I found this quote in a Toot today and find it thought-provoking as I have sometimes used 'allegiance' as a way to talk about following Christ. "Take the idea of loyalty. I don’t believe in loyalty, not as such. I believe in solidarity, instead. These are comparable social values, but the difference matters. Loyalty, as I understand it, is about allegiance. Allegiance is about the subordination of one to another. Loyalty happens, by and large, in a hierarchical fashion. Solidarity is performed between equals." (Original context here) It's an unusual source for the quote for me. However it's a good point and the article is interesting and helpful in pushing us beyond stereotypes.
Anyway, for me, the quote has me thinking about recasting some of my talking and explaining about Christ -following as "solidarity" rather than loyalty. Not necessarily always: loyalty to Christ is arguably an already subverted loyalty in that 'I am among you as one who serves'. So while 'Jesus is Lord' has an arguably hierarchical basis in the language, in the context of 1st century Palestine and the Roman Empire, it is far more solidary and subversive than some later church history made it.
That said, it would make sense to talk also about solidarity with Christ in the pursuit of the just and gentle rule of God which is the performance of love, justice, mercy, truth, mutual support, serving one anothers' flourishing. Solidarity with Christ who gives us to one another in solidarity to each other and to the flourishing of all including creation. We're making common cause.
A year or so back I made the case that commitments to bishops by ordinands that promise obedience should perhaps be toned down to giving loyalty -which seemed to me to be less problematic (the context being about churches dealing with abuse by beginning to change how we do things, I was suggesting that these oaths are problematic). I'm now wondering whether the suggestion should be recast in terms of solidarity with Christ and the reign of God.
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