Catholic High School Teacher Forced Out over Flag

This summer, Stephen Kobasa, a teacher at Kolbe Cathedral High School, a Catholic high school in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was forced out of his job because he refused to have an American flag in his classroom. "Everything in the Gospel rejects what flags stand for: boundaries, hatreds, creation of enemies," Kobasa says. "For a Catholic Christian school that holds up the crucifix as a symbol of God's love, the flag can only be a contradiction. The Church can only function with its prophetic voice by standing outside the state."

I'm not entirely sure I agree with his entire assessment--especially "hatreds, creation of enemies"--but I do sympathize with Kobasa's point of view. There's something unsettling about a flag-waving church. Don't get me wrong: I'm awfully glad to be living in the United States. I feel that this country truly was God-inspired, but I can also see where Kobasa is coming from.

Christianity is about bringing people into the Kingdom of God. We, Christians, are sons and daughters of Christ, and "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26-28). We are neither American or German, Chinese or Angolan and our first responsibility and our loyalty should be to the Kingdom of God first and foremost. We cannot serve two masters, God and money or God and country. While we operate in the world with both money and country, there are some obvious (or maybe not so obvious) difficulties involved.

That said, just to be clear here, I see nothing wrong with honoring our country, its myths, symbols, military personnel, etc.. Even actively participating in politics should be one of the ways in which we witness the truth of Christ's love and life in us. Finding ways of recognizing the importance of earthly citizenship during times of high patriotism while remembering our spiritual commitments takes some work; I can attest to this!

I'm afraid I come down on the fence when it comes to making public pledges of allegiance to any earthly institution. I certainly don't disparage anyone who take such oaths and I certainly can understand that there may be situations where refusing to display symbols or take a pledge that would offend the conscience. In Kobasa's case, I cannot pass judgment on either side; both obeyed their conscience (I will assume).