Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
July 25^th Year of Our + Lord 2021
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
Rainbows

    Rainbows.  Let’s talk about rainbows.  Certainly, the image of the rainbow is something we can all get behind.  Right? 

   O.k., perhaps given our current cultural moment, the rainbow is something of a
conflicted image.  But it is truly wonderful; seeing a rainbow should bring Christian confidence and joy to your heart.  So let’s spend a few minutes to try to straighten out our understanding of rainbows.  For the image of the rainbow has, sad to say, been terribly distorted by folks with a variety of mistaken agendas. 

   The rainbow is not a frequent image in the Bible, but it is an important one.  Today from Genesis we heard its first use, when, after the Flood subsided, God set His bow in the cloud.  Did you notice that little pronoun, His bow?  God said: “I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”  The rainbow belongs to God, and is set in the cloud by God as the sign of His covenant, His promise, to never again punish the sin of humanity with an earth destroying flood.  The rainbow is the sign of God’s Anti-Flood Covenant.  Notice, God doesn’t say He is now anti-punishment, or that His hatred of sin has subsided.  He simply says that never again will He destroy the whole earth by flood.  So, at first glance, the sign of the rainbow is good, but in a limited way.  One form of just and well-deserved destruction is off the table for us sinners.  But that is not yet the Gospel, is it?   

   Now, the rainbow has more to teach us, but first, there’s an important question:  Where did God’s bow come from?  What is the source of the Rainbow?  Did God at that moment He was speaking to Noah and his sons make an adjustment to physics?  Was the establishment of God’s new covenant the first time light refracted through water, thus revealing the various component colors of light that we see in rainbows?  Maybe.  I don’t know. 

But there is a Biblical answer to why God calls the rainbow His bow.  Rainbows are only mentioned a few times in all of the Bible, and aside from today’s Old Testament reading, the context is always the same.  The next time the rainbow appears in Scripture is in Ezekiel chapter 1.  The prophet Ezekiel starts his writing by describing the vision of heaven he received when the LORD called him to be a prophet. 

   First, he describes the four living creatures with their burning wheeled chariots, multiple sets of wings, and their four faces, each appearing as a man, an eagle, an ox and a lion.  Then, Ezekiel’s gaze is drawn upward:  Above the expanse over [the heads of the four living creatures] there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.  ²⁷ And upward from what had the appearance of his waist, writes Ezekiel, I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. ²⁸ Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.  Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, concludes the prophet, I fell on my face...

   The source of the rainbow is the heavenly throne of God.  The source rainbow for all other rainbows is the refracted glory of the Lord which shines from within His being as He sits on His celestial throne.  Which makes sense.  In the beginning, God’s first act of ordering and organizing the formless and void creation was to utter: Let there be light.  And there was light.  The LORD, the great I AM, is the source of all things, including light.  As John tells us in Revelation, in heaven there is no sun or moon, for the Lord on His throne and the Lamb are its light.  Light emanates from God on His throne, and it is apparently refracted through some water vapor around the throne, perhaps mists that rise up from the River of Life. 

   And so there is a rainbow around God, sitting on His throne, in heaven.  And that bow, God’s bow, was what He placed in the cloud as a reminder of His promise to never again destroy all life on earth with a flood.  God takes something precious and beautiful from heaven, the rainbow, and sets it within the creation as a sign of mercy, a sign of the removal of punishment.       

   With the rainbow, God is giving us clues about Himself and His heaven, clues that we can see in the Creation.  This is His way, starting way back in the beginning, when He made the man and the woman in His own image and likeness.  Before we fell into sin, humanity was the great sign of God in the Creation, created in the image of His loving care.  That didn’t last.  Temptation and sin overwhelmed our first parents, and from then on human wickedness grew, and grew.  And so eventually, to wash clean the earth, God sent the Flood. 

   But God rescued faithful Noah and his family, 8 souls in all, through the water, foreshadowing your Baptism, which now saves you.  The Lord punished evil with water, but provided a way of escape, and returned to His merciful ways after the Flood, setting His bow in the cloud.  The Lord takes a part of heaven and puts it into the Creation in order to reveal His mercy, and His will.  In this we see that the rainbow is a bit of a preview of Jesus, God’s eternal Son, who came down from heaven, and joined the Creation, becoming a man, born of the Virgin Mary, in order to bless us.   

