As we prepare to receive the Sacrament on this Sunday of the Fourth of July weekend, it is perhaps instructive to think back to the earliest days of the Christian church, when this Sacrament was kept secret and reserved for those who had seriously committed themselves to the way of Jesus. Participating in this Sacrament meant putting your life at risk, for, in those earliest days, allegiance to Christ as Lord of life placed adherents over and against Caesar, the ruler of the nation, and this was grounds for capital punishment.

Most of us here, I would suspect, have been rather fortunate to grow up and live in such a way that these dual claims on our loyalty are experienced as complementary rather than competing. That is, it is easy for us to be both Christians and American citizens, knowing that we are protected in the practice of our religious faith by the law of the land, and that we are free to contribute to our society out of our faith convictions. And so, we might wear both a cross around our neck and an American flag lapel pin. Or, we might come to worship, as some of you have today, wearing red, white and blue.

We are fortunate, are we not, not to have to choose one or the other? But you know, your staff had to get into some choosing as we put together today's Order of Worship. Were we going to emphasize patriotism today or communion? Should the picture on the cover of the Order of Worship show the flag or the Sacrament? What hymns would we sing? Where should the emphasis of this service be?

Thinking it through, we created a service that holds together the dual citizenship of our lives. We have sung "America the Beautiful" and prayed for our nation. And we have prayed the prayer Jesus taught, affirming our participation in God's Kingdom. We have prayed that those Kingdom values might, in fact, inform and guide the life of the nation-values of compassion, hospitality, justice and peace.

And so, as we prepare now to receive the Sacrament, I invite us to consider what it means for us to hold dual citizenship; for we all live as citizens of the United States or another nation, as well as Christians who have pledged our allegiance to Christ and his Kingdom.

It is helpful for us to remember, from time to time, that such dual citizenship is not always easy or to be taken for granted. I first learned this lesson as a youth in my home church. I grew up, post World War II, in a very patriotic household. We proudly flew the flag on the Fourth, loved parades and marching bands. One year I remember, a group of my friends joined people all across the nation in ringing bells, bells of freedom they were intended to be, at a specific hour on the Fourth. I don't know if others rang bells, or if anyone besides ourselves heard them, but I suppose the value of it all was in the doing of it. . . .

But one day the Associate Pastor of our church asked the youth if we'd ever really thought about whether or not the flag of the nation should be in the front of the sanctuary. Of course, none of us had. And then, he told his story. He was German, a Methodist pastor in Germany through the war. You see, for him and other Christians who opposed Hitler's regime, the flag of the Third Reich was an abomination and a symbol of what the church at that time in that place was called to fight against. For him, he said, never again should any national flag be given such prominence in our church or in our hearts.

That lesson stayed with me. Knowing him to be a pastor of keen intelligence and deep faith, now an American citizen, I might add, and still serving in our Annual Conference, I continue to be informed by stories of Christians striving to live faithfully in places and circumstances where that dual citizenship does not come easy: Christians in Central America through the 1970s and '80s; Christians in Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break-up of the Soviet Union; Christians in China and other places of repression.

We are inspired and challenged by the witness of Christians whose allegiance to Jesus Christ has caused them to risk everything in their witness to their God, when they have dared to challenge their government and its policies. To be sure, this is risky business, and here in the US it can lead Christians into passionate disagreement and debate, especially about issues such as abortion, euthanasia, the teaching of evolution, capital punishment, and so on, which Christians might and do and will view from very different perspectives. Our nation and our faith will be stronger for our passionate, respectful, thoughtful and prayerful engagement in the choices elected officials and justices are making on our behalf.

But beyond the hue and cry of the headlines and the six-o'clock newscast, lie national decisions and policies and priorities which weave the very fabric of our common life and shape the character of our nation. Here's where our dual citizenship can really help us make a difference. For do we not all care about the children, the seniors, the schools, the environment? Does it not matter to all of us how the huge budget surplus will be used? Should we not all be alarmed at the widening gap between rich and poor? The increasing numbers and percentage of children living in poverty? Global warming? Violence and greed?

The God of history, the God of nations and the rulers of nations, the God of mercy and justice, the God who spread the rainbow covenant over earth and sea and all creatures surely longs for the whole creation to live in harmony and peace. What might we, followers of his Christ, have to say to the rulers of our nation at this moment in our history? Many voices, to be sure, all deeply committed to the well-being of the earth and its peoples.

The challenge to us, who do not live in extreme circumstances of repression and persecution -- thanks be to God -- is always to remember that perhaps there is, and ought to be, something of a tension between the two poles of our dual citizenship, a tension that should not be too easily released, so that the values we take on as followers of the Christ might inform and instruct how we live as citizens of the land.

As we gather to worship each week, and especially as we participate in this Sacrament that binds us to the one who is both our personal Savior and our Sovereign Lord, may we reflect again on our allegiance to Christ and from that perspective recommit ourselves as engaged citizens who care passionately about God's people and the conditions in which they live. May God's spirit of wisdom guide us this day into more faithful living as dual citizens with one holy calling. Amen.