July 4

 A pause before we continue looking at what Bible women and men can teach us in this Season of Pentecost.

Let us remember that for 249 years, the United States of America has worked to improve the rights and lives of residents and foreigners within our borders and beyond. Let us not lose that hope just because a few politicians and malcontents want to divide our focus.

As the song says, God bless America 

Fourth of July

 Happy Fourth of July. Here’s to the birthday of our country and the courage of the men who risked their all. They took a bold step in proclaiming independence from England. It was not undertaken lightly and it is our duty to continue to uphold the truths 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.” The writers of the Declaration may have limited their scope of ‘men’ to free and white and male because they were products of the 18^th Century. Our call is to enlarge that promise to include all humans no matter color, creed, or gender.

As it says in the last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, the action of the Declaration was done “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

We have a ways to go before the dream of the Founding Fathers is truth, but we can work each day for equity and justice. We can work to elect honest, forward-looking leaders who will work for the good of all. And we can do our part in creating “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Fourth of July 2023

 We’ll take a brief break from the Psalms today because Tuesday is the Fourth of July.

Even, and perhaps esp., with the differences and divisions around the country today, it’s important to remember the dream that started this country. And it’s important to remember that it was not smooth sailing. We started out dividing from England. Even then, all the representatives and signers were not in total agreement about the need for such a radical step. There was wrangling about the wording and meaning of the Declaration of Independence, and later about the Constitution.

In the creation of any new ministry or endeavor or country, we bring our own ideas and wounds to the table. In other words, we bring our Sacred Story. For something new to be created, it is helpful to hear one another and acknowledge their reasoning and hopes and fears. Our Sacred Story makes us who we are—individuals, prized and beloved by God.

It is easy to insist that ‘my way’ is the best and only way and that I am right 100% of the time. Unfortunately, that’s not true and others may have equally good ideas or even better ways of going about a project. Really pausing to listen to someone’s Sacred Story makes a difference.

When we listen, we start to see our neighbors as God’s co-workers, rather than with the negative spin so many media stories insist on inserting. Each of us wants what is best for our families, our children, and ourselves. Too often, we think it should be done to meet all our demands, without considering the rights and needs of others.

The Gospel for July 4 is Matthew 5:43-48. Jesus stresses the importance of loving everyone. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

It's not always easy to love in that way. It’s harder to take the time to listen and get to know someone than it is to judge by outward appearance. It’s what we are called to do.

Open our eyes, Loving God, to see your image in each person we meet.

Open our ears, Holy One, to find time to hear the hurt or fear beneath the rhetoric.

Open our hearts, Spirit of God, to develop compassion and love
even for those we disagree strongly with.

Open our spirits, Living One, to be open to new paths of hope and love.

Fourth of July 2020

It’s the Fourth of July weekend. There will be fireworks. In fact, there have been fireworks going off in my neighborhood for a couple months. They have steadily gotten louder and more frequent as July 4 approached. 

There will not be as many public fireworks extravaganzas as in years past. Some cities are setting up special locations where you can gather to set off your fireworks. In my home town, there will be four smaller fireworks locations instead of the big one with thousands of people.
I’m sure families will gather. There will be those who travel, as always, to enjoy the holiday in national parks or lakes. Others will stay quietly at home.
No matter how we remember the day, let’s not forget the reason for the sparklers, rockets, and explosions in the sky. We are celebrating the birthday of our nation. A nation we all love, for a variety of reasons.
We honor the opportunities our freedom offers, even as we acknowledge that not everyone has equal access to those opportunities.

We honor our natural resources and the beauty of the land, even while weighing how to preserve that beauty and benefit from the wealth beneath it.

We honor our diversity which has enriched our common life, even though we may struggle with how to welcome new citizens.

We honor our various freedoms of speech, religion, and all the others, even when we don’t agree with the viewpoints expressed by everyone around us.

Let us also honor one another for the talents and strengths each of us can offer to the recreating of lifestyle in light of the COVID19 and BLM and political turmoil. Let us work together for the good of all. Let us love the image of God in each other. Let us listen to one another. Let us be a new people as we move forward.

Let’s become a people who can truthfully say what our pledge of allegiance states “one nation, under God, with Liberty and Justice for ALL.”
Happy Fourth of July. 

Fourth of July 2015

This Fourth of July I am struck by the changes I’ve witnessed in the nation over my life. ‘One nation under God’ was taken for granted when I was little. It would seem that’s not the truth now.

I pray for a new birth of unity to sweep across this country. The 4^th of July should remind us that we are unique in our creation as a nation. A bunch of dissatisfied colonials, who dreamed of a place where they could live and govern themselves rather than being subject to the rules of a king 100s of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean, formed a government and fought for their ‘lives liberty and sacred honor’. 

The ‘land of the free and home of the brave’ is not just a verse in a song, it’s something we have held close to our hearts through the 239 years of history.

Let us pray for guidance of God in our lives, cities, states, and country to heal the hurts and to find common ground to move forward together-not as red and blue state, not as black or white, not gay or straight, but as Americans.

Isaiah's call to the people of Israel, so many centuries ago should be our clarion call as well.  

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
   to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
   and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
   to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
   they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
   the devastations of many generations.

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
   foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
but you shall be called priests of the Lord,
   you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
   and in their riches you shall glory.
Because their shame was double,
   and dishonour was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore they shall possess a double portion;
   everlasting joy shall be theirs.

For I the Lord love justice,
   I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
   and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
   and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
   that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
   my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
   he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
   and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
   and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
   to spring up before all the nations.

God Bless the USA. 

Fourth of July 2010

Happy Birthday USA.

Whenever I hear the National Anthem I get an image in my mind of Francis Scott Key, essentially a prisoner on a British frigate during the bombardment of Ft. McHenry while the British were attacking Baltimore during the War of 1812. Key was on board HMS Tonnant negotiating the release of some American prisoners of war. Although ‘officially’ he was guest of the commanding officers, Key and the Prisoner Exchange Agent, Col. John Skinner, were not allowed to return to their own boat because of the imminent attack.

Watching the bombardment and wondering at the outcome, Key was inspired to write the lines we know so well. We hear them at the beginning of every sporting event, but I wonder how often we stop and think about the origin and meaning.

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

History shows that America won the War of 1812—fought over trading rights and against the ‘pressing’ of Americans into service in the British Navy (essentially a form of kidnapping and forced service). The victory solidified feelings of national pride and at the same time resulted in good relations with Britain. The song itself wasn’t accepted as the National Anthem until 1931!

Probably Francis Scott Key did not think of Psalm 37 at all, but verses 12-15 certainly could have applied to his situation: “The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them; but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.”

There are 3 other verses to the Anthem. The middle two are rarely heard* (they are heavy with an undercurrent of anti-British sentiment), but sometimes the last verse is sung. It is a reminder that indeed “In God is our trust”.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

This Fourth of July may we indeed remember Who we must to look to for guidance. The “Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us a nation” is the same “LORD who laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.” It is easy to become prideful and forget that we, as a people of God, are charged to act responsibly in this “land of the free and home of the brave.”

Have a safe and happy celebration. Next week we will walk with Naomi who learns that God waits until we are ready to ‘let go and let God’.

*On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.