Freedom

Tomorrow in the US we celebrate Independence Day. In our Declaration of Independence, it states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 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." If you haven't read it lately, now is a good time. In the churning chaos of the news cycle, take a moment to read and remember the energy of Congress in 1776, and why they felt compelled to be free from England.

Longing for freedom is a long struggle and a long story. There have always been those who seek to subjugate and exploit others. Likewise, there has always been a desire among people to be free. The Bible showcases the story of Moses and the exodus of the people in the desert, as they moved from slavery in Egypt to a long wrestling and a long path. In 1927, James Weldon Johnson wrote the Moses story like this:

...And God said to Moses

I've seen the awful suffering

Of my people down in Egypt

I've watched their hard oppressors,

Their overseers and drivers;

The groans of my people have filled my ears

And I can't stand it any longer...

And Moses said: Lord, who am I

To make a speech before Pharaoh?

For, Lord, you know I'm slow of tongue.

But God said: I will be thy mouth and I will be thy tongue;

Therefore, Moses, go down,

Go down yonder into Egypt land,

And tell Old Pharaoh

To let my people go...

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus shocked people from his hometown by proclaiming his calling. Luke 4:16-19 says this:

16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free those who are oppressed,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And indeed - this is our calling as well. I suggest reviewing the "red words" of Jesus from time to time. If you plan to follow him, what does that look like? What DID Jesus do, and how should we duplicate it? He tells us in passages like this one. And over and over and over again commands us to act in LOVE.

LOVE. YOUR. NEIGHBOR.

When we love others, we find we desire their happiness, joy, health, and freedom as much as we desire our own.

Richard Rohr reminds us how. He states:

We can learn to love others by closely observing how God loves us and all of creation... the sacredness of every created thing. That is how God sees...

I am calling this surprising letting down of defenses... the prophetic 'way of tears,' as opposed to our more common ways of heroic willpower, commandment, obedience, force, anger, and legitimized violence. It takes an initial tender vulnerability (wounding) to defeat our ego and to pen us to full consciousness... It is a movement, frankly from the Ten Commandments to the eight beatitudes. A movement that the prophets illustrated for us twenty-five hundred years ago, and that we need - out of desire and desperation - to recover today."

Kate Bowler says this kind of thing actually is inter-dependence rather than independence - and offers this prayer, "May we all risk being known, practicing intimacy with the way we listen and share and ask each other questions (even when we might not like the answers). May we learn how to love when it makes no sense, and be loved when our humanity feels like a liability. May we find ourselves reminded that we belong to one another. Neighbors. Strangers. Friends. All wrapped up together in this web of beautiful, terrible inter-dependence. Amen."

If you want to work for freedom, start with love. Start with acceptance, gratitude, vulnerability, willingness to listen, acknowledgement of when to release and let go. Proclaim good news. Be in community - remember your neighbors.

Today, for many, freedom feels fragile once again, and we need reminders like these - of its importance and hope and strength and goodness. Drew Jackson looks to Luke 19:39-40 and writes,

Under great strain

the rocks let out their freedom song.

Haven't we always done this?

Make music out of pain?

On this holiday weekend, may you reflect on the heavy weight and beautiful gift of freedom - and may you be willing to offer it to others, binding up wounds and working for justice, so that ALL of God's people might one day know what it means to be free. And if today finds you too tired and overcome - may you listen closely for the music, for the hope - until you too can sing again.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. - 1 Peter 2:16

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. - Isaiah 61:1

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1