RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: let freedom ring!

Isn't Indpendence Day such a wonderful holiday? It is one of my favorite. There is nothing like the warm evening turning to dusk. The unfolding of old balnkets upon a tall grass. Reclining back in the darkness and watching the fireworks exploding brilliantly in the heavens above. I have also found a new favorite patriotic hymn. I have heard the melody many time before, but never heard the words. Both are of the highest beauty.

Eternal Father, Strong to Save

Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep:
O Hear us when we cry to Thee for those in peril on the sea.

O Christ the Lord of hill and plain O'er which our traffic runs amain
By mountain pass or valley low: Wherever Lord our brethren go,
Protect them by Thy gaurding hand from ev'ry peril on the land.

O Spirit whom the Father sent to spread abroad the firmament:
O Wind of Heaven, by thy might save all who dare the eagles flight,
And keep them by Thy watchful care from ev'ry peril in the air.

O Trinity of love and pow'r, our brethren shield in danger's hour,
From rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them where so e'er they go.
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee glad praise from air and land and sea.
(Whiting, Spencer, & Dykes)

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Two things jumped out at me this Fourth of July.

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First, I am more committed to non-violence than ever. But I am not going to discuss that here and now. But what I do find is that the more committed to non-violence that I become, the less patriotic I am made to feel. It is as if because I do not support war, I am not a real American. It is as if being American and being violent are inseperably connected. I must confess that there have been time in my past where I think I was guilty of making others feel the way I feel now. So can a pacifist be a patriot? Martin Luther King Jr, is about the closest thing we have to an "American Saint." What made his message so powerful was his resistence to violence. I dare say no enlightened person would say the MLK is not an American,or is not patriotic. Quite the contrary. If anyone captures the very essence of an American ethic it is MLK (these excerpts are long, but worth reading on the celebration of our independence)...

"The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

"We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force....

"I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

"I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

"This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

I think this all speaks for itself.

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Second, this great country of ours has provided the church with a great model for raising fine Christian children. I know some of you might have heard this before, but I think on this occasion it bears consideration. How do we raise children to be good Americans? 1) The Pledge of Alegance, 2) The Star Spangled Banner and other American songs, 3) Holidays & celebrations, 4) American heros (not the real ones in the Budwiser commercials!!), 5) Learning our history, 6) Rites of Passage. Can you all think of any others?

Let's draw some Christian parallels:

1) The Pledge of Alegiance is used at the beginning of every school day, and the beginning of most civic meetings. The church has a Pledge of Alegiance. It is called the Creeds (Apostles' & Nicene). How often are these said? Do any of you open your Sunday School classes with it? How about meetings? How about worship????

2) The Star Spangled Banner and other American songs. We do pretty good here. We have many good Christian songs that we sing. But when was the last time you heard anyone at a sporting even complain because the National Anthem is old and outdated? How about petitions for a contemporary anthem? We would do well to retain at least some of our hymns that are powerful summaries of the Christian faith, and sing them regularly!

3) Holidays & Celebrations. On this occasion of the 4th of July, how many of you had parties? How many got together with friends and neighbors? We do it up right don't we? Cookouts, swimming, camping, picnics, games, music, and fireworks...How do we fare with Christian holidays? There is in many traditions a Christian calendar. It had seasons and holidays. We still celebrate Christmas and Easter, but usually those celebrations are just with family. Who wants to come to church on Christmas morning? How does you church celebrate the first Sunday of Advent (new years day), Christmas, Epiphany, The baptism of the Lord, Transfiguration Day, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Reformation Day, Christ the King, etc.? I went with Antonina's family to church on St Patric's Day. What a beautiful celebration! What a great model of Christian celebration!

4) Heros: How many Christian heros can you name? OK, now Subtract anyone in the Bible, and anyone who lived in the last 200 years. That leaves roughly 1800 years...now how many great Christians do you think lived that we can all learn from?

5) Learning our history -- this is vital to Americans. We have whole classes people have to take to graduate. History tells us who we are by telling us how we became who we are. What are the key dates of major events in the church...Council of Nicea, Great Schism, Reformation, John Wesley, the great holiness campmeetings, founding of the Church of the Nazarene, etc.? How will we ever know who we are if we don't know how we got here?

6) Rites of passage -- 1st day of school, graduation, voting, etc. Didn't you know we have them too: baptism, communion, confirmation, marriage, ordination...sound familiar? The SACRAMENTS (more widely defined of course). What ever happened to them?

I would propose that if we did half the job raising Christians that we do raising Americans, we would see great revival in this world and much more justice too!

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Thanks for listening to the ramblings of this procrastinator (I'm supposed to be writing a sermon now, but this has be rattling all week and this is the first chance I've had to get it out).

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

SDG,

Eric