This past week I spent a good bit of time writing a sermon based upon our Epistle and Gospel
readings. All in all, I don’t think it was a bad little country sermon. In it I scratched my head, dug in
and took on the whole topic of faith, healing prayer, and the enigma of Paul’s thorn in the flesh, in
which his prayer was answered in a little different way than he expected. I summarized all of this with
some very basic principles of healing prayer, emphasizing that we’re called to exercise faith and
persistence in prayer, believing that the Lord in his love and faithfulness can and will bring us
healing. And that it’s ultimately the Lord who makes the decision as to whether the answer will be
“yes,” “wait,” or “OK, but the answer may not look exactly like the one you were looking for.”
Well, I’m not going to preach that sermon this morning. (Or, arguably, perhaps I just did!)
Yesterday I felt led to write another one instead. So you have my permission to use the sermon
outline in your bulletin as a paper airplane or a fooseball if you feel so led. Just please don’t do it
during the sermon. Because this morning I’d like to say a few words about something that I think is
also pretty important. The Lord laid on my heart over the past few days some thoughts about
Independence Day and what it means.
I’d like to start by observing that people have sometimes felt a little hesitant to mix patriotism with our
beloved Christian faith. And in many ways these concerns are well-founded. Perhaps too many
people and too many nations in the world have been a little too eager to assume that God is right on
board with whatever agenda they promote. And that their enemies are also God’s enemies. This
may not only be a polarizing thing, but at its worst it can also seriously misrepresent the very God we
invoke. We should be humble, introspective and very careful before making the claim that Bob
Dylan once confronted in his blistering song, “With God on Our Side.” There is a very real danger
of mixing politics and religion.
But having said that, I also happen to believe that all good things come ultimately from God. And on
July 4, 1776, something happened that is very good indeed. That something is a large part of the
reason that you and I are here in this room this morning with the freedom to worship God the Father,
and to freely celebrate the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. There are many places in the world in
which the words we routinely say in this service of Holy Eucharist could lead to arrest and
imprisonment. I’ll be talking some more about that next week.
Now, the fathers and mothers of this nation certainly weren’t perfect people, and should never be
the subject of our idolatry. But I believe that God gave them the wisdom to recognize that freedom
to worship is a fundamental human right, and this in turn gives glory to God. Last week we ventured
that good theology is a good and important thing. And good theology ties in with something very
central to the holiday we celebrated yesterday.
This something is called freedom to worship. Not only does its glorify God to ensure that people are
free to worship him, but it glorifies God to recognize who he made us to be. And who he made us to
be is people created in his own image, and therefore worthy of the dignity that that freedom
promotes. The Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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. That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed…” Rarely in human history, I think, has there been a document that so beautifully and
eloquently captures the God-given imperative for freedom, and for the idea that we have the right to
choose those with the responsibility for governing us.
For us there are three areas of responsibility that ensue from this. These can be summarized with
the three words participate, protect, and pray. First, we need to participate. Through the work of
the founding fathers and mothers of this country we choose those who govern us. I personally was
encouraged by the level of enthusiasm during our national elections this past fall. Whatever one’s
feelings are about the outcome, it seems to me that as a country we were moved to wake up and
pay attention to what’s going on around us. I pray that we never go back to sleep. Taking our
freedoms and our way of government for granted could have very, very bad effects on the future of
our country. It really is our active participation in our government through voting, volunteering, and
serving that, in turn, secures the very rights that make these things possible.
This is what brings us to the second responsibility, and that is to protect what the founders of our
country secured for us. This morning I received an email with the text of a message sent by the
Episcopal Bishop of Albany, New York, to the people of his Diocese. I’d like to read an excerpt from
Bishop Love’s letter now. He writes: “One of the greatest tragedies facing our country, is that far too
many Americans fail to realize and appreciate how truly blessed we are in the United States with
freedoms and opportunities that much of the rest of the world can only dream of. Two of the
greatest freedoms we have enjoyed, at least until now, are the freedom of speech and the freedom
of religion.
“Unfortunately in recent years, both have come under attack and could be taken from us (under the
guise of justice or protection) if we are not careful. While separation of Church and State is
important in that the government should not dictate or control our worship of God, I don’t believe our
Founding Fathers ever intended for the current interpretations that are so prevalent amongst many
of our judges and legislative bodies that have in many cases outlawed any reference to God in
public gatherings or proceedings.
“While God has greatly blessed this nation and its people, He can withhold His blessing if we fail to
acknowledge and give thanks to Him and seek His guidance in discerning how best to govern and
exercise proper stewardship over that which has been entrusted to our care. We have only to look
in Holy Scripture to see what can happen to a nation, when God withholds His blessing in response
to the rejection of God by the nation’s people. I pray that we will truly be that which we proclaim:
‘One nation under God.’”
