First-grade students in Baltimore say the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag in June 1955. Credit: Richard Stacks/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

My brothers,

As we gather to celebrate Independence Day, (the 249th birthday of our nation), and the beautiful Scripture our Church gives us, we do so not only as citizens of this country but as servants of the Kingdom of God. Our founding fathers boldly declared liberty from tyranny, but they also made a deeper, humbler declaration: dependence on God.

In his great work, “A Declaration of Dependence” the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen reminds us of this truth in striking clarity:

“In these days when everyone talks of rights and few of duties, it is important for us Americans to recall that the Declaration of Independence is also a Declaration of Dependence… on God and on law as derived from God.”

This weekend, we give thanks for the blessings of our country, but we must also recall our role as deacons; men who stand in the breach between God and the world. In a culture obsessed with self-determination and personal freedom, we are called to model freedom rooted in obedience to the Father, just as Jesus Himself did.

Our freedom, like Christ’s, is not found in doing whatever we please, but in doing the will of the One who sends us. Like the seventy-two disciples in Luke 10, we are sent out, often like “lambs among wolves” not in fear, but in trust. And our strength, brothers, comes not from power or influence, but from our dependence on God the Father.

We are blessed to live in this nation. But we are doubly blessed to serve Christ within it, speaking His truth in love, defending the dignity of all, and reminding America that our greatest liberty is the freedom to follow the Father.

Happy Independence Day. May we live it as a Declaration of Dependence, joyful, faithful, and free in Christ.

In His service,This weekend, I encourage you to reflect personally and with your families or loved ones:Where am I placing my trust - in politics, success, or self, or in God?
Am I proclaiming liberty to those captive to sin, shame, or confusion?
Do I rejoice in the fruits of my ministry, or in the fact that my name is written in heaven?

AMDG

Receive + Believe + Teach + Practice