Our Heart's Devotion + A Reflection on the United States of America's Independence Day

7/2/21 Our Heart's Devotion

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 9 BCP 230)

"Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart..." The Collect for this coming Sunday reminds us that our full heart's devotion should rest in God. However, that is much much easier said than done.

My heart can be fickle. Devoted to following God's will one moment and then solely focused on what I want the next. My heart can get caught up desiring attention and other's love at times, when I am called to devote myself to God's path instead. My heart fills up with envy or jealousy or hurt when it wanders away from being devoted to God and focuses on the things of this world.

Thankfully, the Collect for this coming Sunday also reminds us that while our hearts are fickle, God is not. God sends us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. God sent us his Son Jesus, to teach and inspire us. God continues to send our hearts wisdom and guidance. So that every time we wander away from devotion, we have a path back to God, already waiting for us. Every month, every day, every hour, God's path awaits our heart's devotion.

A Reflection on the United States of America's Independence Day

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Independence Day BCP 241)

Fireworks! Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, apple pie! Fourth of July celebrations bring up wonderful memories for many of us. It was a great day for the idea of self-governance and freedom as it spurred on other revolutions of freedom throughout the world. Unfortunately, in the United States, our history of Independence Day also brings up pain and sorrow for millions of Americans.

In the Collect for Independence Day the words, "the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us" point to one of the biggest problems in our country: racism. The founders of our country did not create the United States for all of us, they left out all those who are black, indigenous, or other people of color. All of these folks were left out of the freedoms and liberties they fought for in the Revolution.

Many of the early founders of the United States were Anglican/Episcopalian. They belonged to churches still standing today. Yet, they did not follow Jesus' commandment to love their neighbors and treat others with the respect born of knowing others as children of God. In celebrating the good aspects of Independence Day, we should also acknowledge the failures of our independence: losing sight of the good of ALL people, including our neighbors who look and sound different than us.

As we celebrate our nation's independence this weekend, let us also acknowledge those who are still fighting for those 'inalienable rights' of liberty and justice. We can do better in our country. We can stand with our neighbors who do not have these freedoms. We can show the grace of recognizing our own failures in acknowledging those freedoms, until one day, when we are all freely acknowledged as children of God.