Independence Day 2005 Ocala           

In the annual cycle of Gospel lessons, today is the 2nd Sunday in Matthew. I spoke relatively to this Gospel excerpt this time last year. But since tomorrow is Independence Day, I'd like to offer a few thoughts based on the historic Occasion, that is, the official founding of our Great Nation on July 4, 1776. The 4th of July indeed should be celebrated with religious fervor, because, the Declaration of Independence is the cornerstone, and in essence the foundation of our freedom.

How radically though, things have changed in only a couple of generations. I remember as a youngster the tremendous emphasis on patriotism, instilled in our hearts and minds by our parents, and also by our teachers. I remember the solemnity of the glorious parades, and the great pride and respect we sensed in displaying the Flag, especially on this great Day.

Today, as in recent years, the bulk of our people look on the 4th of July as an opportunity for some joyful outing. There is nothing wrong with this; but some time should be given in respect for the day. Yes, brief parades are held, but poorly attended. I wasn't shocked Friday morning with the headline on the first page of the News journal, with 150,000 circulation. The headline read: "FUN FOR THE FOURTH." The article enumerated many tips for the long weekend. Other than that, no article nor editorial to remind people to whom they owe their freedom.

Our most cherished American word is "freedom." For this freedom, national and political, martyrs have sacrificed their lives, so that others could enjoy. Our Forefathers, guided by inspiration based on their religious conviction, presented to the whole world an ageless document, to serve as a guide for human rights. Right from the first phrases we see their religious conviction when they wrote: "We hold these truths to be self evident. That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

That is why it is of extreme important to all citizens, to work toward keeping the foundations of our Country unshakeable. The Psalmist David in his 11 Psalm warns people when he said: "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

All institutions are at risk when the foundations are undermined. All Institutions, whether they are religious, governmental, social, or centers of higher learning are indeed the products of sacrifices, character, ideas and faith. Institutions flourish and progress, when they are built on firm foundations; and it is these foundations, that we must help prevent from being destroyed.

The first foundation to stress is a deep, personal faith in God. To believe in God means to believe, that there is objective truth, and objective good, to be known and obeyed. --- That there is justice and right, that belong to the very order of things. Truth is not susceptible to change with each generation. By believing in God, we must believe in an unchanging, objective truth.

The Lord stressed it so well when He said: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." True freedom has as its source the truth.

Democracy in terms of its highest ideals, is the servant of justice and freedom, and no less human dignity. These are the fruits of religious faith and conviction; --- that man is a creature of worth and dignity, with a meaningful end in himself, because he was created in the Image and likeness of God.

A second religious foundation of our government lies in the conviction that "righteousness exalts the nation, and sin is a reproach to any people," as we read in the Proverbs 14:34. It is the doctrine of sin as applied to man's tendency to arrogate power to himself, and to misuse it, that led the Founding Fathers to the insistence, that power in the new government be distributed and balanced with checks and counter-checks. These men feared the cancer of absolute power.

Thomas Jefferson wrote: "Man has never proved himself worthy of an unrestrained control of his fellow men, nor has any special group of men ever been dominant, without injustice to others."

A third religious foundation of our Country is freedom. A religious person never forgets that freedom is a derived freedom. It is not something that man has in his own right. It is not something that belongs to man, as man apart from God. We mentioned that the Declaration of Independence states: "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights."

All freedom is a gift from God. And because a government does not give this freedom, it cannot take it away, because it comes from God, who is above government; it comes from God, Whom government must serve, and Whose purposes it ought to further.

A most powerful illustration of this was the marvelous silence of Jesus, when He stood in judgment before Pontius Pilate. The Roman Governor amazed at the Lord's silence said: "Don't you know that I have the power to crucify you, and the power to release You?" Whereupon the Lord replied: "You could have no power over me, if it were not given to you from Above." John 19:11.

Separation of Church and State does not mean that the Church goes its way and the government goes its own, with no interlocking of purpose. The Government of course cannot subsidize any Church, or show preferential treatment to any Church, but it must give cognizance to the moral ideals of the religions, that make up our pluralistic society. Our freedom is in Christ, as Christians. This means a responsible freedom. St. Peter in his Epistle puts it beautifully, as follows: "Being free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." (1 Peter 2:16) Freedom is safe in the hands of responsible men, and of course free society is correspondingly safe. A fourth religious foundation is to be found in people who are informed, literate, and of good report. Democratic ideals cannot be attained by the mentally undeveloped. In a government where everyone is part sovereign, everyone should be competent, if not to govern, at least to understand the issues of government.

This means responsible public schools; it means a responsible press and no less it means a responsible Church. Jefferson wrote: "that it is the manners and spirit of a people, that preserve a republic in vigor." Without ethical character, no democracy can survive.

I bring to you a clipping that I have kept in my desk for years and refer to it from time to time. It is what's happening in a way, and what can bring incalculable disastrous results, when we permit ourselves to become complacent.

Back in May of 1919, in Dusseldorf, Germany, the Allied Forces obtained a copy of some of the "Communist Rules for Revolution." Although communism after 70 years of brutal dictatorship has fallen, still the articles found in 1919 have a similarity or a parallel as to what is happening in our Country.

The Communist rules, as found by the Allies in 1919 state;

1. Corrupt the young; get them away from religion. Get them interested in sex. Make them superficial; destroy their ruggedness. Get control of all means of publicity, and thereby get people's minds off their government, by focusing their attention on athletics, salacious books and plays, as well as other trivialities.

2.         Dividing the people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no importance.

3. Destroy the people's faith in their national leaders, by holding them up to contempt, ridicule and disgrace.

4. Always preach democracy, but seize power, as fast and ruthlessly as possible.

5. By encouraging government extravagance, destroy its credit, produce fear of inflation with rising prices and general discontent.

6. Incite unnecessary strikes in vital industries, -- encourage civil disorders, and foster a lenient and soft attitude on the part of government towards such disorders.

7. By specious argument, cause the breakdown of the old moral virtues; honesty, sobriety, self-restraint, faith in the pledged word, ruggedness. 8. Cause the registration of all fire-arms on some pretext, with a view to confiscating them, and leaving the population helpless. Thus reads the article, and I always ask the question: "Is this mere coincidence?"

How subtly these rules have been applied! In our great Country we are seeing forms of these rules applied and as a result we are reaping the harvest of unhappiness.

The time has come for our Nation to re-align itself with the fundamental concepts of the Declaration of Independence, as these were felt, and put into effect, resulting in the growth and development of our Great Nation.

This steady progress of yesteryear, which brought us greatness, came as a direct result of the respect for true life, true liberty, and the proper pursuit of happiness. We must seek to re­discover the immense treasures, which made our Country great. We must recapture the eternal virtues to bring us the moral fortitude which is so lacking today. We must take pride, and help in any way we can to regain the glory, which we all had experienced. Amen.