June 1, 2022

O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hears the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This is the Collect for Heroic Service which is found on page 839 of the BCP and is used most often on Memorial Day. It's a very good Collect and, as I read it last Sunday, the second sentence stood out to me more than any other year I can remember.

Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom . . .

For all of the talk about this country being “the land of the free,” we can objectively see that it is not. We think that slavery has ended, but many girls and women get taken and sold into sexual slavery. There are many instances where people are not free to pursue careers or dreams because of systems designed to keep people of certain genders or races out. Or, if they get in, are faced with systemic abuse and roadblocks. People of color are still not free to drive or live in certain areas without the fear of being pulled over or questioned about their presence. I could go on, but you get the picture.

and gladly accept its disciplines.

Discipline can be a negative term, as in: I was disciplined for stealing. But discipline can also be used as a positive term. Discipline has the same root as disciple, so the first few people who followed Jesus were under his discipline. People who pursue a rule of life, Benedictines for instance, follow a book of discipline. Christians in general are supposed to have a life discipline (you could argue that ours is the Baptismal Covenant).

After the most recent slaughter of the innocents in the Buffalo grocery store and the elementary school in Uvalde, I again saw a reluctance to live under any sort of discipline. Unfettered freedom seems to be the rallying cry of certain people. Why is it that people want freedoms without disciplines (or responsibilities)? Why is it that people want freedoms for me, but not for thee?

In short, wouldn't we be better off in the long run if we worked to uphold the benefits of true freedom for all people within this country while also accepting its disciplines of living in community?

We have true freedom in Christ (“you will know the truth and the truth will make you free”); but we also live under his discipline (“take up your cross and follow me”).

There's a balance we need to find. It just may be that it's that balance that we are continually searching for.

Blessings,