   This makes me think of the halo.  Not the video game, but the shining ring of light artists used to put around holy heads.  Halos are a medieval artistic trope, a golden ring placed above the head in paintings and sculptures that depicted God, or angels, or saints.  Halos are visual signs to indicate the holiness of the artist’s subject, telling us that they carried a bit of heaven with them.  With our modern digital special effects, we expect depictions of heavenly glory to be more impressive. But in every case, our earthly attempts to portray the glory of heaven fall short, because the glory of heaven emanates from God, whom we do not see, yet.  Indeed, the best image we have of heavenly glory is, once you know about it, the sign of God’s covenant that comes after the storm, when God’s rainbow appears in the clouds.  And you should see God’s bow in the clouds as something more and better than simply the sign of God’s promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood.  Because the One Ezekiel saw, the One with the appearance of a man, seated on heaven’s throne, with the rainbow shining around Him, that One is Jesus Christ.  And Jesus, like the rainbow, has come into His creation.

   God’s eternal Son always had the light, along with His Father.  But during the first 33 years of His earthly life He almost always hid it.  The Jewish carpenter gave little glimpses of heavenly glory in His miracles, to be sure.  Like healing the sick, multiplying the loaves, or like today’s Gospel, where Jesus walks on top of the water and calms the wind and the waves. 

   Just once in the Gospels did Jesus let the light that is within Him shine forth, on the mount of Transfiguration.  There, while chatting with Moses and Elijah, Jesus shone with the glory of heaven, a revelation of God in the flesh witnessed by Peter, James and John, and confirmed by His Father, speaking from the cloud:  This is my beloved Son, listen to Him. 

   We should all listen to Jesus, just as the wind and the waves did.  His words to
the 12 terrified disciples are also for us, when the winds of life blow in our face, and we painfully can’t make any headway.  We may only see the storms and waves of life that threaten to sink us, but Jesus has bound Himself to you in your Baptism.  So He is always there for you.  He calls to you when you are afraid:  "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

   You can and should think of Jesus when you see a rainbow, and take heart.  But not simply because Jesus walked on water, or fed the 5000 or healed the sick.  No, the ultimate reason you should rejoice daily, when you see a rainbow, and with every reminder of Jesus is this:  Before returning to sit down at the right hand of the Father in glory, before taking once again His rightful place within the heavenly rainbow, shining all around His heavenly throne, Jesus first fit Himself for another kind of halo.  A different circle around His head.  The sinless, perfect, love-incarnate Son of God chose to wear, for just one day, a crown of thorns.  He chose to suffer and die, in our place, dying our shameful death, that He might give you and me and every sinner His glorious life.  So every time you see a rainbow, you should look forward to the day when you will see the rainbow around God’s throne, and your Savior, seated there, welcoming you home with a smile. 

   The one who puts His bow in the cloud after the rain, and who walks on water, also prays.  He went up on the mountain to pray, after feeding the 5,000, and He went up into heaven to pray, for you.  Jesus is always interceding for you and me before the judgment seat of heaven, presenting His nail scarred body as proof of our innocence.  For the One who commands the sea and the waves and the wind finally submitted to the sinful hatred of mankind.  The One who is the source of life and light was swallowed up by death and darkness, or so it seemed.  But no.  Satan thought he was overwhelming God’s Son in a dark flood of death and suffering.  But in truth Jesus swallowed the darkness into His own death, in order to reveal the Light of Forgiveness and Eternal Life in His Resurrection.  This is God’s Gospel Covenant with you, His promise of grace and mercy and freedom from sin and death.  This is the full and glorious meaning of God’s rainbow, forever and ever, Amen.  

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 11^th
Year of Our + Lord 2021
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches            
Custer and Hill City, SD
Recapitulated in Christ                 
Mark 6:14-29, Ephesians 1:1-14

 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. 

     This is the Gospel of the Lord. 

    Really?  This is Gospel?  This is Good News, that Herod ordered the decapitation of John the Baptist?  Now, we know that the word Gospel, strictly speaking, means Good News.  But we also use “Gospel” to refer to the first four books of the New Testament, because Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in total, tell us the very best news.  But they speak of many difficult things as well, which we need to hear and understand.  So when I said: This awful story is the Gospel of the Lord, I was saying that this has been our reading from the Gospel, in this case, from St. Mark, chapter 6. 