Perhaps one way to very briefly frame the freedom of religion guarantee is to simply remember what
preposition we use. Our forebears were aiming to guarantee freedom of religion, not freedom from
religion. As we participate in our participatory form of government, I hope that this is something we
will all remember, especially in a time in which anti-religious sentiment is being stoked by people who
hope to benefit as a result.
Finally, we need to pray. And I’m certainly not talking about just praying for our own country. I think
that as Christians we need to have a much larger vision than this.
Next week we’re going to take a look at persecution of Christians around the world. In the relative
comfort of our freedom it’s all too easy to forget about our Christian brothers and sisters who pay
dearly, simply for believing the good news of Jesus. As they’re pressured to “bend the knee to
Caesar” and deny our Lord, they can use all the help they can get from us, both in terms of moral
support and prayer support. So I encourage us all to make prayer for the persecuted church a
regular part of our daily prayer time.
And of course, we need to pray for our own nation, the United States of America.
Our freedoms didn’t come easily in the first place, and their protection hasn’t always been an easy
thing. The procession of the flags this morning by two of our veterans stands as a reminder that
many people paid dearly for the freedoms we enjoy here and now. I personally believe that the
inspiration for our form of government and the freedoms it promotes came from God Himself, and I
thank Him for it, as I know you do, too.
When I was a young boy back in a small Iowa town, something created a wonderful memory that’s
stayed with me ever since. After a fun evening of sparklers, snakes and other fireworks, my brother
and I had courageously decided to sleep in the family tent in the back yard. It had been one of
those warm, humid nights some of you who’ve lived in the Midwest might recall. I remember the
smell of the canvas tent and the sound of birds singing shortly after dawn. But then came a sound
that I found, and still find magical. It was the sound of church bells from all around town, welcoming
the first light of Independence Day. To this day, rarely does July 4th come around when I don’t drift
back to that morning in Decorah, Iowa. It’s a reminder of a simpler time, but more importantly it’
s a reminder that the inspiration for our freedom came from God Himself.
May we never forget to pray for those who don’t have the privilege of sharing in that freedom. And
may the bells of freedom ring for a long, long time to come in our beloved homeland. Amen.
readings. All in all, I don’t think it was a bad little country sermon. In it I scratched my head, dug in
and took on the whole topic of faith, healing prayer, and the enigma of Paul’s thorn in the flesh, in
which his prayer was answered in a little different way than he expected. I summarized all of this with
some very basic principles of healing prayer, emphasizing that we’re called to exercise faith and
persistence in prayer, believing that the Lord in his love and faithfulness can and will bring us
healing. And that it’s ultimately the Lord who makes the decision as to whether the answer will be
“yes,” “wait,” or “OK, but the answer may not look exactly like the one you were looking for.”
Well, I’m not going to preach that sermon this morning. (Or, arguably, perhaps I just did!)
Yesterday I felt led to write another one instead. So you have my permission to use the sermon
outline in your bulletin as a paper airplane or a fooseball if you feel so led. Just please don’t do it
during the sermon. Because this morning I’d like to say a few words about something that I think is
also pretty important. The Lord laid on my heart over the past few days some thoughts about
Independence Day and what it means.
I’d like to start by observing that people have sometimes felt a little hesitant to mix patriotism with our
beloved Christian faith. And in many ways these concerns are well-founded. Perhaps too many
people and too many nations in the world have been a little too eager to assume that God is right on
board with whatever agenda they promote. And that their enemies are also God’s enemies. This
may not only be a polarizing thing, but at its worst it can also seriously misrepresent the very God we
invoke. We should be humble, introspective and very careful before making the claim that Bob
Dylan once confronted in his blistering song, “With God on Our Side.” There is a very real danger
of mixing politics and religion.
But having said that, I also happen to believe that all good things come ultimately from God. And on
July 4, 1776, something happened that is very good indeed. That something is a large part of the
reason that you and I are here in this room this morning with the freedom to worship God the Father,
and to freely celebrate the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. There are many places in the world in
which the words we routinely say in this service of Holy Eucharist could lead to arrest and
imprisonment. I’ll be talking some more about that next week.
Now, the fathers and mothers of this nation certainly weren’t perfect people, and should never be
the subject of our idolatry. But I believe that God gave them the wisdom to recognize that freedom
to worship is a fundamental human right, and this in turn gives glory to God. Last week we ventured
that good theology is a good and important thing. And good theology ties in with something very
central to the holiday we celebrated yesterday.
