"History Has It's Eyes on You"

Sermon 7-5-20

Grace and peace to you from God our creator, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Before a few years ago, Alexander Hamilton was just a dead white guy who did some stuff during the Revolutionary War and got on the ten-dollar bill. At least, until Lin-Manuel Miranda read an eight-hundred-page book about Hamilton on vacation and thought to himself – now THIS would make a great musical! And the amazing thing is, it did, and it DOES!

A film of the musical Hamilton just dropped on Disney Plus, so now everyone can get a taste of this phenomenon. Go watch it TODAY – it’s probably the most patriotic thing you can do this weekend. It tells the story of the young and ambitions Scottish immigrant and his complicated role in setting up this country for success… and his many many MANY faults. Lin-Manuel Miranda tells this story as America’s story, and cast his musical with almost exclusively people of color and using the genre of hip-hop to communicate this “founding father myth” in a modern and relevant way.

Like Hamilton, many of our ancestors came over to this country in search of a better life, free from oppressive monarchies, religious persecution, or economic stagnation. They journeyed from afar over rough seas to a young country full of possibilities. There is a great line in the musical where Hamilton and General Lafayette – Scottish and French immigrants respectively, turn to one another in the heat of the battle of Yorktown and say, “Immigrants – we get the job done!” That very battle sets the tone for this new nation about to be born – a scrappy group of immigrants who, against all odds, triumphantly earned their freedom from the biggest political power in the world. We won, and we are free. At least, that’s what we think history is telling us.

We can see the results of this narrative everywhere – in our songs and in our attitudes, in our movies and in our insults. “You’re not the boss of me!” we would say as kids. Or we say, “Who died, and made you king?” The idea of freedom is the backbone of this nation. No one is the “boss of me.” This is what our country prides itself on.

And could not be more antithetical to the Gospel.

These “founding father myths” we love: don’t tell the whole story. While it is true that nearly everyone tuning into worship today have ancestors who came from somewhere else, many of the citizens of this country did not come here of their own free will. They were forced on dangerous journeys, forced to become slaves, forced to never know their country of origin, or be able to celebrate that knowledge or take pride in their heritage in the same way as European-descent Americans do. What does freedom mean to their citizen descendants, now, forced to endure institutional racism, poverty, and generational trauma? And that’s not even opening up the conversation about whose land this belonged to in the first place.

Freedom is not the only legacy we have inherited from our founding Fathers. Fear, apathy, consumerism, discrimination, homophobia, institution racism, white supremacy…. sin. Sin is more than just when we do bad things or neglect to do good ones. Sin is part of all of us – it is the cause of the broken world that we live in. We “should” know better, and often we do know better, and yet, here we are – stuck. We as a nation and as individuals have taken out a “loan” that we can’t begin to pay back. We have been led into captivity that has been disguised as “freedom.” This is a heavy yoke indeed.

To our plight, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me…. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

This teaching of Jesus may sound very familiar. It is an especially popular text for memorials. And why not? The image that my loved one is now at rest with Jesus is a very comforting one. But while this text is beautiful for funerals, Jesus is not just speaking about those who have died. Jesus is speaking to us, right here, right now.

We have been carrying a lot right now.  Perhaps you have been worried about finances during this pandemic, as many of us have in these last hard weeks and months. Perhaps a family member or friend sick or recovering, struggling with the restrictions that Covid brings to all who are medically fragile. Perhaps your struggling with technology that is unfamiliar, or with loneliness. We are tired – worry-tired, sin-tired, “tired to death” tired.

Jesus gives us give you the rest that you so desperately need. Not because Jesus will take away all your worries and make your life perfect with the wave of a magic wand. No, Jesus gives you rest because Jesus takes on our burdens with us and for us. for us. Jesus took on YOUR burdens, YOUR sins, YOUR fears. All these things that bring death to you were all nailed to the cross with Jesus. All power that these things had over you was SHATTERED that early Easter morning when Jesus burst from the tomb, ALIVE. Your BURDENS couldn’t hold him. Your SINS couldn’t hold him. Jesus defeated them all… YOU are truly free. But… how are we going to live out this freedom in our lives?

We all have been freed by the only kind of freedom that really matters: the freedom that comes from Jesus. You may have the right to do whatever you want, but if you aren’t living in THIS freedom for the sake of our neighbor, we may as well still be a British colony. This freedom is worth more than a hundred “Bill of Rights,” more than any Declaration of Independence, more than a million fireworks shows. Your liberties, your privileges, and your choices can all be limited or upended. But no one, not kings or presidents, can take away this freedom in Christ away from you.

We have already been made free by Jesus, and there is nothing we can do to earn it – that is the revelation that Martin Luther had those hundreds of years ago. And that nothing will stand in the way to your free access the love of God. So who are we to stand in the way of the freedom of others, in this moment, right here and right now?

Right before the Battle of Yorktown in Hamilton, General George Washington passes on this advice to a young Alexander, “Let me tell you what I wish I'd known, When I was young and dreamed of glory: You have no control, Who lives, who dies, who tells your story….. Remember from here on in - History has its eyes on you.” They were living in the “thick” of history in the making…. But then again, so are WE.

Let's live in such a way that - when our kids, grand-kids, nieces or nephews, that kid down the street doing a history project, asks us about 2020 - we don't have to massage the truth or leave things out. May we live in such a way that we can look them in the eye, and say with confidence: "I tried to the best of my ability to protect my neighbor from dying, I allowed myself to be inconvenienced in order to benefit the common good, I fought injustice when I saw it, and I did a lot of listening and learning. I could have done more, but at least I did that." Then, they will tell your story, and they can be proud of the part you played in history.

History is watching us, more so now than ever. Let’s live in such a way that we use our freedom to lessen the burden of others. After all, it is not that heavy of a yoke if we all pitch in to help one another. Thanks be to God. Amen.