Independence Day 2019

Each July 4th, Americans celebrate the 1776 declaration of independence from the colonial power of England.

How good it is to loose the bonds of oppression, to gain freedom from powers which promote injustice and inflict harm, to find liberation from that which keeps us down. Not only tyrants, but illness, poverty, hunger, racism, pain, depression... whatever has us chained.

Today is also a good day to remember and honor our DE-pendence, something we tend to view less favorably. But it is our reality. We depend on so many things that are good and right. We depend on those who do the work we cannot, who grow our food or fix our roads, or expand the frontiers of science or enliven the soul through the arts. We depend on just laws and equal rights.

We depended upon our parents to bring us into the world. We depend on family and friends, teachers and mentors, on those who care for us when we cannot, and upon those who love us and those we love.

And yes, we depend upon the love and mercy of God, whose goodness undergirds all of creation, our every breath, and our hope in the wholeness that is God’s desire, and ours.

May this day be one of blessing to you and our nation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Martin Luther King and the Good Samaritan

Image
Martin Luther King, Jr. often referred to the parable of the Good Samaritan ( Luke 10:25-37 ). While King’s interpretation of the parable evolved over time, he maintained a consistent focus on the way the parable allows us to examine the obligations owed to one another, provided an enduring way to read this text. King had a sermon on the topic which he used frequently. "Who Is My Neighbor?" highlights the question asked of Jesus. Jesus’ questioner, a lawyer, is testing Jesus and testing the limits of what Jesus’ God requires. They are agreed that loving God and neighbor is essential. But how far does this go? In 1964, in a sermon preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, he discerned a philosophy or motivating principle expressed in the actions of three sets of the parable’s characters. "Everyone within the sound of my voice today lives by one of these three philosophies." 1. The Robbers Often taken for granted, the waylaying of the traveler is what makes the ...
Read more

11 years after

Image
On this 11th anniversary, let us remember in prayer all those who died, those who were injured, those who mourn, those who stepped forward to extend a helping hand, those who suffer 9/11-related illness. May God bring healing to all touched by these attacks, and to each of us. On this day, let us care for one another, help us take care of ourselves, and seek to live in peace. Amen.&nbsp facebook.com/groups/911prayer Forget for a moment the issues with the Memorial, with the Port Authority and the Mayor and the Zadroga bill and Homeland Security. Remember the people of 9/11, the victims, the survivors, the responders. Behind every name there is a face, and many, many stories. Here are a few. (This page will be updated throughout the day of September 11, 2012.) I invite you to consider your own remembrance at Remember Me: The Virtual Facebook September 11, 2001 Memorial . Remembering JOSEPH LOVERO , of Jersey City, NJ. Joe was chasing firetrucks before he could add. Growing up, he l...
Read more

Lent 6 - I am a broken dish

Image
Sixth Sunday in Lent March 16, 2008 Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16 ; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14—27:66 (Liturgy of the Passion) There is no story more important to Christians than the Passion. There are no more central Messianic prophecies than the “suffering servant” songs of Isaiah. And there is no better summary of Christ’s role than the Christ-hymn of Philippians. With so much going on in these great texts, we might easily miss what God is saying as we pray this Psalm, in the midst of these proclamations of Christ. For the Passion, the suffering servant, the Philippians hymn, all describe one who is an outcast. Insults, bullying, gossip, layoffs, illness, divorce, aging, scandal, rejection. There are so many ways to be out, not in. Everyone I know has been in this position, though it is one we would all rather flee. Yet this Sunday, this Holy Week, in fact every Sunday and every week, God directs us again and again to attend to the one who is suffering. In the Pass...
Read more