Freedom

Happy July 4!! Happy Independence Day!

So what is liberty? What is freedom? (Have y’all noticed that sometimes I like to lead with the hard questions!) I think a lot—most?—of our political divisions are disagreements about what those central concepts mean. AND I also think that most people would agree on the most important parts. History is history; how we interpret it and the events we decide are important—well, that’s up for debate! I say that as someone with a graduate degree in history. Again, “history” becomes a source of disagreement. This July 4 we’ll be celebrating 249 years of our Declaration of Independence, and the grand experiment that became our United States. So, given that history, what is liberty? What is freedom?

When I was a lot younger, when Walter Cronkite was still on the news (yes, I’m older than I look), and there wasn’t cable news, it seemed like there was no drama around our nation’s ideals. I know that wouldn’t have been true for African Americans or women. But I don’t remember the kind of name calling from our national leaders that seems to be out there today. So what is liberty?? Last week, St. Paul in our Galatians 5 reading said that “For freedom, Christ has set you free” (Gal. 5:1). He goes on to say that this freedom is not a selfish thing, but rather we are freed spiritually, emotionally, and mentally to serve others. This freedom transcended all earthly distinctions—“there is no longer Jew nor gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). How do we apply that spiritual definition of liberty and freedom to our political and social lives??

Ideals are easy to have. Living them out?—well, the devil (!) is in the details! I don’t want us to lose sight of how our Christian ideals can intersect with our nation’s founding ideals. What if we started there with those who disagree with us politically? The optimist in me believes that there is a LOT of common ground to be found there. We can’t achieve the common good without letting go somewhat and serving others.

Peace,

Pr. Christian