    But still, how is this story even in the Gospel?  How can John’s death by decapitation even be a part of the story of salvation?  Everything about this story is uncomfortable.  The deeper we dig, the messier it gets.  First, we have a wicked royal family.  Herod, puppet king of Galilee on behalf of the Romans, is married to Herodias.  She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod enticed her away.  John the Baptist condemns their adultery, and so lands in jail, because the king, and especially the king’s wife, do not appreciate being condemned.  John in this persecution joins Amos, and every prophet who gets in trouble for speaking the truth to powerful people. 

    Next, we have a birthday party gone terribly wrong.  We shouldn’t read too much, or too little, into the daughter of Herodias pleasing the party with her dancing.  But questions force themselves upon us.  Just how old was the girl?  Just what kind of dance did she do?  We don’t know.  We only know that her dance was so pleasing it led Herod to make a rash promise, and back it up with a vow:  Ask whatever you want, up to half of my kingdom…  

    Now our twisted story gets really bad.  Did a young girl go to her mother in innocence, just looking for an idea of something good to ask for?  A castle?  A pony, perhaps?  Or did a young woman share her mother’s anger at John, and went to her knowing that they had an opportunity to do bad things to the wild prophet from the Jordan?  In any case, think of the request.  Think of saying those words out loud, in all seriousness:  Give me the head of John the Baptist, on a platter. 

   Think of being one of the birthday guests, of waiting in horror for the wish to be granted.  I assume they waited in horror; you don’t suppose anyone waited in ghoulish expectation, do you?  Was the party that dark and wicked? 

    The deed is done, and we are appalled, and perhaps wondering about Mark.  Even though he wrote the shortest of the four Gospels, Mark gives the most terrible details from this story.  Why tell us so much?  Is it simply to reveal the darkness of which we human beings are capable?  Surely, we don’t need to be warned away from such evil.  Hasn’t our society progressed far beyond such savagery?  

    After all, it’s not like we Americans have aborted 60 million children in the womb since 1973.  Sixty million babies killed; 60 million mothers led into a horrible choice; our whole nation and culture turned against itself and its future. 

    Does Mark really need to lecture us on violence?  It’s not like in America bizarre violence fills our news far too often.  Or that dozens of grotesquely violent horror movies are produced in America each year, primarily to be watched by our youth.  Even better are the insanely violent video games, which put the trigger in our hands!  But it’s only a virtual trigger.  It’s pretend.  That couldn’t affect anyone, could it? 

 Do we really need Mark to warn us of the human capacity for violence and cruelty? 

 

   Yes, of course we do.  Remember that the next account in Genesis after Adam and Eve’s fall into sin is the story of Cain killing his brother Abel.  When we turn from the Lord of life, we make ourselves seekers of death.  Our sinfulness means that the capacity for violence is within us all.  We will not be able to relax our guard until God delivers us from this world of tears.  Mark just lifts the veil a little on the darkness, so we are reminded that it’s all too real. 

    But is that it?  Is this story needed in the Gospels simply to warn us against human wickedness and violence?  Could there be any other connection between the decapitation of John the Baptist and the Good News of God’s salvation?  If only somehow there could be a “recapitation,” a rejoining of the head to the body.  That would be a happy ending. 

     But how can that be?  Once John’s head is off, how can it be reattached? This finality is why violence is such an enduring curse.  Stolen goods can be returned or replaced; a lie can be admitted and corrected; a covetous heart can learn to rejoice in another’s good fortune.  But once thrown, a punch cannot be pulled back.  Once dead, a murder victim is gone to us.  Scars can last a lifetime, and the blood of Abel still cries from the ground.  How can the head be put back onto the body, once the deed is done? 

    Well, there is a recapitation, a recapitulation, to be precise, a bringing all together again under one head, which we heard about in our reading from Ephesians.  Now, you didn’t hear those exact words.  Our translation tries to make easier sense of the Greek for us, speaking of a plan for the fullness of time, a plan “to unite all things in him,” things in heaven and things on earth.  The “unite all things” translates a Greek word which means “to recapitulate,” or, “to bring all things back together under the head.”  In Him.  And the Him, the Head, of course, is Jesus Christ.  

