For those of us who live in the midwest, these are glorious spring days, especially with some badly needed rain. Everything is greening and the bird songs are lively. My wife and I spent a couple days last week in Lanesboro MN, biking a beautiful trail that follows the Root River. I had forgotten to bring any reading material, but we did find one store that had a few books. I read a book entitled “Crossing Over” which was about a woman’s transition out of the Amish community. Lanesboro has many Amish in the area, so each day we heard the wonderful clip-clop of horses below our inn’s window. It’s a bit sureal to have a community that’s able to live as though it were still 150 years ago. A part of me admires that our culture can accomodate this, and that a group of people can remain so distinctive within it. But the book did give a glimpse at how controlling the most conservative element of the Amish (the old order) can be in order to maintain their community. I believe any religious group has elements of this – that our care of doctrine can often ride herd on our care of people’s right to question and explore the many wonderful queries that faith intrinsically entails. In this day of global interconnectedness and global challenges, we need more grace and openness to others’ wisdom, while at the same time finding inspiration within our own tradition. I am thankful for a tradition that allows that and is not suspect of differing beliefs, pieties and mores.

At a recent committee meeting it was mentioned that a couple of folks have inquired about having the American Flag displayed again at church. I am as patriotic as anyone I know, and am open to the idea – as long as it’s not in the sanctuary. Let me explain.

One of the great blessings of our democracy is the freedom of religion. It’s OK to be reminded of that as we come to worship. However, it is also important to remember that our highest allegiance in life is to God. Too often certain churches and faith traditions have blurred the lines, thinking that our faith in God and our loyalty to country are synonymous. They are not, though we are grateful when our country lives out the values of our faith. We worship God, not country. Our loyalty to country is guided by the precepts of our faith. Our sanctuary is a place for religious symbolism, and, mindful of the first commandment, we are careful to limit the symbols to those of our faith. But upon leaving the sanctuary, if we see our country’s flag, we are reminded to assert the values of our faith in our citizenship, giving thanks for a country in which we are free to do so.

Not least in their contributions to the progress of civilizations, major world religions give some moral parameters to guide individual and corporate conduct. Some of these become a codified part of a country’s laws, and others are a part of cultural mores – such as the “seven deadly sins.” When these are broken, there are consequences, some imposed by society and some that come by way of erosion of character and harm to others. All are testimony to the interconnectedness of humans, and how each of our lives impact others for good or ill. The national and global struggles around economy that we currently experience become an opportunity to revisit these values and reestablish healthy lines of behavior and responsibility. If individuals and companies lose their sense of functioning for the good of the whole, if they become driven by greed for profit and exhorbitant salaries, even at the risk of others’ loses, the community is called on to intervene and establish boundaries – laws and regulations – that pull back immoral greed into patterns of fair commerce that exist to benefit the whole community.

Few of us will make the headlines on these major issues (thank goodness!) But all of us make moral decisions on a daily basis. The lines we draw in the sand can be guided by the laws and mores of religion and culture refined through centuries of trial and error. And given how easy it is to move lines written in sand, it is probably a good thing to rely on more than just ourelves to make decisions regarding how to behave.