This week the Gilcrease Museum is displaying a rare certified, handwritten copy of the Delcaration of Independence. The copy was made by Silas Deane, our country's first emissary to France. Curiously Deane was tasked with a special mission -- to secretly arrange French financing of arms, uniforms and equipment for 20,000 men in the revolutionary cause. Benjamin Franklin joined Deane in Paris in the next year, 1777, and took the declaration copy with him on a mission to Prussia. In 1949, our Thomas Gilcrease purchased if for $34,000. It is kept in a secret, high-tech area called the "Holy of Holies" at Gilcrease Museum.
Such founding documents are much on our minds as we approach the celebration of our National Day later this week. Some seem to regard them as if written by God, but as Thomas Jefferson was swift to remind us, the revolution was a "grand experiment" in self-government that would require some later corrections. Actually our Constitution has been corrected 27 times by amendments, to keep it a vital, living document. I think many Americans would be surprised to learn that the word "God" doesn't appear in the Constitution, and the word "freedom" doesn't appear in the Declaration. I suspect that the founders understood freedom to encompass unrestricted behaviour, whereas their own preferred word "liberty" seems to incorporate the notion of balancing people's freedoms and in accepting reasonable limitations.
Saint Paul today [Gal. 5] presents new concepts of "freedom." First, there is freedom from legalism. Apparently Paul's take on the Law evolved over time. In Acts 16, we find Paul making Titus get circumcised to boost his own credibility with Jewish audiences. Now later, he is dead-set against it! Legalism is problematic because as soon as there is religious law people find the loopholes allowing them to have superficial observance of the letter, while violating the spirit, of the law. The gist of the sermon on the mount is Jesus calling people to stop playing games with the Law and defeating its purposes., which can be reduced to love of God and love of the other. Too much of the Church is involved in legalism, often connected to bible-worship. The antidote is getting in touch with grace.
Second, there is freedom from false values. Paul speaks of the works of the "flesh" which he tells us include things like idolatry, jealousy, anger, and other negative qualities. We might add today godless self-reliance, self-serving lifestyles, and self-promotion, participation in all social evil, looking out for number-one and turning a blind eye to injustice and oppression. Turning away from false values can allow us to turn in the right direction for our lives, to be those God calls us to be.
So there is freedom to love and serve. To tag the Greek, we render slave-service to others, which is faith working through love (Gr. agape), and is a gift of the Spirit. This is not about a single act but a way of life. In living, our model is the Saviour who died and was raised, giving us assurance that he was perfectly obedient, totally tuned towards God. So we follow his lead and live his life That must include love of those who hate and mistreat us, and that means that we have freedom from spiritual burdens, like resentment, hatred, and grudges. That's true freedom and, as Saint Paul, says we can know that the Spirit is at work when we see the gifts: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Do these describe our daily lives, or is there work to do?
Finally, let me add to our list freedom for liberation of others. Each of us receives God's blessings for the purpose of passing them on, being a blessing to other people. In the Eastern tradition, Tuesday is the feast of Saint John Maximovitch. He was a Russian Orthodox bishop serving outside Russia and he repeatedly led people away from persecution by atheistic regimes so that they could live and serve free. Sometimes liberation has a concrete political dimension, as well as a spiritual dimension. Most people will never have the opportunity to do what this saint did but we can lead people who are in danger, spiritually-enslaved, to freedom in Christ, to redemption. Can there be any greater ministry?
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