Red Flags?

Have any of the metaphors used by the politicians to describe our nation raised any red flags in your mind?  According to the more vocal politicians this country is the 'hope of the world' and the 'shining city on the hill.'  Do you know that these phrases come directly from scripture and refer to the Lord or are used by the Lord to designate his followers?  


The first time this occurred to me was back in the '80s when I heard Ronald Reagan call America a city set on a hill... echoes of Jesus' words.  Red flag. 

When Jesus makes that reference I hear him  speaking to his followers, not a secular nation.

 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."  Matthew 5:14

In a recent debate one of the Republican candidates called the United States the 'hope of the world' and his phrase raised that same red flag in my mind.

The prophet Isaiah is quoted in the gospel  of Matthew and these words apply to Jesus.

"Here is my servant whom I have chosen,

the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations. ...
In his name the nations will put their hope." Matthew 12:18, 21.

According to the ancient texts Jesus is the hope of the nations--not the United States!

Just a few weeks ago Michelle Bachmann called upon us to remember our founding fathers, that 'great cloud of witnesses.'  She went on to speak of our nation as the 'greatest force for good' in the world.  There is that red flag again!

According to Jesus, the greatest force for good comes with the influence of the intervening reign of God, like yeast in a lump of dough.   

"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." Matthew 13:33

All of these references seem to be elevating our nation into the place that is reserved for Christ.   Red flag!

When these references are applied to a worldly nation there is the danger that our mind will be dulled to the unique and distinct nature of the 'called out' community of faith gathered around the risen Lord, the body of Christ in the world today in every nation.


I reserve these powerful metaphors for the Lord and for the 'called out' community of faith.  I do not think that Jesus had the United States of America in mind when he said, "You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden"

Body of Christ,  you are the shining city set on a hill.... 


Body of Christ, as you cooperate with God, you are the greatest force for good in the world.

Body of Christ, we have the honor to proclaim to the world the hope of the nations.