Pledge of Allegiance

The Rev. Joseph Winston

July 5, 2009

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
We all know these words, “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States
of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indi-
visible, with liberty and justice for all.” When we speak the Pledge of Allegiance,
we publicly state our loyalty to the laws and the authorities of this country.
This is but one pledge that we give in this life. High school and college fight
songs commit their students to stay devoted to everything the school holds dear. If
we are called to testify in court, we promise “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth.” Countries enact treaties that describe in detail their behavior
with other nations. In each of these examples, we give our word that others can
count on us.
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

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 During the time of Jesus, people pledged their allegiance to their family. From
birth to death, the entire social structure of the ancient world faithfully enforced
this way of life. Boys followed in the footsteps of their fathers. They mastered
whatever work their father performed and this would be their lifelong calling.
Girls learned the business of the household. They studied cooking, cleaning, and
raising of children. This is their allotted task in life. The family prearranged mar-
riage for both sexes to ensure that their children married people of the proper class.
These newly formed families then started the exact same cycle and for the most
part, nothing ever changed.
There is a very good reason why families live just like this. It ensures their
survival for another generation. That is why families pass on basic skills and tra-
ditions to their children. They want their hard earned wisdom and their genes to
last another day.
The author of today’s Gospel lesson clearly understands that children pledge
their allegiance to their family. That is why the narrator repeats for us the questions
asked in that synagogue some two thousand years ago, “Where did this man get all
this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? . . . Is not this the carpenter,
the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not
his sisters here with us (Mark 6:2-3)?”
Right underneath the surface, each of these queries asks the same question,
“How is this possible?” The people of Nazareth know who Jesus is because for
generations they have watched his parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.
The neighbors of Jesus have seen Him working as a common day laborer with His

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hands because that is what the men of this family do.2 They have worked with
wood and stone for years. More than likely that is what James, Joses, Judas, and
Simon all do for a living. They are carpenters. In the same way, the townspeople
have experienced His sisters. These women have married into other families that
work with their hands. It is perfectly understandable why the town wants to know,
“Where did this man get all this (Mark 6:2)?”
This is not the first time that Jesus has run headfirst into this problem of not
doing what society expects of Him. A little bit earlier in the third chapter of Mark
(Mark 3:20-35), the lawyers from the central office down in Jerusalem hear about
the miracles and the teachings of Jesus. A little bit of research on the background
of Jesus and His family quickly convinces them that Jesus is full of the Beelzebub.
How else would He have this kind of power? Understandably, they want to stop
Jesus since they do not want to be seen as promoting the prince of devils among
the people. So, they immediately leave Jerusalem to face Him. When they arrive,
they accuse Jesus of having a pact with the devil. That is why He has the authority
to heal all those sick people. Jesus then disarms the situation by using a bit of
common logic. He says that a leader never sends an underling to do something
that the head disagrees with. That is why He is not working for Satan. But this
bit of wisdom from Jesus does not convince His mother or His brothers. They are
actually afraid that Jesus has gone off His rocker. That is how they explain why is
not working with His brothers.
Christ responds to His mother and His brothers with two hard-hitting ques-
2
A τέκτων is anyone who works with their hands.

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tions. “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
Even after all these years, these two questions from Jesus force us to look
at our allegiances. Are we loyal to the family that bore us or are we faithful to
the One that gives us life? Far too often, we fall into the trap of saying that our
family is the most important thing in our lives. We will not ask our children or
grandchildren to “come to church” on Sunday mornings because that will cause
too much stress in the family. We do not schedule service projects during the week
to help people in the community since that cuts into our precious “family time.”
Witness also falls to the wayside. We cannot talk to others about Jesus because
their family is not like ours.
In an action that certainly scandalized everything present, Jesus answered His
own questions. He said to the assembled crowd, “Look. Right here are my moth-
ers, my brothers, and my sisters. They are the ones who do what God asks.”
This reply by Jesus redefines our pledge of allegiance that we take here on
earth. No longer does our primary longer belong to our family that raised and
supported us. Now we belong to God. This is how the world should operate. God
gives life to creation and He supports our family. By begin a follower of Jesus we
acknowledge the true power behind each and every family.
Christ’s adoption of us into God’s family finally gives us the freedom that we
desire. In the past, we worried about passing on our way of life to our children.
That is one of the primary forces behind the way the family operates. We want to
live forever and the only way that we know how to make that happen is to have
children. Jesus shows us that life actually comes from God. He freely gives it

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Christ’s mothers, brothers, and sisters.
All by itself, this request by Jesus to join His family rather than keeping our
allegiance to our own families that raised us would be nothing more than a de-
mand. It would be a law. And as we know, it is something that we cannot do on
our own.
Jesus does not operate in this manner. He, like us, knows that we do not have
the power inside of us to break the oaths of loyalty that we have freely taken.
Instead, He comes to you and offers you a way out. He invites you to participate
in His mission to save the world.
Perhaps, the best way to see how Jesus brings us into His family is to look
at how Jesus calls the first disciples (Mark 1:16-20). In the opening chapter of
the Gospel according to St. Mark, Jesus comes to everyday, ordinary people. He
meets them at work. There he specifically asks them to give up what they are
doing. Their new task is set out before them. They are to become fishers of men.
Immediately, they accept His invitation. They follow Jesus and learn from Him.
When we look back on our lives, we soon realize that Jesus leads us into
His family in the same manner. For most of us, Jesus first came in the waters of
our Baptism. There at the font, we became Christ’s brother or His sister. At our
baptism, Jesus gives us the same task as the first disciples. Go and tell the world
about Him. The only real difference between that first group of twelve and us is
that Jesus blesses each of us with different gifts for this mission. Just like with the
twelve, Jesus richly provides for His family. He feeds us at His table. He educates
us with His Word. He leads us.

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 Jesus also sends us out into the world like the first disciples. In the cities and
the towns that surround us, we teach His will and we heal the sick.
Certainly, we all realize the heavy requirement that has been placed on us by
Jesus. We are His brothers and sisters. Together, we will take care of those people
God has given to us.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”3

3
Philippians 4:7.