- Feb 5, 2002
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In July, freedom will be much celebrated and little understood. July 4 is Independence Day, the anniversary of the date in 1776 when 13 colonies declared themselves free from British rule.
Many of our Founding Fathers were Christians, and they were speaking to a populace that was Christian by heritage. They drew from a common Christian vocabulary, even if they sometimes chose to neutralize it by speaking of “nature and nature’s God.”
Their words echoed biblical themes. They spoke often of “freedom” from servitude — and they evoked the story of the Exodus.
America’s social order has not always been welcoming to Catholics or congenial to Catholic thought, but we too can celebrate. We feel no less a thrill at words that echo St. Paul: “because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).
Freedom is the stuff of our salvation, and liberty from bondage can enable us to flourish in Christ. St. Paul urged the early Christians to seize such chances: “Were you a slave when called? Never mind. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity” (1 Corinthians 7:21).
Still, it’s not simply from human overlords that Christ would have us set free. And it’s not just better business and lower taxes that we should be celebrating. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). We should not equate true freedom with free enterprise and democratic process. For even the pagan Greeks knew in their hearts that a slave could be more free than a king.
Continued below.
angelusnews.com
Many of our Founding Fathers were Christians, and they were speaking to a populace that was Christian by heritage. They drew from a common Christian vocabulary, even if they sometimes chose to neutralize it by speaking of “nature and nature’s God.”
Their words echoed biblical themes. They spoke often of “freedom” from servitude — and they evoked the story of the Exodus.
America’s social order has not always been welcoming to Catholics or congenial to Catholic thought, but we too can celebrate. We feel no less a thrill at words that echo St. Paul: “because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).
Freedom is the stuff of our salvation, and liberty from bondage can enable us to flourish in Christ. St. Paul urged the early Christians to seize such chances: “Were you a slave when called? Never mind. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity” (1 Corinthians 7:21).
Still, it’s not simply from human overlords that Christ would have us set free. And it’s not just better business and lower taxes that we should be celebrating. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). We should not equate true freedom with free enterprise and democratic process. For even the pagan Greeks knew in their hearts that a slave could be more free than a king.
Continued below.
For Independence Day, what do you need freedom from?
Liberty is a condition of possibility. God uses it as an occasion of grace. It’s up to us to correspond to that grace.
angelusnews.com
