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Sunday, July 4, 2010

Hands Together

Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Reverend Richard E. Allen, Jr.

Not long after that fateful July 4, 1776, when the delegates to the Continental Congress unanimously passed, then individually signed, our nation’s birthing document, the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, the oldest of the fifty-six signers, reminded his fellow traitors to the British Crown that their unity was important to them all.  “We must, indeed, all hang together,” Franklin warned, “or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” (See http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/benjamin_franklin_9.html)

The Declaration of Independence articulates the continuing tension in our culture to between the freedom of the individual and the needs of the nation.  You can hear the tension in this famous sentence:  “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, 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 – That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men ….”  And it goes on from there. The Declaration asserts one the one hand, our individual liberty; on the other hand, it also asserts our need for a government to protect the individual’s freedom.

All of this may be obvious, but in various ways, the issue of balancing the freedom of the one and the importance of the many, made into a whole, remains an ongoing conversation.  From taxes to health care to immigration reform and social programs and government responsibility for natural resources and both private and public land, the tension remains between the individual and the community.  I observe this tension not to resolve it, but for our own individual meditation and consideration. As you watch or hear the fireworks tonight, consider:  are these for each of us alone, or for all of us, together? I think Franklin’s words are true for us, still:  “We must, indeed, all hang together….”

And I note that in the hardest times, when we face threats and disasters, both natural and man-made, we tend to come together as a nation.  I’ve noticed that when a hurricane hits a coastline, or a tornado touches down, or an oil well spews out environmental destruction rather than mere gallons of fuel, we are neither black nor white, nor are we Republicans or Democrats.  In moment of need, we’re all, together, one people called Americans.  Today and all weekend we celebrate that unity of individuals into the community we called the United States.

The tension between individual freedoms and a community of people held together by a common commitment is also part of the life of faith.  Faith is an individual commitment, but we are nurtured and sustained by a community of other believers.  Remember that we grew from the synagogue, where it’s still the case that no prayers can begin until at least ten Jewish men are present.

In the epistle today, Paul reminds Christians scattered throughout Galatia that Christ connects them into one community: “Bear one another’s burdens,” Paul is telling both the Galatians and us. (Galatians 6:2, NRSV) But in the passage he also reminds us of our own individual responsibilities:  “All must test their own work…” (v. 4) and “all must carry their own loads.”  (v. 5) The faith calls each of us to both community AND individual commitment. 

So, we celebrate today our individual liberty, but also our nation’s vitality as large family – one that has succeeded, in spite of tensions for 234 years.

And we celebrate every Sunday not just our individual faith in Christ, but the community of Christ that calls us, shapes us, and depends on each of us “carrying our own loads” as Paul says, for the common good.

Friends, this church is here for you, but only so long as you are here for one another and for the community around you.  The fireworks that celebrate our national heritage remind us of both our singular freedom and our corporate responsibilities to each other.  So may the fireworks also remind us that as Christians we come individually to the Lord’s Table, but we gather at the table as a family, together. And we are called – each of us alone and all of us together – to ministries for one another and for our world.  Paul invites: let us “work for the good of all.” (Galatians 6:10)

God expects that we live our lives in faith as both individual selves and as solitaries called to unity with each other.  What else might we expect from the one God who is also three: Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer?  The God who lives as solitary and as a trinity invites us live faithfully individually and as a church, today and always. Amen.

Mamaroneck United Methodist, July 4, 2010.

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