4^th of July, 2016.

Today, this nation celebrates its 240th birthday, the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. The fourth of July is a day of parades, political speeches, fireworks and back yard barbecues. But most of all it is a day of celebrating the Independence; an independence which was won and is maintained by the sacrifice of many lives. We are celebrating an Independence that is not Absolute. Adam, the first man, thought that he had Absolute Independence and we are still suffering from the effects of it. Only God has Absolute Independence.

Our Independence is rooted in our Dependence on God. We are contingent, dependent beings. An independent creature is an intrinsic impossibility. Not even God can create an intrinsic impossibility. God can create a square and God can create a circle but not even God can create a squared circle. It is an intrinsic impossibility. That is why the First Commandment is also the greatest Commandment. Only if we are completely dependent on God can we enjoy freedom. Either we are dependent on God or we will be dependent on some creature.

This dependence on God is clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence. It begins like this, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights…”

This nation was founded on belief in God. The President takes his oath of office by placing his hand on the Bible, and ends with, “So help me God.” In the  pledge of allegiance one says, “One nation under God.” Engraved on the money is “In God we trust.” 

 The Founding Fathers may have opted for a separation of Church and state but not for a separation of God and state. There is no brotherhood of man without the Fatherhood of God. The division of life into the sacred and the secular is a false dichotomy.

What the Constitution guarantees is not freedom FROM religion but freedom OF religion, freedom to practice religion. The irony, the contradiction, is that those who are pushing for freedom FROM religion are actually pushing THEIR OWN RELIGION, which is secular humanism.

Now a days we find ourselves in a difficult place with how American values interact with our faith.  Liberty or independence can sometimes devolve into license, and becomes the freedom to be able to do what I want.  Sometimes the things that we profess as part of our faith seem to be at odds with freedom or independence. 

Rather than being independent, therefore, we become overly dependent on ourselves!  Rather than being free, we’re caught in the shackles of our own pride and selfishness!

It’s being dependent on God where we find ourselves most independent.  It’s not necessarily the freedom to do what we want, but it is the true freedom to be able to do what we ought.  It is the freedom to do as we’ve been shown by Christ, the freedom to love others freely and without reservation.  So while we celebrate the independence as a nation, let’s see how dependent we are on God.  Where do we turn when we find ourselves in difficult times?  In the gospel we find the woman with hemorrhage trusted many doctors but she could not get freedom from her sickness, but when she finally turned to Jesus she was free from the trouble of 12 years. Following her example let’s place ourselves and the nation in faith in Jesus’ hands so that he may free us from everything that leads us to bondage and serfdom.