   Remember what Jesus said to the rich young man: Only God is Good.  Which means that all men and women are wicked.  This is the plumb line of truth, that cuts through human pride.  God in mercy restrains the worst evil, for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of the elect, for the sake of His Church.  For left to our own devices, we humans would quickly destroy one another.  This is unpleasant to consider, but important to remember and confess, lest we think too much of ourselves and decide we don’t need a savior.  Lest we imagine we can build heaven on earth through human cooperation.  No, a truly good future depends entirely on Christ, our head. 

    Our flesh, our sinful natures, don’t like admitting such dependence, such wickedness and lack of personal power to do good.  We are always trying to introduce something from ourselves into the salvation equation. 

    It doesn’t matter whether the false teaching is obvious, as in the Five Pillars of Islam, which say do these five tasks, and you will be accepted by Allah into heaven.  Or the door knocking way to heaven of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Or whether the lie is more subtle, as in the seemingly tiny requirement of “making a decision” or “giving your heart” to Jesus.  Any time we add a work of ours to God’s work of salvation we corrupt the Gospel, and we insult Christ. 

   Indeed, we do a better job with avoiding violence than we do avoiding self-justification.  We must be watchful, for our natural tendency is to corrupt the pure Gospel with requirements for good works by us.  We do this to be able to feel that we are saving ourselves.  We need to be watchful, or we will lose our heads, spiritually speaking.  Because only the living Christ, the Head of the Church, can save us from death.  Only the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, can testify before the court of God that all sins have been paid for.  And Jesus has paid for every sin, including the sins of Herod and Herodias, including the sins of those involved in the abortion industry, and including the sins of those who have been deceived by their propaganda.  All is forgiven in Christ, washed away by His Blood.  So we, the Church, have Good News for all people: whoever looks to Jesus in faith is forgiven, period.  He is the prophet greater than Amos, or John, or even Moses, the Prophet who died and rose again, to fulfill God’s promise of salvation for all. 

    John the Baptizer lost his head in service to God’s Church.  But he will be
restored, because the crucified and resurrected Jesus is the head of His body, the Church.  In Christ, John has been ransomed from the devil.  Ransomed by the precious blood, which was shed for the forgiveness of ours sins, according to the riches of his grace.  In Christ, God has made known to us the mystery of his will, a plan revealed at just the right time, a plan to bring back together under the One True Head all things in heaven and on earth.   In Christ, the soul of John the Baptist lives, with all the saints who have gone before, joyfully awaiting the Last Day, when John’s soul will be reunited with his perfected body, head included. 

    In Christ, we too have obtained an inheritance, the promise of eternal life in heaven, having been chosen before time in Christ, to the praise of his glory.   How can we make so bold a claim?  Not because of anything we have done, but because God has promised. 

   Indeed, God has sealed His promise with Himself, for in Baptismal waters we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.  In our Baptismal faith, made new every time we hear the Word of forgiveness, strengthened every time we feast at the banquet of forgiveness, in this faith we eagerly await the day when Christ will reveal the promise to our eyes. 

    In the meantime, we live in a world that is violent, and that constantly self-justifies.  We live in a world that rejects God’s way.  We live as strangers called to speak unpopular things to the powers of darkness.  But we have no need to fear, for we are free, free to be bold, to speak against evil, to speak for life, to risk the anger of the popular culture, to stand up for the weak and the lowly.  We are free to uphold God’s Law because we know the One who has fulfilled that Law for us and for all people.  Even more, we can proclaim forgiveness to every sinner who feels the accusation of God’s law, for in Jesus, there is forgiveness for all.  For all people, and for every sin.   

    Let the world reject us.  For what is the world to us?  We are joined to the Head of all things, the Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  He has entered into His creation and redeemed it, in His own body, on the Cross.  And we are connected to Him.  We are by His grace and power truly His body, the Church.  His blood flows through us.  Our leader, our Savior, our Head rules all things.  In Christ we have the victory, over sin and death, the world and the devil.  Rejoice, and sing His praises, today and forevermore.  Amen. 

 

 

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, July 4^th, A+D 2021
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches, Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
True Freedom

1.  O Christ, who called the Twelve, To rise and follow You,

Forsaking old, familiar ways, For ventures bold and new:

Grant us to hear Your call, To risk security

And, bound in heart and will to You, Find perfect liberty.

