Independence Day (USA)
Today, as a country, we observe Independence Day, an opportunity to pause and celebrate the fact that we are a free people. We look back on the history of this American nation, which has been shaped by millions of people who immigrated here from every corner of the globe. They came in search of freedom and opportunity, some escaping persecution, famine, or war. They brought their knowledge and skills, which helped develop this country as a leader in agriculture, food production, manufacturing, construction, education, health care, science, engineering, cuisine, and the arts. These immigrants were of different cultures, races, and religions, and they helped build our country’s mosaic.
Regrettably, there is also a dark side to our history. There is the treatment of the Native Americans who were driven from their lands and forced to live on reservations. Also, not all came here freely. Many Africans and people of the South were captured and taken from their native lands in chains and brought to our country as enslaved people.
In today’s reading from Genesis, Yahweh makes a covenant with Abraham and promises Abraham and his descendants a covenant of a great land in which they would prosper. He would be their God, and they would be his people.
In the early days of our country and, even today, there is talk that the United States is a chosen land blessed by God. If this is true, then people experiencing poverty, the widows, the orphans, those dispossessed of their land, the unhoused, those lacking access to health care, the new immigrants and refugees, those with physical and mental challenges, and all those who survive on the peripheries have a God-given claim to assistance and care.
When we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we are commanded to take love and care of those most in need of our mission.
Let Us Pray:
God, creator of all that is, your care for those most in need of love, care, and assistance is foremost. Give us, who live in the country you have richly blessed, a great abundance of grace to wrap our love around those nearest to us who are most in need. Amen.
