July 4, 2024

Today is the Fourth of July. Knowing that I would write for today, my thoughts over the past days, even weeks, have centered around freedom and the nature of freedom in the United States. For years I lived within a subway and ferry ride from the Statue of Liberty, on which the words are inscribed “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to be free.”  

The relative freedom many have in this country, including yours truly, contain benefits, even blessings, that are not to be taken lightly. They merit both gratitude and celebration. Whether in Boston Massachusetts, on the shores of Normandy in France, on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma AL, or at the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village, people believed in, fought for, and sacrificed their lives for freedom. Yet in these days and times I confess to some melancholy when I consider, if you will, the state of freedom in the United States.  The notion of freedom has been distorted by the sense of individualism that places the rights of some over the rights of all.  Despite some valid concerns about Covid-19 vaccines, the exercise of freedom of numerous people not to vaccinate risked the well-being of everyone.  Last week Surgeon General Vivek Murthy rightly declared gun violence, now the leading cause of death in American children, a public health crisis. This crisis is due in no small part to a dogged insistence of individuals to their second amendment right to bear arms without the checks and balances of gun control measures and legislation.  And in this election year, the freedom of many, particularly persons of color, to exercise their right to vote and make their voices heard are continually subjected to attempts at voter suppression at local, state, and federal levels. Summarizing his 1993 book The Culture of Complaint on the Charlie Rose show, author Robert Hughes stated that the United States was coming apart “because people increasingly define themselves only in relation to their rights and not to civic duties.” That comment was prophetic then and now given the state of freedom in the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave.’1

Yet we are the Church are called to a different kind of freedom compared to what may be the prevailing understanding of freedom this Fourth of July. The apostle Paul declared to the church in Galatia that “for freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1 NRSVUE).” However, Paul says that individual freedom cannot be at the expense of the well-being of others. Later in the letter Paul advises the Church then and now not to “use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become enslaved to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:13c-14 NRSVUE).” Responsible freedom is at the core of who we are as the United Church of Christ, often reflected in our lives together in relationship between autonomy and covenant. Especially today, we need to remember that we are called to a different understanding of freedom. 

Biblical freedom is not only individual in scope. It is communal. The freedom to which we are called is rooted in a deeper understanding of liberation and justice. It is not just about individual rights, but about the collective liberation of all people from sin, injustice, and oppression. This means challenging systems of power and privilege that perpetuate inequality, and striving to create a world where all people are truly free. On this 4th of July, let us remember that true freedom is about autonomy and covenant, using our freedom to serve others and to work towards the UCC vision of A Just World for All. Let us celebrate the freedoms we enjoy and also recognize the work that still needs to be done to ensure that everyone can experience true liberation and justice. May Jesus, who proclaimed liberty to the captives and freedom to the oppressed, lead and guide us today and tomorrow, so that we may work for an Independence Day where true freedom reigns for all.

Let Freedom Ring,