Sermon: Fifth Sunday After Pentecost

The Very Rev. William Thomas Deneke, rector

On a weekend when we celebrate independence and freedom, we find that neither is absolute and both are exceedingly complex.

In 1776 independence was primarily defined as independence from the rule of Great Britain. But even then there were all sorts of corollaries. Many colonists had come to America primarily for religious freedom, although as the Church of England was a state Church, the boundaries between civil and religious authority were fuzzy. For a good number of colonists, the aim was freedom from the throne and Parliament but not entirely from British culture. The Boston Tea Party was a case in point. Only later would a separate American identity be formed.

Now 233 years after the original Fourth of July we look back and marvel at the revolutionary movement revealed in the Declaration of Independence. A movement of democracy still developing today.

The Declaration has always been in process. Early on voting rights were available only to free white males who owned property. Liberty for all has a broader meaning today than in the 18th Century.

And there is another big change. We live in an increasingly interdependent world. We are seeing that in the global economic crisis of our time. National boundaries for the most part are only partially conveyers of independence.

And it is worth asking: Is absolute independence a desirable goal? From a Christian perspective freedom is never defined by independence. The full maturity of people and nations is shaped by relationships defined in the Great Commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

This is paradoxical understanding of freedom. It shifts the perspective from simply freedom from to include freedom to. As we are freed from being consumed with ourselves we are freed to reach out to others. Being freed from fear and scarcity, we are freed to hope and embrace God's abundance. And being freed from self-loathing and guilt, we are freed to love our neighbor as ourselves, freed to love God and our neighbor who in an interdependent world is not only the person next door but also someone in Haiti, Honduras, New Orleans, and Belgrade, Serbia.

We sing hymns to celebrate this. Hymns such as "In Christ there is no East or West" and even "Joy to the World."

Moreover, this paradoxical understanding of freedom is underscored by the prayers of our church and especially the Collect for Peace in Morning Prayer. "O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom..."

"Whose service is perfect freedom..." For those of us bound and freed by the vows of our baptism, any celebration of independence and freedom must come to grips with this prayer.

It is true that likely most Christian nations in conflict have maintained that God is on their side. This may appear at times little more than a self-serving political ploy. Still this cannot dissuade us from the call of our faith to pursue freedom foremost in service to the One who said to love God and our neighbor above all else. From a Christian perspective true patriotism is the willingness to pursue this truth and to pray fervently for the council of the Holy Spirit in all matters of the state.

This weekend we celebrate all that is good about our country, and we do well to repent of all that is sinful. We continue to learn what freedom means and does not mean. We are amazed and thankful that from the early days of people landing on these shores a nation of immense achievement, generosity, and diversity has come forth and continued to develop.

And above all, we give thanks that we are blessed with abundant resources and opportunities to glorify God, whose service, indeed, is perfect freedom.

Prayer for the nation: BCP p. 820

Almighty God who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in they Name we entrust with the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.