Those stars and stripes are torn in two
Each Good Friday, I am reminded of the song Ol’ Glory by Psalters, one of my favourites. It re-imagines the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, replacing Rome with America in the role of oppressor.
while on Good Friday…
those red stripes are carved into Your back
on Good Friday…
those stars spangled Your body blue and black
on Good Friday…
those stars and stripes are torn in two
and all that glory…
all that Ol’ Glory belongs alone to You!
This isn’t a new interpretation, but it’s a powerful one. The Bible Project (not exactly radicals) summarise the book of Revelation:
Every human kingdom, like Babylon, eventually becomes corrupt and oppressive. We should resist evil kingdoms by loving people and trusting that Jesus will not let evil go unchecked. He will return to remove evil from the world and make all things new.
Andrew Thayer wrote last week in the New York Times,
Jesus never sought to replace Caesar with a Christian Caesar. He came to dismantle the very logic of Caesar: the belief that might makes right, peace comes through violence and politics is best wielded through fear, coercion and control. Instead, he inaugurated a counter-kingdom that aspires to loving kindness, radical welcome, mercy and justice — a kingdom where the vulnerable and the poor are lifted up, and the idols of empire are exposed as frauds.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/opinion/palm-sunday-protest.html
Left-Christian critique of empire can sometimes laser-focus on Jesus’ murder by the reigning power. It reminds us of the violence and oppression of historical empires and current ones.
But by symbolically replacing the temple curtain with the American flag, Psalters invite us to remember that Jesus’ death on the cross was not His defeat, but the defeat of death. American nationalism - embodied in its flag, standing in for all empire - is the barrier between God and humans which was torn down on Good Friday.
The Resurrection, which Christians celebrate one week from Sunday, is not the reversal of Christ’s crucifixion. It is its vindication. It declares that even when the empire kills truth, truth still rises. That even when justice is crucified, it does not stay buried. The Caesars among us don’t get the final word.
As America continues its journey from republic to empire and the impacts are felt around the world, I’m holding to this truth: that Christ already won the victory. God’s Kingdom which He promised is already here within us, that Inner Light which Quakers speak of. A kingdom which empires cannot defeat.
