth that was not easy for the early Jewish Christians to accept.

Consider one more Scriptural reality, from the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:48-50, when he is told that his mother and brothers are outside waiting to speak with him.  Jesus responds, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (how is that for family values???).  Add these two realities together and what do you get?  A people of God that is not divided by national or ethnic boundaries, but is instead a huge family made up of everyone under heaven who does the will of God, regardless of where they live.

All of which leads me to American Idol #5:  the Idol of Patriotism.  Lift high its banner, the American flag, and sing proudly its proudest hymn, “God Bless America.”

 Now, of course, I am not saying that it is wrong to love your country or to pray for God’s blessing on it.  What I am saying is that patriotism, and specifically identifying yourself as an American first and a citizen of the Kingdom of God second, can easily become an idol, especially in America.  One theme that is being brought out by many Biblical scholars and teachers today is how subversive the early Christian community was in the Roman Empire.  They lived in a culture that taught that Caesar was Lord, that through the Pax Romana, Rome was the bearer of cosmic peace and prosperity, and that by conquering other nations Rome was bringing true peace to them.  Into this milieu comes a movement of people who refuse to bow down to Caesar as Lord, but proclaim Jesus as the true King over all principalities and powers, who proclaim His gospel as the only way to true peace and prosperity, and who demonstrate that salvation and peace are spread not by the sword but by sacrificial love.  And, as time would prove, the gospel of the Roman Empire turns out to be a false gospel, while the gospel of that tiny minority of Jews and Gentiles who proclaimed their allegiance to King Jesus has transformed the world.

The gospel of Jesus Christ was not the same as the Roman gospel, nor is it the same as the American gospel.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is not about democracy, capitalism, military supremacy, and technological progress.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the Kingdom of God, about life and community under the reign of a holy and sovereign God, about a community of people who love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love their neighbor as themselves – wherever that neighbor may live and whatever that neighbor may look like.  And that gospel can be very subversive in a country built on the American way of life.

The false gospel of the Idol of Patriotism is that America is God’s favored nation, that we embody all that is good in the world and that it is with divine blessing that we bring forth the American way to the nations.   The truth underneath this false gospel is that God has only had one favored people in His history, the people of Israel, and that now his people are made up of all who do the will of God, Jew or Gentile, regardless of nation or ethnicity.  God has chosen this people, who we call the church, and charged them with embodying what is good and bringing forth the kingdom of God to all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

So what does this mean?  If you believe Jesus’ words about who your true family is, this means that you have more in common with people in other countries who love Jesus than you do with an American who doesn’t do the will of God.  It means you have brothers and sisters who are being killed in Iraq in the name of the American way.  It means that you have younger siblings working in sweatshops in China because of the American gospel of capitalism.  It means you have family members being killed in Kenya, raped in Sudan, and mistreated around the globe.  You may be American by birth, but you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God by the new birth.  To bow down to the Idol of Patriotism instead of proclaiming your allegiance to Jesus and His kingdom is not what we have been called to do as followers of Jesus.       

Let me end with the words of Gordon Lawrence, a member of our church who was born and lived much of his life overseas:

When I first came to the USA, I traveled in and out of the country many times a year; each time I joined the immigration line that said “aliens”.  I used to find that beneficial in reminding me that even though I had a house here, I was an alien in a foreign land.  I no longer have to join the line that says “aliens”, but I need to remind myself, as all believers must, that we are “aliens” and America is not “home”, we do not fit here or belong here, and we must not try to make the nation fit with us.  I feel that we walk a narrow line, but we must never hold our country so close that we fail to realize that our real “culture” is being drawn from every tribe and every nation, and our allegiance to Christ and his world-wide people is above our allegiance to our nation.

May we give our primary allegiance to Jesus and His kingdom, remembering that our people, our family, is scattered all over the world.

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