Dear Friends,
This past week, we celebrated Independence Day which gave us a reason to shoot off fireworks, hang out at a lake, drink and eat a lot of traditional American summer food, and remember the origins of our country.
It is that last one I would like to spend a moment reflecting on…because I saw a news clip of President Trump saying that the Declaration of Independence was about “unity, love and respect.” I laughed at that description but then began to wonder about the last time I read the Declaration and what it contained. I could recite from memory the first line, “When in the course of human events…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” But I was not sure if I knew the full list of things that the signers had declared were the reasons they needed independence. Do you? It might be good to find a copy online and refresh your memory. However, let me give you a few. It is a long list, talking about the King’s activities:
- He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
- He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
- He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
- He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose, obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
- He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
- He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
- For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
- For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
- For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
Etc.…
Seems as though some things do not change much and those early complaints can still be heard today. While it’s all well and good that we should pause to celebrate the goodness of our country, the Fourth of July should also remind us each year what Jesus taught, “You are in the world, but not of the world.” We Christians are aliens on earth. We should never feel such great love of country or state that those things become our gods.
Let me end by quoting from a homily the moral theologian Stanley Hauerwas gave on the Fourth of July:
“But, the bands and the fireworks are so undeniably entertaining. I am not suggesting we should avoid such entertainment. No, I will not tell you that. However, I will point out that if such entertainment seems more compelling than the celebration of this meal we are about to share together then we have a problem. For in this Eucharist God gives to us the very body and blood of his Son so that our desires will become part of God’s desire of his world. This is the end of all sacrifice, particularly the sacrifices made in the name of nations, so that we can rest in the presence of one another without fear, envy, and violence. In this meal, the beauty of our Lord blazes across the sky, rendering pale all other celebrations. So, come and taste the goodness and the beauty of our God, and, in so consuming, may we be a people who may even be able to enjoy the Fourth without being consumed by it.”
Peace,
Fr. Damian