Quest for Freedom, June 29, 2014

Quest for Freedom

Psalm 33:1-12, Galatians 5:1, 13-14

Grace Presbyterian Church

June 29, 2014

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

 

I’m Not Free  During Sunday School, the Sunday before the 4th of July, a teacher asked her class what the 4th meant to them. Some said “Parades”, some said “Fireworks!” and other said “Picnic.” The teacher said, “Yes, those are all right answers, but the main reason to celebrate is that we’re all free. A little boy raised his hand and said, “I’m not free! I’m four!”

As we know, it won’t be long before the melodious sounds of fire crackers will be resounding through our neighborhoods. And everywhere in America, plans for fireworks displays are being finalized. We’ll ooh and ahh at such visual pyrotechnics as arial repeaters, arial shells, flying spinners, fountains, rockets, poppers, Roman candles, snakes, and sparklers. Parades, carnivals, barbecues, concerts, family reunions, bunting, banners, picnics, and flags waving proudly will be the order of the day this coming Friday and through the weekend. Erma Bombeck said:

You have to love a nation that celebrates its Independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”

 

Freedom  Before the firecrackers go off and the parades begin, I’d like to share some thoughts about freedom. And I’d like to do this from two aspects: freedom from something and freedom to do something. I will highlight three aspects of freedom in our lives: freedom in our land, freedom in our spiritual life, and freedom in our daily interactions with those around us. My overall thought for us to take with us into the future is this: “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought. [Pope John Paul II]

Freedom in America  Let’s first turn our attention to the freedom we enjoy as a result of the Declaration of Independence. This was a document adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies hereby declare themselves as thirteen sovereign states who are forever free from English rule. In its opening statement, the document 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.” They declared that as United Colonies they were Free and Independent States. It concludes by saying, “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Does this mean they were free to do anything they wanted? Absolutely not. They quickly drafted The Articles of Confederation to serve as their first set of laws. This was  soon followed by the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights which established the civil boundaries to govern the actions of the citizens living in their newly found freedom. Although they had freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of lawful assembly, those freedoms came with responsibilities to obey the laws of the land. So their freedom did not permit them to do as they pleased, but gave them the freedom to abide by civil boundaries of behavior.

Under God  Undergirding the establishment of our nation was their desire to live under the governance of God.

Mayflower Compact   For instance, in 1620, the Mayflower Compact stated, ”In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honour of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northerne parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civill body politick, ...”

New England Confederation  In 1643, the constitution of the New England Confederation included these thoughts: “We all come into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity and peace.”

Benjamin Franklin  In 1787, Benjamin Franklin at the age of 81 addressed the Constitutional Convention and said, “I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth... that God governs in the affairs of men.  And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?”

George Washington   Two years later, in 1789, George Washington included in his Thanksgiving Day proclamation that “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and to humbly implore his protection, aid and favors.”

Under God  Over the years we have reinforced our belief that we live under the providence of God in several ways.

Star Spangled Banner  The third stanza of our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” reads, “Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just, and this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”  

Currency  This verse from “The Star Spangled Banner” was the inspiration for including the words “In God We Trust on our currency.” These words first appeared on our coins in 1864 and on paper currency since 1957. These words reflect the thoughts of several verses from the Bible, such as “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” [Psalm 118:8], “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust.” [Psalm 40:4], and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” [Proverbs 3:5-6]

Pledge of Allegiance  And in our pledge of allegiance to the flag we say, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God [added in 1954 on Flag Day], indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  

And on July 20, 1956, the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag was adopted as the National Motto of the United States by a joint resolution of Congress. And by being made the National Motto, it became the established guiding principle of our nation. It symbolizes the fact that we are a people who are to live out our citizenship under the laws of the land and live out our faith under the divine guidance and jurisdiction of almighty God.   

Under God    One nation, under God, means that God is in charge. God is in command. It means we are to live out our lives in obedience to our Creator and Redeemer.

God’s Rule  This belief is reflected in our morning scripture from Psalm 33. This psalm was a hymn intended to praise God and was used primarily for the choral part of the temple ceremonies.    

In verses 8 and 12, we read, “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him”   And, “Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” [33:12]    At the time the psalmist lived, most nations worshiped many gods.  Shrines to these gods dotted the landscape.  It was a goal of the prophets and the psalmists to remind Israel to only worship Yahweh.   Here the psalmist is speaking of God’s rule in the earth.  He proclaims that the Lord is the master of history. The nation whose people live under his authority and governance is happy or blessed.  

Freedom from Pharaoh One of the most dramatic and well known struggles for freedom took place when the Israelites were delivered from over four hundred years of slavery in Egypt. In Deuteronomy we find one of the great celebrations of freedom in the Bible. "The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”    

(Deuteronomy 26:8-9 NIV)  Yes, God freed the Israelites from Pharaoh’s power and gave them a new life in the Promised Land.

But their freedom from Pharaoh did not give them permission to do as they pleased for God had not only freed them from servitude, he gave them the Ten Commandments as guides and boundaries to their words and actions.

Jesus and Freedom  In our morning Gospel reading from John, Jesus says that all of us are slaves to sin and that he will free us from its power. How? By dying for our sins on the Cross. By paying the penalty our sins deserved. Paul wrote that our freedom was bought with a price [1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23]. But it was not to give us freedom to do or say anything we wanted. Instead it was the freedom for us to surrender our lives to a higher power. It was the freedom to serve God instead of Satan.

Rev. Phillips Brooks, who wrote the words to the beloved Christmas hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” made the observation that , “No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man.”

Paul tells us that we who were once slaves of sin are now slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from our hearts. [1 Corinthians 7:22, Ephesians 6:6] Slaves of Christ means

Christ is our king and we are the citizens of his kingdom. We are called to serve him in every aspect of our lives.

