Friends,
Tomorrow is our nation’s celebration of Independence – the 4th of July! We will all don our red, white, and blue, have a hot dog or burger from the grill, and watch fireworks displays. We will honor those who have served our country in so many ways. And we will celebrate with pride what it means to be a citizen of the United States of America.
Mixed with our celebrations, though, will be a somber note of confession and penitence as we recall the ways in which our ancestors claimed this land from those who were already living here. Throughout the centuries of human civilization, nation-building has been inevitably bound up with harm and destruction of other civilizations and cultures and nations.
But, we can still celebrate our nation’s Independence Day. We can celebrate the love we have for our nation, without expressing hate for other nations. We can recognize the ways in which liberty and freedom and democracy guide our national life, without glossing over the ways in which too many are excluded from participation in those aspirational values.
America is aspirational. At its best, our nation is an inclusive, diverse, melting pot of peoples from across the globe who yearn to dwell in a society that lifts up all people and promises life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of course, our nation is not always at its best. So we remind ourselves and others that we can do better, we can be better, we can aspire to become the America we always hoped to be.
Peace,
Pastor Jack
