If we are experiencing sweltering heat, and people have skipped church and headed to the "rivah;" and if the smell of charcoal grills and the sound of fireworks are in the air, it must be Independence Day. Today marks our unique American holiday founded on the principle of freedom for all.
When we Americans speak of freedom, we remember from the eighteenth century, the independence we gained as a nation when we broke free from Great Britain. We recall from the nineteenth century, the emancipation of slaves following the Civil War. We remember from the middle of the twentieth century how we fought to keep the world free for democracy. But if you ask Americans living at the end of the twentieth century to share their ideas about freedom, I think most people will speak in terms of individual rights. Today, people seem most concerned about personal constraints. All of us want to be free to pursue happiness and a life of our own choosing, but many naively as to state that people ought to be free to do whatever they please.
We know it is not that simple. We are quickly reminded that people cannot simply do whatever they want, when we consider a few of the controversial questions of freedom with which our nation struggles. Should women be free to have an abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy? Should people be free to buy semi-automatic weapons? Should people be free to burn the American flag in protest? Should people be free to wear white hoods and burn a cross? Should gay couples be free to get married? Should people be free to smoke wherever they wish?
These questions remind us that we are not separate entities whose actions are independent of one another. The actions of each of us have impacts on others. Thus, we strive to find the best balance possible between personal freedom and the rights of others.
Questions of freedom did not simply arise in the political and social arenas. Freedom is an integral part of our religious heritage. Indeed, freedom is at the core of both the Jewish and Christian faiths. Most biblical scholars agree that the Hebrew people's initial awareness of God was in their liberation from slavery. They were held captive in Egypt where they labored under rigid and sometimes cruel masters. But through the leadership of Moses, God led the people out of their bondage and into their own land where they were free. Free not only to determine their own destiny, but more importantly, free to worship the one true God of the universe. This is so basic to Judaism, that the first of the Ten Commandments begins like this: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me." At the core of Judaism is the belief that through Moses, God liberated the people from a foreign nation.
Similarly, at the core of Christianity is the belief that through Christ, God liberates people from sin and death. Not only can people be slaves of earthly masters, but we can also be slaves of the power of sin and the fear of death. These two things can crush our lives, but the God of the Bible seeks to liberate us from their dominance.
In this morning's passage from the Letter to the Galatians, Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Paul is informing his readers that all of us, at times, have become enslaved by the power of sin. That is, we are vulnerable to being dominated by an overriding passion or a destructive habit or a poisonous emotion. But he wants us to know that Christ has broken sin's power so that we are no longer in bondage to it. Paul is not saying that Christ destroyed sin. It is still very much alive in the world. What Paul is saying is that Christ broke sin's stranglehold on us so that we are no longer compelled to act in destructive ways. We do not have to live at odds with God and God's desire for our lives. We can choose to do that, but we are not compelled to do it. Christ has set us free, so that we might live in freedom.
But what does such freedom entail? It is not simply freedom to do as we please without regard for its effect on ourselves or others or God's creation. Authentic Christian freedom always takes into account the impact of our actions. There are always consequences, there are always repercussions. The questions is: Will our actions and attitudes build up or will they tear down?
The answer depends on what standards we choose to follow. We can follow the mores of Hollywood or we can follow the witness of Scripture. We can live by the ethics of Wall Street or we can live by the teachings of Christ. We are free to choose.
But Paul wants us to make the right choice, and so he makes it clear to his readers that Christian freedom is not inward looking. It is not self-serving. He writes, "For you were called to freedom, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence." And then Paul says, "The entire law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'."
Some people mistakenly believe that Paul is saying that we should not do good things for ourselves. Or that he is saying we should feel guilty for doing things which bring us happiness and pleasure. That is not true. Basic to the Christian faith is the belief that God wants us to enjoy life and to enjoy God's good creation. I don't know why some people think that Paul wants us to disregard our own needs and to only think of others, because he clearly states that we are to love others as ourselves. His warning is to self-indulgence - to focusing only on ourselves - which ultimately cuts us off from other people.
Christian freedom is the freedom to let go of destructive ways of living so that we can embrace those things which enhance our lives and the lives of others. Christian freedom means that Christ enables us to respond to others not with revenge, but with forgiveness; not with anger, but with love; not with jealousy, but with trust; not with greed, but with generosity; not with strife, but with peace; not with despair, but with hope.
A colleague tells of a time when she was helping with a ministry designed to feed the poor. It was at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City. Each day at noontime, they would distribute bag lunches to the hungry people who would assemble. For many of them, it would be their only meal of the day. Those who worked with the ministry, always prepared 150 lunches which were handed out on a first come, first served basis. The hungry would usually begin gathering around 11:00 in the morning, and they would stand in line to receive their bag lunch. At noon, the workers would open the doors, and they would begin handing out the lunches until they were all gone. Barbara Crafton was handing out the last few bags. She handed out a bag to the 148th person, the 149th, and then the last bag to the 150th person in line. Number 151 looked at her as if to say, "Oh well, not my lucky day." She said, "I'm very sorry. That's all of them." And then number 150, the last man to get a bag, pulled out his sandwich and held out half of it to number 151. The man took it, and they walked off together. They had practically nothing, yet they shared it.(1)
In a few minutes, we will share the Lord's Supper. We will take Christ into ourselves so that we can be set free - free from the power of sin and free from the fear of death, so that we can be free to live as Christ lived, and free to love as he loved.
NOTES
1. From a sermon by Barbara Crafton entitled, "A Little Refreshment. A Little Comfort," preached on the Protestant Hour on July 7, 1996.
© 1999 Dr. Gregory Knox Jones, all rights reserved