Juneteenth

On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston, TX and announced that the Civil War was over and that all enslaved people were now free.  This date has come to be celebrated in its contracted form as Juneteenth.  It is the celebration of of the end of slavery in America.  July 4, 1776, was Independence Day for free Americans.  June 19, 1865, began a trajectory of independence for all Americans.

As Christians, we are uniquely equipped to celebrate and appreciate freedom.  Freedom is one of the prevailing metaphors for new life in Christ.  We’ve come a long way on that trajectory of independence since the first Juneteenth.  But the events of the past few weeks make it clear that there is still work to be done.  The goal we are striving for is not a social or political one.  It is a biblical goal.  It is a vision of a day when all the saints of God reach full unity, regardless of race, color, or culture.  Then we will be truly free.

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.”

-Revelation  7:9-10