July 3
Beloved of Good Shepherd Church
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
The Fourth of July is a joyful day flush with the best spirit of patriotism and good cheer among neighbors in our country. For me it is an archetypal holiday in as much as it elicits in me feelings of gratitude for all the generations of people who have come before us setting the scene in which we live in such freedom. I am so thankful for all the children of God who have come before us in good times and in hard times as participants in God’s evolutionary art project, the majesty of all creation.
We live in the spaciousness of exterior freedoms for sure, but the truest, deepest freedom is inner freedom. Etty Hillesum was a prisoner in WWII and did not enjoy the extravagant exterior freedoms that I do, but her relationship with God gave her a sure sense that despite her captivity she was as free as a bird. “The sky within me,” she wrote, “is as wide as the one stretching above my head. I find life beautiful and I feel free.” Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection counsels us to practice the presence of God continually by turning to God during the course of our ordinary activities with slight gestures of inner affection and simple nods toward God and love as we live our lives. Over time this simple practice will usher us gently into an inner freedom of the heart and mind that will take over the exteriority of our lives and no matter what is happening in our lives, whether good, bad, or indifferent we will experience a freedom in God that makes every day a holiday, a day to celebrate the gift of life and our liberation in the land of love.
Happy Fourth of July to you and yours! I pray that the holiday is a time of great inner freedom for you as you let God carry you into the depths of your own being where you are one with Him in love in the infinite spaciousness of your own heart.
Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!
Love is all,
Hendree+
P.S. If Etty, Brother Lawrence, and inner freedom interest you, then consider joining us at the Mystics Reading Group where we will be discussing all three next Monday evening in the worship space. Find out more HERE.