This something is called freedom to worship. Not only does its glorify God to ensure that people are
free to worship him, but it glorifies God to recognize who he made us to be. And who he made us to
be is people created in his own image, and therefore worthy of the dignity that that freedom
promotes. The Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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. That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed…” Rarely in human history, I think, has there been a document that so beautifully and
eloquently captures the God-given imperative for freedom, and for the idea that we have the right to
choose those with the responsibility for governing us.
For us there are three areas of responsibility that ensue from this. These can be summarized with
the three words participate, protect, and pray. First, we need to participate. Through the work of
the founding fathers and mothers of this country we choose those who govern us. I personally was
encouraged by the level of enthusiasm during our national elections this past fall. Whatever one’s
feelings are about the outcome, it seems to me that as a country we were moved to wake up and
pay attention to what’s going on around us. I pray that we never go back to sleep. Taking our
freedoms and our way of government for granted could have very, very bad effects on the future of
our country. It really is our active participation in our government through voting, volunteering, and
serving that, in turn, secures the very rights that make these things possible.
This is what brings us to the second responsibility, and that is to protect what the founders of our
country secured for us. This morning I received an email with the text of a message sent by the
Episcopal Bishop of Albany, New York, to the people of his Diocese. I’d like to read an excerpt from
Bishop Love’s letter now. He writes: “One of the greatest tragedies facing our country, is that far too
many Americans fail to realize and appreciate how truly blessed we are in the United States with
freedoms and opportunities that much of the rest of the world can only dream of. Two of the
greatest freedoms we have enjoyed, at least until now, are the freedom of speech and the freedom
of religion.
“Unfortunately in recent years, both have come under attack and could be taken from us (under the
guise of justice or protection) if we are not careful. While separation of Church and State is
important in that the government should not dictate or control our worship of God, I don’t believe our
Founding Fathers ever intended for the current interpretations that are so prevalent amongst many
of our judges and legislative bodies that have in many cases outlawed any reference to God in
public gatherings or proceedings.
“While God has greatly blessed this nation and its people, He can withhold His blessing if we fail to
acknowledge and give thanks to Him and seek His guidance in discerning how best to govern and
exercise proper stewardship over that which has been entrusted to our care. We have only to look
in Holy Scripture to see what can happen to a nation, when God withholds His blessing in response
to the rejection of God by the nation’s people. I pray that we will truly be that which we proclaim:
‘One nation under God.’”
Perhaps one way to very briefly frame the freedom of religion guarantee is to simply remember what
preposition we use. Our forebears were aiming to guarantee freedom of religion, not freedom from
religion. As we participate in our participatory form of government, I hope that this is something we
will all remember, especially in a time in which anti-religious sentiment is being stoked by people who
hope to benefit as a result.
Finally, we need to pray. And I’m certainly not talking about just praying for our own country. I think
that as Christians we need to have a much larger vision than this.
Next week we’re going to take a look at persecution of Christians around the world. In the relative
comfort of our freedom it’s all too easy to forget about our Christian brothers and sisters who pay
dearly, simply for believing the good news of Jesus. As they’re pressured to “bend the knee to
Caesar” and deny our Lord, they can use all the help they can get from us, both in terms of moral
support and prayer support. So I encourage us all to make prayer for the persecuted church a
regular part of our daily prayer time.
And of course, we need to pray for our own nation, the United States of America.
Our freedoms didn’t come easily in the first place, and their protection hasn’t always been an easy
thing. The procession of the flags this morning by two of our veterans stands as a reminder that
many people paid dearly for the freedoms we enjoy here and now. I personally believe that the
inspiration for our form of government and the freedoms it promotes came from God Himself, and I
thank Him for it, as I know you do, too.
When I was a young boy back in a small Iowa town, something created a wonderful memory that’s
stayed with me ever since. After a fun evening of sparklers, snakes and other fireworks, my brother
and I had courageously decided to sleep in the family tent in the back yard. It had been one of
those warm, humid nights some of you who’ve lived in the Midwest might recall. I remember the
smell of the canvas tent and the sound of birds singing shortly after dawn. But then came a sound
that I found, and still find magical. It was the sound of church bells from all around town, welcoming
the first light of Independence Day. To this day, rarely does July 4th come around when I don’t drift
back to that morning in Decorah, Iowa. It’s a reminder of a simpler time, but more importantly it’
s a reminder that the inspiration for our freedom came from God Himself.
May we never forget to pray for those who don’t have the privilege of sharing in that freedom. And
may the bells of freedom ring for a long, long time to come in our beloved homeland. Amen.
The Bells of Freedom
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, 3009
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, 3009
July 5, 2009
The Rev. Daniel Tuton
The Rev. Daniel Tuton
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