Title: Celebrating America
Date: 2007-07-08
Reference: 2 Timothy 3: 1-5
"231 years ago today, July 8, 1776, the Liberty Bell was rung in Philadelphia after the first Public reading of the Declaration of Independence. The Liberty Bell was rung every July 4th and on ever state occasion until 1835. Scholars believe the crack appeared about 70 years later. There are several popular legends as to how the bell was cracked but none have been verified. The Liberty Bell weighs 2080 lbs and has a 12 foot circumference at the lip. The Bell bears an inscription from the Bible, from the book of Lv. “Proclaim liberty through out all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
During this month, as we celebrate our nation’s birth and the liberty afforded to us as Americans. we need to take a hard look and see what we have become. There are three elements I would like to consider today.repentance, celebrating our virtues, and looking ahead in hope.
Any celebration of America should begin with heart-felt repentance. As much as we love our nation we recognize major flaws in our character. We are deeply concerned about the corruption in government that has left many people disillusioned about politics. We as a society have made remarkable gains, but we have left many people behind. The poorest, the weakest, the youngest have often not shared in our success.
Immorality is exhibited in books, magazines, music, and films. The great danger is that we have become so used to immorality that we accept it as the norm. We just aren’t shocked by anything anymore. We’ve numbed ourselves to senseless violence, pornography, and filth.
The Bible describes how society will eventually wear down and wear out. We see it happening all around us. In today’s Scripture lesson Paul wrote to Timothy about the character of the last days and instructed him how to respond. Paul described a time when children will not be thankful and will not appreciate their parents sacrifices for them. As the family goes the nation.
Disturbing to me is the trend of victim psychology. Nothing is ever our fault anymore. How did a nation known for rugged individualism turn into a nation of professional victims? I had an interesting discussion with a group of people this week about the vandalism at the Home of Heros Sign at the edge of town. At least half of the group began to make excuses for those persons who would paint graffiti on a monument to Medal of Honor Winners. “They probably couldn’t find a job. They were bored. They didn’t have self esteem. They don’t know any better. They were victims.”
An essay describes a trend called selfism which is a fixation on personal rights at the expense of loyalty to one’s family, community, church, and nation. This selfist psychology conflicts with our Christian tradition. Selfism demands my rights. Christianity encourages duty. The selfist asks “What’s in it for me?” The Christian asks “How can I serve others?” There are many proponents of selfism in any church.
They ask “How will the church meet my needs rather than how may I serve others in the name of Jesus Christ?” We should all seek to serve the one who became a victim for each of us, Jesus Christ. I remind you how the Bible says: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
We do face many challenges as a nation but I still believe we are the greatest nation on the face of the earth and many people look to us for leadership and help. It is possible to become so obsessed with our vices that we ignore our virtues as a nation. While there is much wrong with America there is much more that is right about America. Today we celebrate the fabled generosity of the American People. No people in the history of the world have poured out so much, voluntarily, to help others.
An Italian author wrote about America trying to explain why America is so unpopular even in those countries we have liberate and helped to rebuild. He writes: “The real trouble is that Americans are better than Europeans. Not more intelligent, not more cultured, capable, refined, or courageous. Americans are better intentioned. Americans are ready to sacrifice for the common good. Americans are ready to see the good rather than the bad side of things.
A popular statistic is that America with 6% of the world’s population consumes 26% of the world’s resources and causes most of the world’s Global Warming. Not mentioned is the fact that with only 1/10th of the world’s population employed on American farms we feed more than 25% of the world’s people. We account for 1/4th of the world’s productivity.
We are privileged to live in America where one has always been able to rise above the circumstances of one’s birth. We are free to become all we choose to become. We are free to work hard, play by the rules, and get ahead. In this great nation we are not held back by our class, race, sex, nationality, or anything else.
Granted we’ve not always offered everyone a level playing field but we in America are big enough to admit our past mistakes and try to move on from them. I am hugely frustrated when people are not willing to recognize the painful progress we’ve made in race relations in this country. We’re not where we should be but we are not where we once were.
Our nation is a mighty work in process. Our nation will be as strong as our citizens are strong. We cannot allow critics to pick away at the fabric of our society without offering something better.
I’ve been accused of over-simplification before. So let me simply say.”I don’t see long lines of people attempting to leave our nation. People are not risking life and limb to try and get into China, Russia, Cuba, Mexico, or even Romania. We have never had to erect barriers to keep our people in. We are still the last best hope on earth.
I’ll share a sad truth with you today. The American Flag is more honored in Romania and in Korea than it is in many places in America. The American Dream is alive and well in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, Mexico and South America. In those places people understand that free Americans are able to work hard and become anything they are willing to work hard enough at becoming.
We have allowed dissent to become destructive. We have allowed increasing violence to become a way of life. We have allowed the health of the economy to be the measure of our greatness and success as a people. Today we ask God to forgive us and to heal our Land.
God has placed His people in the world and called us to be salt, light, and levin. When the Wesleys began the Methodist Movement in England many thought the society was beyond redemption of any kind. British society, at that time, was decadent to the core. Wesley and the early Methodists began to spread Scriptural Holiness across the nation and the nation was healed and spared. We decedents of those early Methodist people are called to do the same today in our nation.
Finally we celebrate the hope we have for America. God spoke to Solomon and promised to heal the nation of Israel. Think of what it would mean for America to be healed. Politicians would be trusted. Crime would go down. The illegal drug business would be no more. Ghettos and slums would disappear. Everyone would have access to health care. War would not be our first option. The church would have all the resources it needed to succeed. People would voluntarily share their resources. God promised to heal the nation if the nation would keep His name among them forever. We Christians should always keep the name of God in the discussion and never allow God to be sidelined.
I pray our nation will be more and more marked by God’s name. Pray that god will not only be stamped on our coins or spoken of in our pledge of allegiance, but God’s name will be stamped on our hearts and character as well.
We want to change our circumstances, but God wants to change our character.
We some times think peace comes from the outside when in reality it comes from the inside. Our hearts carry in them our own peace depending on who is in control of our lives.
Jesus came to restore the liberty we were meant to have. Because Jesus is our Savior we don’t have to fear the future or worry about the shame of past sins. Because of Jesus we may enter into a personal relationship with our Creator God. Like the Liberty Bell, this good news should be ringing out all across our nation, to proclaim freedom found only in Jesus Christ. Father Forgive us, and in Jesus heal our lives, our families, our homes, our schools, our churches, our institutions. Father heal our land. "
