This week we celebrate our nation’s independence. The Fourth of July is a birthday of a great idea - not merely the idea of independence, not merely the idea of the rights of the people, but a profoundly idealistic and profoundly influential charter of liberty and freedom. What a gift to be able to pray and worship without being persecuted or arrested. But we also know that we still need to pray that our freedoms may be protected and preserved.
As we gather as family, neighborhood, community, and nation to celebrate this day remembering the profound freedom that our nation’s ancestors signed with their lives, we also gather each Sunday as a community of believers in Jesus Christ, the true giver of freedom. Jesus laid down his life that we may be liberated from the slavery of sin, and through His resurrection He opened the gates of heaven. Let us not forget the first and great giver of liberty and freedom - Jesus Christ.
As you celebrate the Fourth of July, Fr. Malcolm and I will be on vacation paying our respects to our presidents at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.
