Happy Independence Day!

This article was originally published in our e-newsletter in 2020. It was a good message that seemed appropriate to re-publish. God bless America!!

There are two recommended prayers in our Prayer Book for the observance of July the Fourth. The first is a prayer for 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.

The second prayer is for the Nation:

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

As I consider these two prayers, I am struck by the confidence of the first and the humility of the second. It is true that the founders of our country, a significant number of whom were devout and well-intentioned Christian people, set out to make a different kind of nation and were met with some success. It is also true that no nation, however well intentioned, is going to measure up to the standards of the Kingdom of God, and we hear a note of humility in the second prayer which seeks to use our liberty in God’s will rather than our own. As we celebrate the Fourth of July, my prayer for all of us is that we will confidently assert those ideals on which this country was founded and for which people have given their lives – liberty, equality, and justice – while recognizing with humility that we and our nation have not always lived into the full and gracious will of God.

Click here for “Oh beautiful for spacious skies”

Click Here for “O say can you see” the National Anthem on the Cathedral organ