Independence Day Weekend is a time to savor a wonderful gift that God has given our nation: and that is the gift of liberty.   Please join me in savoring these words from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men (and women) are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.   Our forefathers and foremothers understood something precious, that most Americans seem to have forgotten, and that is that freedom is a gift from God.

It seems to me that most Americans take our liberty for granted.  After all, most Americans have lived the entire lives in the blessings of liberty; but many may not appreciating the blood and sacrifices made by those in the fields of battle, to protect our freedom against those who have sought to take it away.  Perhaps those American citizens, who have recently immigrated to the United States, best appreciate the gift of freedom, because they, in many cases, have lived in lands where tyranny, not liberty, has reigned.

Throughout the Bible, we can see a God who is the champion of liberty. 

·       In today’s reading, we hear how Joseph was freed from prison in Egypt; how God delivered his people from slavery to bring them to a land where they could be free.  Throughout Biblical history, God intervened many times to free his people from oppression.

·       And is today’s Gospel, Jesus claimed God’s mission as His own when He said,”

·       I have come to proclaim the releases of captives, and to let the oppressed go free.”

Now God never intended our freedom to be an excuse for people to abuse that gift.  But time and time throughout history, people have used their freedom to turn away from God, to do whatever they want, as if they have no restraint…to violate God’s laws and to invent their own.  And if you know anything about history, you know that this leads to disaster.

Once God’s people had built their land and nation in the lands of modern day Palestine and Israel, they eventually turned against God, violating all his commandments: greed, stealing, idolatry, sexual promiscuity, envy, the enslavement of others, failing to present generous offerings to God, rape, and much more.  You see, as God’s people turned away from God, God removed his protection from His people.  Subsequently, God’s own people were defeated, enslaved, and sent into exile.  You see, God’s people had forgotten something that most Americans have forgotten or don’t understand, and that is this:

God is the author of liberty, but with that liberty comes the responsibility to follow God’s plan to maintain those liberties.

Let us now look at God’s plan. Please turn to today’s first reading from psalm 105.

Let us read the last 3 verses, with the congregation taking the lines in bold face caps:

³⁷ God saved his people from slavery,

HIS CHOSEN ONES WITH SHOUTS OF JOY.

⁴³ He brought out his people with rejoicing;

HE GAVE THEM THE PROMISED LAND   
⁴⁵ that they might obey His Word  AND OBSERVE HIS LAWS.

So, this is the key to freedom:  God gives the gift of freedom so that people can obey his word and observe his laws.

Now non-believers see God’s word and his laws as outdated, irrelevant, and even oppressive.  But actually, living God’s laws results in continuing freedom and expanding freedom.  God invented freedom, and the Bible is his instruction manual for maintaining it.

Now, I am not talking about the state establishment of Christianity, or ramming religion down anyone’s throat. Commitment to Jesus is meant to be a free choice.  Voluntarily embracing Jesus, who died to free us from the tyranny of sin is the basic foundation. As long as most of the people of our nation conscientiously sought to love God and to obey his commands, God prospered our land.  Indeed, this is His promise.  God’s word in Joshua 1:8 says, please repeat after me, “Keep  this Book of My Word and Law/// always on your lips; ///meditate on it day and night,/// so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. ///Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Most of us probably believe that God has blessed our nation in times past. Many of us continue to enjoy the God’s blessings of freedom now.  Our question is, will that continue as we move into the future?

Does our nation value the 10 commandments, given to bring harmony to the social order?  Or do we think that endless government regulations and bureaucrats can bring peace and prosperity to our land?

Are we still one nation under God, or are we putting human desire, greed, bitterness, factionalism, & licentiousness above God & His Word.

Why is it that so many people have decided to design their own spirituality, discarding the unpopular parts of scripture, which are the sure foundation of life in this world, and the next?

You know, one of the most liberating principles in the Bible is the principle of God’s endless mercy. 

Jesus was a friend of sinners while on earth, just as he is now.  His Word calls the people of our land to seek him, to follow him, and to learn from Him.

·       Perhaps he is giving us one more chance.

·       Perhaps he is call9ing us to be bolder in sharing His love by word and deed, that more people would be introduced to Him.

·       Perhaps this hour has come to galvanize the faithful, to proclaim God’s Word in a nation which seems deaf to his message.

·       Perhaps he is not even looking for a majority, but a strong minority whose voices can rise above the popular insanity of turning away from God.

·       Perhaps Jesus is calling us to humble ourselves, to pray more fervently, acknowledging that we, like everyone else, are sinners, too.

I think that we need a national revival, overcoming the momentary toxic politics that poisons our land; going back to the vision of our faithful founders, whose sentiments are expressed in our concluding hymn today.  Please repeat after me:  America! America!/// God mend thy every flaw; and confirm thy soul with self-control, //thy liberty and law.  //Amen.

The Rev. John A. Donnelly