What do they have in common?
Justice for all, forever. No exceptions.
Of course, we can debate the finer points of our national documents, and I have no need to be make the church a place of political discourse. But the commonalities between the prose that outlines who we are as Americans and who we are as Episcopalians are, to my mind, striking. Our Independence Day is about acknowledging and thanking our forebears for having the guts to stand up against oppression and our Baptismal covenant is a call to strive for justice and peace in all that we do. The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence outlined the fundamental beliefs---truths--- upon which this nation was founded.
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,— That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…
In support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
A government for the people and by the people designed to secure freedom for all. We aren’t there yet, but these are the words that drive our nation as we continue to evolve into what the founding people of this nation envisioned.
Anyone who is part of an Episcopal Church- especially anyone who has studied for confirmation or reception since 1979 and anyone who has been baptized in the church in the last 35 years, knows the beauty of the language in our Baptismal Covenant. I preach it all the time....we are, as members of this faith, as followers of God....sworn to uphold the dignity of every human being. Always. No exceptions.
In our baptismal covenant we vow to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ
We vow to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
We vow to strive for justice and peace among all people.
It is this notion, that every single human being has unalienable rights to pursue happiness, to love their God and to care for their neighbors as themselves, that connects the celebration of our country with our faith. Yes, this country was founded on Christian principles. But, and this is where so many of us get lost, those principles--by their very nature --don’t exclude others. As a matter of fact, it’s a complete misinterpretation of our foundation as a country and our foundational beliefs as Christians to think that excluding anyone from their rights as human beings, is, at anytime, ok.
It is not.
For some of you the hymn [in your bulletins] [we will sing at the offertory] [just sang] may be unfamiliar.
But, it is one of the best patriotic songs I’ve ever heard. It addresses the fundamental belief of us as Christians and us as Americans: that respecting the dignity of every human being and striving for---demanding and working to ensure---justice for all, forever isn’t just a slogan, it’s a way of life.
Sung to the tune Finlandia the hymn says this:
“This is my song, O god of ALL the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine; this is my home, the country where my heart is: here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine…O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.”
On this Independence day weekend may we all remember that our country and our faith was founded on principles of certain unalienable rights, and that we, as human beings who are bound to God through oath and vow, must, in all we do, preserve the rights of all people everywhere to live in freedom and tranquility, to be able to worship God as they understand God without fear or danger.
May we all, on this weekend of independence, remember that as long as any human being remains in bondage of any sort—in our country or in others, we cannot rest. For it is our moral and sacred duty to live out the principles of this our country and of this our faith that all people, always and forever, deserve to be free.
Amen.
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