Sunday 07/04/21 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty”
Old Testament Scripture: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
New Testament Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Gospel Lesson: Mark 6:1-13
On July 4, 1776, in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
the founders of what would become the republic we now know as the United States
of America wrote the Declaration of Independence. The news of this Declaration
of Independence did not reach London, England until August 10, 1776.
As many of us remember from school,
the Declaration of Independence, where we get our July 4th holiday,
listed grievances against our British overseers, as we were there colonies or subjects
of the British. We had had enough, and we decided to create a new country. The
Declaration of Independence also listed this:
“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” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence).
From this portion
of the Declaration of Independence ratified this day 245-years ago, I created
my sermon title for this morning called, “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty”.
When I was in
elementary school, I learned that the Founding Fathers were the closest thing
to Jesus Christ that we have. As I got older though, and as I originally
studied history and social studies at SUNY Potsdam, and then became a High
School Social Studies Teacher, there was much more to this story. I did not
know that Thomas Jefferson and George Washington owned slaves. I did not consider
that when our US Constitution was ratified in 1789 that our new nation would
have the institution of slavery for another 76-years. I also did not consider
that woman did not get the right to vote until 1920. I did not consider that woman
up until recent years could not have some jobs that they now have, and etc.,
and etc.
Some have
said therefore, that the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution should
simply be torn up, and we should start over. Some have suggested that we should
destroy the history of our country and tear down all of our statues, due to the
clear mistakes from the past. Clearly, when we founded our republic in 1796,
and General George Washington was elected as our first United States President,
our country didn’t have total freedom. In fact, initially, only land-owning white
men could vote.
What I learned
in my studies at SUNY Potsdam though, is that Declaration of Independence and
the Unites States Constitution are living documents. This means that we
continue to live into the reality of what it means to the United States of
America, and what it means to be an American.
I love my
country, I value our history, as painful and as wrong as some parts of it is.
The principals that this country was founded on are timeless and have helped create
a strong and a free nation. We are still living into this. So, when the
Declaration of Independence says:
“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”,
I still believe in these principals.
I remember learning
about Salem, Massachusetts in college, were the famed “Salem Witch Trials” were
held. People were literally found guilty of witchcraft and burned by Christians
at the stake. With this said, every Christian I know agrees today that doing
such a thing is wrong and terrible, but at the same time we have not done away
with our faith and our churches. We no longer have the Inquisition, which was
wrong and terrible, but still have our faith and our churches.
I say all of this on
this July 4th to say that I love my country, I love Christ and his
church, but I can love my country and Christ and his church, while not loving
every part of the history of my country and the church. I love living in a
country where I can speak freely and open at this pulpit, and where I can
declare boldly that Jesus Christ died for our sins. I can boldly and freely
declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Do you know that in Fifty-Two
countries in this world the Bible is either illegal or highly restricted? Did
you know that there are some countries where you cannot preach the gospel like
I am doing now? Did you know there are some countries that Christians are
jailed of even killed for there faith in Christ (https://lovepackages.org/bibles-dangerous-illegal-covert/)?
We have the freedom in
these United States to be Christians, Jew, Buddhists, etc. Is every element of
our history perfect? No? Is every element of the history of the church perfect?
No. This does not mean though that “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty” are not good
things though. I love our country because we have “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty”.
We are continuing to live into this, as the Declaration of Independence as the
US Constitution are living documents. The church continues to boldly proclaim the
love of Christ, even though some Christians centuries ago, or in recent years
did some awful things. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is not the
problem. Jesus is not the problem. Human sin and brokenness are the problem.
Christ is the answer. Christ is “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty”. New country and new
constitution would never fix himan sin and human brokenness.
Christ is perfect, even
when some or parts of his church are not. The principals of “Life, Liberty, and
Pursuit of Happiness” are solid, even when some have failed to live up to them.
For these reasons, I love Christ, I love my country, and I love this holiday of
our independence. For those attending fireworks later, what a blessing it is to
celebrate “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty”.
In our scripture reading
from 2 Samuel 5 for this morning, it says again that the great King David that
God made him king over all of Israel. In doing so, God’s word was preached, and
the love of God spread.
In our scripture reading
from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 for this morning the Apostle Paul says once again:
So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me (2 Cor. 12:9b, NRSV).
I am blessed that I live
in a country and serve in a church where it is perfectly acceptable to preach
the word of God.
In looking at our gospel
of Mark reading for this morning once again, as many of us know, Jesus was born
in Bethlehem, the city of David. Yet, Jesus grew up in Nazareth. This is why
some called Jesus, Jesus the Nazarene.
In Jesus returning to Nazareth
where he was raised, he began to teach in the synagogue. Some mocked him and were
offended by him. Since he is the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses
and Judas and Simon, they saw Jesus as not someone qualified to preach what he
is preaching. They did not see him as the Messiah, and the gospel then says once
again, beginning with Jesus saying:
“Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief (Mk. 6:4-6, NRSV).
Jesus own community where
he was raised rejected him and did not believe in who he was. Sometimes Jesus received
hostility, anger, and even threats. Certainly not a place where you could practice
your faith. I am proud to live in a country that values “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty”.
The gospel of Mark
reading for this morning then continues, saying once again that Jesus went about
the villages teaching. The scripture then continues and ends once again with:
He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them (Mk. 7-13, NRSV).
When I hear the rest of
this gospel lesson of Mark for this morning, I hear “Freedom, Truth, and
Liberty” in Christ. Go out bringing nothing, rely on others hospitality, and if
you are rejected, move on. The disciples proclaimed that all should repent of
their sins, they cast our demons, and they anointed the sick with oil.
What we do not hear as
explicitly in this gospel reading, is the heavy persecution of Christ and his
church. The persecution that led Jesus to the cross and that led all but the Apostle
John to die for Christ and gospel.
There are still things in this country, and in some churches that need to be improved and changed, but yet, I love my country and I love Christ and his church. This is why on this July 4, 2021, 245-years after our Declaration of Independence was ratified, I am grateful for “Freedom, Truth, and Liberty”. Happy Independence Day! Amen.
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