   Freedom.  Liberty.  Blessing.  Christian preaching brings the Word of Christ into the current day, for the faith and sanctification of the souls the Holy Spirit has gathered.  Sunday after Sunday, God gathers sinners, so He can set them free, and bless them with perfect liberty.  This particular Sunday is the Fourth of July, when as Americans we celebrate other blessings of liberty, when we rejoice in our political freedoms.  There are similarities, and many important differences between the freedom and blessing we enjoy as citizens of the United States, and the freedom and blessing we have as citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom.  I’m proud to be an American, but Heaven is my home. 

    And yet it is certainly good to be a Christian in America.  The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, of speech, and the freedom to assemble.  With these freedoms, we have for 233 years enjoyed a unique-in-human-history opportunity to proclaim the Gospel.  Our nation and the world are very much better for it.  At the same time, while the Church is in the world, we are not of the world.  Conflating or confusing the blessings of political liberty with the freedom Christ offers is a danger for us.  We need to understand the differences.

    For example, political freedom is a fragile thing.  It depends on the strength and will of the citizens for political freedom to endure.  The freedom Christ offers is eternal; it is stronger than death.  And yet paradoxically, Christian freedom depends on the weakness of Christ.  Our heavenly citizenship doesn’t depend on our efforts and strength, nor on our struggle to remain free from sin.  Rather, our heavenly citizenship depends entirely on the submission of Jesus to evil, once for all.  Submission is not an American value, but Christ’s submission is our life.  Clearly, we need to keep these things straight.   

    As American citizens we rightly remember and honor the countless patriots from 1775 to the present day who fought and often died for the blessings of political liberty.  And the future of liberty in the United States will depend on the efforts of citizens today, and tomorrow.  But the freedom of the Christian depends entirely on the efforts of One Man, who suffered, not to free us from bad government, but rather to free us from slavery to sin.  The mission of the Church is not to achieve earthly prosperity or better government or to win glory by beating our rival nations.  No, the Church’s mission is to announce Christ’s victory, to all nations, to friends, and to enemies when we have opportunity.  Whether we as Christians experience political freedom or not, our calling is to proclaim how Jesus won freedom from death and sin for all people, by His suffering, death and resurrection.     

    Christians honor earthly rulers, and pray for peace and prosperity. But the Church should avoid joining itself to any government.  We must never thing we can guarantee our future by forming an alliance with earthly power.  This is a form of idolatry, and has been tried too many times.   The result is always that the earthly ruler seeks to change the teaching of Christ to suit their preferences.  We rejoice in the political freedoms we enjoy.  But we remember also that it is better to be a persecuted Church, than to give up the Truth in exchange for a comfortable place in society. 

    Considering these things, we see that, on this July 4^th, our Gospel reading fits our context pretty well.  Mark tells us how Jesus is rejected in His hometown, but then turns around and appoints the 12 future Apostles to go and begin their ministry of proclaiming Christ’s kingdom.  Throughout history and in many places in the world today, individuals, peoples and of course earthly governments reject and even persecute Christ’s Church.  But the Mission of Christ goes on, in the face of rejection and tyranny.  It always will.  So we, who still benefit from religious freedom, should be as energetic as we can in exercising it, while we still have earthly freedom.     

 2.  O Christ, who taught the Twelve, The truth for ages sealed,

Whose words and works awakened faith, The ways of God revealed:

Instruct us now, we pray, By Your empow’ring Word.

True teacher, be for all who seek, Their light, their life, their Lord.

    The Gospel of Jesus Christ has specific content, and that content matters.  God has loved the world, perfectly, in Christ Jesus.  Not outside Him.  Outside of Christ the sinner stands or falls on their own merits, and we know how that turns out:  no one measures up, all are guilty, poor miserable sinners, truly enslaved.  There is no freedom from sin except in the Son, the only One who can truly set you free from sin, death and the devil. 

     Whatever earthly situation the Church lives in, the Spirit of Christ does His work of saving sinners by faith, faith that is created through the Word.  So, to be of use in the Mission of God, the first step, and the thing we must always come back to, is to be instructed well in the teaching of Christ.  The same Word which creates and sustains faith also prepares Christians to give the reason for the hope that we have. 

