Independence Day, July 4

I wish I could tell you that the Episcopal Church has always honored this special day. But truth be told, the Episcopal Church's relationship with American independence is somewhat complicated. In the days when the United States were just 13 colonies, our forbears were members of the Church of England, the state church of the English nation. So, when many American patriots rose up in rebellion against the King of England, other Americans remained loyal to their mother country. William White, an Anglican clergyman in New Jersey, supported the cause of American independence. Samuel Seabury, an Anglican priest in Connecticut, was a chaplain to British troops during the war. After the war, when America had become an independent nation, it would have seemed impossible for Seabury and White to ever belong to the same church again; or for a church so closely associated with England as the Anglican church to survive here.

And yet it did. Both Seabury and White became the first bishops on this land, and were instrumental in forming the Episcopal Church. Just as the Church of England had a Book of Common Prayer, so Episcopalians in America set out to compose a prayer nook for their church. A proposed Book of Common Prayer was published in 1786. It included a set of biblical readings and a prayer to commemorate this special day, the same as we have in today's prayer book. But the proposed book met with considerable opposition. And according to one writer of the time, "The Thanksgiving for the Fourth of July is in all probability the one principal cause of the opposition. Even Bishop White, a supporter of American Independence, realized that it was too soon after the war for too many former Anglican clergy to accept that American Independence was something to be thankful for. At the first General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1789, all mention of Independence Day was removed from the Book of Common Prayer. Not until 1928 was Independence Day restored to the prayer book as a day of thanksgiving to be celebrated in the Episcopal Church, as it ought to have been.

And perhaps, if those who opposed the inclusion of these readings and collect had read them more deeply, they might not have been so opposed. For in these readings from the Word of God challenge us as Americans as much as they affirm us. As we rightfully give thanks for God's blessings on our country, we are reminded in Deuteronomy that as a people who regularly pledge "liberty and justice to all" that we are to provide justice for the powerless and the disadvantaged – the widow, the orphan and the stranger. For as Moses says to the people of Israel, "you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Those who know the history of Israel should see the parallel here. The Israelites were strangers who came to the land of Canaan, drove out the natives and accepted the land as God's gift. We drove out the natives and have accepted this land as a gift. Whenever you drive down 431 to Guntersville, know that you taking the same route that the Cherokee nation took on the Trail of Tears. This land is a gift to us that is now up to us to earn, by providing justice to the strangers among us.

If that isn't bracing enough, consider Jesus's word for us today: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Does that mean that we should just lie down before our enemies and let them have their way with us? In my humble opinion, no, it does not. This country has had to take up arms to defend itself, and others, against tyranny, oppression, and evil. But it does mean that our military victories, the battles and wars we take pride in having won, cannot have just been about making America the most powerful nation on earth, the biggest dog on the block. It is God's intention and purpose to bring all people together and to reconcile all enemies before his heavenly throne. Whatever blessings and triumphs God has given us over the past 234 years are only a part of God's plan to execute justice and reconciliation. And we Americans are called to use God's gifts to us for that purpose and no other.

If the reconciliation of all peoples seems a tall order, then start here at home. Some years ago, I had the honor of being befriended by a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, who had survived the jump behind German lines on D Day. Over a drink one night, I ventured into the issue of President Clinton. He muttered, "That's just politics." In other words, don't go there. What was he trying to say to me? I think that what he was trying to say was this: I didn't risk my life, and kill my fellow human beings, for conservatives or liberals, Republicans or Democrats. What I did, I did for all Americans. On this our 234th birthday, let us give thanks for the United States of America. Let us thank God for his many blessings to us. Let us pray for God's guidance through this difficult time of war and economic distress. But most of all, let us pray for the grace to earn God's gifts to us, with justice for all, and reconciliation with all.