Free Will   As Christians we not only live in the land of the free, and not only has God freed us from the power of sin and death, he has created us with free will. Such free will gives us the power to make choices as to whom we will serve in life. Everyday we struggle between good and evil. By the choices we make, by the words we speak, and by the actions we take, we reveal to everyone around us who or what we freely serve. If we love power, we will dedicate our lives to obtaining it. If we desire money over anything else, we will be slaves to our possessions and bank accounts. And we will end up as slaves of worldly powers instead of servants of Christ. Joshua put it well when he said “Choose ye this day whom ye shall serve.”

Fireworks   So as we watch the fireworks and parades, and as we eat food and play games, and as we get together with our loved ones, let us remember that “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought. Amen

Psalm 33:1-12 NRSV

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.

   Praise befits the upright.

Praise the Lord with the lyre;

   make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.

Sing to him a new song;

   play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

For the word of the Lord is upright,

   and all his work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice;

   the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

   and all their host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;

   he put the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

   let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

For he spoke, and it came to be;

   he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

   he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,

   the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,

   the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

Galatians 5:1, 13-14 NRSV

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

The second freedom is found in Paul’s letter to Galatia in which he said, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” Set us free from what? Bondage and slavery to sin and death.

 

"Final Thoughts

As we participate in picnics and family reunions on this Independence Day weekend, let us remember two things:

1. We live in the greatest nation on earth; and,

2. God asks us to live under his divine jurisdiction in everything we do.

May all that we do and say, be it at home with our family, at school with our classmates, or at work with our co-workers be a witness to God’s divine Lordship in our life.  

One person observed:

       The freedom to fly is related to the string. The very thing that holds the kite to earth is what keeps it in the sky. Cut the string, and what will happen to the kite? It will fall. But the string, which seems to bind it, allows it to fly. In like manner, the Law which seems to bind us allows us the freedom to fly.

The words of "The Star-Spangled Banner" were written by Francis Scott Key on Sept. 14, 1814, inspired by the sight of the U.S. flag at Fort McHenry withstanding a nightlong bombardment from an offshore British warship. He indicated that the words were to be sung to the Anacreontic song, a melody he had used 9 years earlier for another poem. "The Star-Spangled Banner" attained popularity quickly but was no more prominent as a patriotic air than "Yankee Doodle" or "Hail Columbia." During the Civil War it was adopted informally as an anthem by the Union Army, and it was adopted officially by the U.S. Army during World War I. It did not become the U.S. national anthem, however, until signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on Mar. 3, 1931.
Conflict with State  One problem arises when our lives under the Lordship of Christ comes into conflict with the law of the state.  John Calvin had this to say on the subject:

“In the obedience which we have shown to be due to the authority of governors, it is always necessary to make one exception, and that is entitled to our first attention, that it does not seduce us from obedience to him, to whose will the desires of all kings ought to be subject, to whose decrees all their commands ought to yield, to whose majesty all their sceptres ought to submit.” [ Institutes of the Christian Religion , Book IV, Chapter XX, Section 32, pp. 804-805.]

Calvin is saying that although we are to abide by the laws of the state, Christ is our ultimate Lord and King in all aspects of life.  So what happens when a civil law is contrary to God’s law?  

Calvin leaves no doubt as to his opinion: if the state commands anything against God, follow God and ignore the state.  This is, of course, civil disobedience.   

The question, then, is this: “Can we, or should we, separate our involvement in the political arenas of life from any thought of God?”  The answer is absolutely “No.”  Yet far too many times we try to keep our faith in Christ separate from our actions in the work place or from the laws of government.  It is up to us to meet every situation as a disciple serving under the King of all kings, Jesus the Christ.

Giving Unto Caesar

Jesus said “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” [Matthew 22:21]   When he said that they should give to Caesar his due, it should be remembered that since 6 A.D., Rome had imposed a head tax of about twenty-five cents for each of the citizens of Judea.  The coin, or denarius, that was used bore the likeness of Tiberius Caesar.   As such, it was considered to be Caesar’s private property and rightly due him.   Governments were seen as instruments by which God brought order to diverse peoples living together.  

However, Jesus also said that they were to render unto God the things that are God’s.  This means that if the authority granted to secular governments is misused, then God’s rule must prevail.  

 

But why go to all this fuss and bother? We do this every year. What’s the point? The point is simple: it is to remember and celebrate the time in our history when we obtained our freedom from the rule of Great Britain.

 Freedom  Isn’t that a great word? We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave! This freedom is aptly captured in these words by Emma Lazarus, inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty.

 

 

Yearning to Breathe Free “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” [ The New Colossus , 1883, Emma Lazarus, Inscribed in 1903 on base of the Statue of Liberty]   

These thoughts capture the essence of the quest for freedom on the part of thousands of our immigrant ancestors. They came to America in the quest for freedom. Freedom to worship, freedom from oppression, freedom from want, freedom from fear. This land was, for many of our ancestors, the biblical land of Milk and Honey.

In addition to celebrating our independence, it will be a day of giving thanks to God for this land and acknowledging the fact that we live out our freedom under the governance of God. We find that fact echoed in many ways.

The Bible However, there are equally inspiring stories of freedom in a document even greater than the Declaration of Independence - the Holy Bible.

Limits to our Freedom  However, freedom of any kind has limits. It never permits us to do as we please. When our founding fathers won their freedom from British rule, they immediately adopted the Constitution as the laws under which all men and women would live out their freedom. In like manner, when we accept the freedom Christ won for us, we also agree to live out our freedom by abiding by the laws of God.