Freedom

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set free those who are oppressed,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
Luke 4:18-19

Last week we celebrated the birth of the United States of America with our annual 4^th of July celebration.  We signify this day with firework displays and parades.  We also remember the words of the The Declaration of Independence which proclaims boldly “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.” This statement speaks to the heart of who we are as Americans.  It has been a guiding principle that we have adhered to and strayed away from.  However, this freedom only makes sense when we truly embrace the freedom we find in God, our creator.  The very freedom Jesus quotes when reading the scroll from Isaiah.  We cannot forget that we are truly free in God and that freedom demands a response.  A response filled with joy, love, forgiveness, and hope.  We are to freely sow seeds of justice in the face of injustice, peace in the face of violence, love in the face of hatred, and hope in the face of oppression.  This is our parade and the light of Christ is our firework not just one day a year or week, but every day of our lives! Let us rejoice in the freedom we find in God and join our creator in the work of sanctification.