    It is a wonderful thing if you simply tell another person that God blesses you through His Church, and then invite that person to come and see and hear for themselves.  Please do that.  And yet, as hard as it sometimes seems, you can do more.  Or better to say the Spirit can do more through you.  Seek to grow in your knowledge of Christ and His teaching, and the Holy Spirit will at the same time be teaching and preparing to say more, to speak of Christ, with clarity and love, to a family member, a neighbor, or a stranger you meet in an airport or a campground.  None of us has to know it all, but all of us can take part.  Grow in your knowledge of Jesus and His Gospel, for your own benefit, and God will also use your growth for the benefit of others.  

 3.  O Christ, who led the Twelve, Among the desolate

And broke as bread of life for all, Your love compassionate:

Lead us along the ways, Where hope has nearly died

And help us climb the lonely hills, Where love is crucified.

    Mercy and Mission go together.  Many times, Jesus saw the physical and spiritual needs of the people, and he felt compassion deep down in his gut.  And He acted on that feeling.  So also the Church, seeing with the eyes of Christ, wants to help those in need.  Like Jesus, we are moved to help hurting people, and we seek to connect our material or emotional help with a message of grace.  To show Christian mercy is to try to help people know Jesus by sharing with them the social, material and spiritual blessings we ourselves have received from God. 

    A big part of the traditional American ideal is self-sufficiency, and that is fine, as far as it goes.  In the world and in the Church, those who are able should help themselves and others.  But Christians know they are never truly self-sufficient.  We depend on God for every good gift, and most especially for the forgiveness and reconciliation that makes us part of the Father’s family.  Showing mercy wisely, in a way that is truly helpful, instead of enabling bad behavior and habits, is tricky.  And it’s all the more tricky because our sinful nature would prefer not to get involved in the messy problems of others in the first place. 

    But Jesus got involved in our mess.  The Eternal Son got down into the worst of our sin and brokenness, in order to create the way out for us.  So we pray to God that the Spirit would help us dare to show mercy, to body and soul, even when it costs us.  And we are free to show mercy, because nothing can take away the freedom, riches and blessings we have in Jesus.   

 4.  O Christ, who sent the Twelve, On roads they’d never trod

To serve, to suffer, teach, proclaim, The nearer reign of God:

Send us on ways where faith, Transcends timidity,

Where love informs and hope sustains, Both life and ministry.

    Being a Christian, in the world, concerned for the world, but not of the world, is messy.  Like Ezekiel, we are called to speak the truth, even when we expect to be rejected.  Like Paul, we are called to confess our weakness, and endure hardships, in order that the strength of Jesus, crucified, resurrected and ascended to glory, might be revealed to others.  If we look deep inside our being, honestly looking for the strength and wisdom and perseverance to accomplish the tasks before us, we will quickly realize that the job is too much for us.  We may be tempted to despair. 

    So stop looking inside yourself to find this strength! 

    Even when we consider the American experiment in earthly liberty, we know that as important as the efforts of each citizen are, the success of the project of preserving our political liberty depends on the many, and upon the structures, values and ideas that provide the framework for America.  Each citizen depends on others; none of us can maintain our political freedoms alone. 

    In God’s project of salvation, our individual impotence is far more stark.  It is pointless for any of us to try to make our own way to God.  There are no self-made Christians.  The only thing that justifies the innocent death of the sinless Son of God is the sad fact that without Jesus taking all our sins upon Himself, without His once for all sacrifice, there is no hope for sinners.  So, because God, who is love, desires to save sinners, Christ Jesus went to the Cross, for us.  So, individually and together as church, we are called by the Spirit to stop looking inside ourselves and instead look to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our Faith.  Repenting of self-justification, the Christian looks to Christ alone, and clings in joy to the humbling love that we find in Him. 

    And then, bound to Jesus by His bloody love for us, amazing things start to happen.  Christians rooted firmly in Christ begin to serve, proclaim, show mercy, face danger, even suffer, all because we know that in Jesus, we already have the final victory.  In Christ, we are truly and eternally free, free from fear, free to confess, free to love and serve.  Every day lived by faith in Jesus is a true and eternal Independence Day,

    in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.            

 5.  O Christ, th’apostles’ Lord, The martyrs’ strength and song,

The crucified and risen King, To whom the saints belong:

Though generations pass, Our tribute still we bring,

Our hymns a sacrifice of praise, Our lives an offering.