kneading bread

kneading bread

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Freedom for the sake of the gospels - Independence Day

 It’s the Sunday after the Fourth of July. The flags are still flying. The grill marks are still fresh. The fireworks may have faded, but the smoke of history still lingers. This weekend, across this country, we celebrated independence and freedom. And rightly so. We gave thanks for liberty— for freedom of speech, for freedom to worship, for freedom to assemble and to protest and to take part in our governance. But as followers of Jesus, we must ask: What kind of freedom are we really celebrating? And how does that freedom align—or collide—with the gospel message we heard this morning? Paul, writing to the Galatians, says: “You reap whatever you sow.” That is not just an agricultural metaphor. It’s a warning. If you sow division, if you sow greed, if you sow indifference—you will harvest injustice and decay. But Paul also offers a promise: “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right.” Because in due time, the harvest of righteousness will come.


That word is for us. Especially when we feel tired. Tired of the news. Tired of polarization. Tired of doing justice, loving mercy,  walking humbly— when it feels like we are walking uphill in a culture that rewards winning at all costs. But Paul says: Don’t give up. Keep sowing. Because we do not labor alone. And neither did those 72 disciples in today’s Gospel. Jesus sends them out—two by two—into the towns he himself intended to go. They are not celebrities.  They are neither scribes, nor kings. They are ordinary people sent with extraordinary authority. And what does Jesus tell them? Don’t pack too much.Don’t get distracted. Eat what is set before you. Heal the sick. Proclaim the Kingdom of God. And if you’re not welcomed? Shake the dust off your sandals and move on.


Friends, if that isn’t a word for the Church in 2025, I don’t know what is. Because the Church today—especially the Episcopal Church—stands at a crossroads. In a nation that prides itself on freedom, we must ask: What are we using our freedom for?

Galatians is clear: “For freedom, Christ has set us free.” But freedom in Christ is not license to dominate or to isolate. It’s the freedom to love. It’s the freedom to choose grace over grievance. The freedom to sow peace rather than outrage. The freedom to bind up the broken rather than to simply protect our own.


This week, our nation waved flags. But the Church is called to carry a cross. This week, we remembered revolution. But the Church is called to reveal resurrection. This week, some gave thanks for freedom. And others—Black, Indigenous, queer, undocumented—asked, Freedom for whom? Let us not be naïve. America’s story is not yet the kingdom of God. There is much to celebrate—but also much to repent.


We must be careful. Because when Jesus sent those 72 out, he did not say: “Take back Jerusalem.” He said: Go ahead of me. Prepare the way.  Bring peace. The Church’s job is not to rule the nation but to bless it and challenge it. The Church’s job is to remind the nation of its better angels and call it to account when it turns freedom into a weapon. 


So this week, in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in this city, how do we celebrate freedom faithfully? We do it by sowing good seeds. Not just waving flags, but waving in the stranger. Not just lighting fireworks, but lighting candles for the grieving. Not just singing patriotic songs, but raising up prophetic voices. Because the real fireworks of the kingdom are when justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.


I think about that moment in the Gospel when the disciples return—amazed and thrilled. “Lord,” they say, “even the demons submit to us!” But Jesus doesn’t let them stay in that moment of pride. He says: “Don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In other words: Don’t confuse power with purpose. Your value is not in your victories, but in your belonging.


So, beloved of God, this Sunday after Independence Day: Let us give thanks for our freedom—and let us use it for the sake of the gospel. Let us sow love where there is hatred, peace where there is violence, truth where there is spin, and courage where there is fear. And when the work is hard—when the dust clings to our feet—we will remember that we are sent not alone but two by two,and that the One who sends us walks just ahead.


God of freedom and justice, who sent your Son to proclaim the nearness of your kingdom, send us now into a world that celebrates liberty but longs for your peace. Keep us from weariness in doing what is right. Make us brave enough to speak truth, gentle enough to sow peace, and faithful enough to keep moving ahead--even when the dust clings. Let our freedom not be for comfort, but for the cause of Christ. And when we fail or grow tired, remind us that our names are written in your kingdom, and that you walk just ahead. In the name of the One who sends and sustains. AMEN

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