Homily, Celebrating Freedom: A Homily for Juneteenth
Second Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 7C, 2022
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Tequesta, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
Isaiah 65:1-9
Psalm 22:18-27
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
One year ago the federal government of the Unites States adopted the holiday of Juneteenth on its calendar, and today is Juneteenth and so today we celebrate freedom.
For more than 200 years the institution of slavery held sway in this land, enslaving millions of African and Black Americans. Their pain and suffering is unimaginable, and yet they endured, they survived, they lived. Until finally, in 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation spread throughout the land, declaring legal freedom to all enslaved Americans in the south. Years of suffering and prayers and action found a moment of promise in that proclamation and the celebrations began.
But not in all places. In the far off edges of the nation there were some that rebelled and the news of freedom was delayed. In Texas, the opposite side of the country, it wasn’t for another 2 1/2 years that the proclamation would reach the ears of those enslaved living there. But on June 19, 1865, 157 years ago today, the message finally came to Galveston, TX where the celebrations began before the proclamation was even finished being read. Thus the birth of Juneteenth.
Imagine with me, what it must have been like. Imagine that for your whole life you had been called someone else’s property but now in this proclamation you are called what God has always called you: free. Imagine the joy. What must it have been like? What words were spoken that day on the shores of the Texas coast?
While the song wasn’t written for another 35 years, I can’t help but imagine the emancipated singing that famous hymn so often sung in the black church”,
Lift every voice and sing,
‘Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Today we celebrate freedom. Our gospel passage this morning tells the story of a man on the opposite shore of Galilee living for years under the possession—the oppression—of many demons. He called himself Legion—the name of the occupying military force that no doubt wreaked havoc in his community. His hands were bound in chains, his feet in shackles. And for years he lived among the tombs rather than in his own home.
But then on the beach along the sea he met Jesus. Who looked at him with eyes of compassion and healed him. Right then and there he declared to this man his freedom and asked him to return home, declaring how much God had done for him. And so the man left, proclaiming his own emancipation, and celebrating how much Jesus had done for him.
Imagine with me, what it must have been like. Imagine that for years of your life you’ve lived bound and oppressed by the power of demons only to suddenly be freed. Imagine the joy. What must it have been like? What words were spoken that day on the shores of the Sea of Galilee?
I can’t help but imagine the man walking home through the streets singing,
Lift every voice and sing,
‘Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Today is a day for the celebration of freedom. Today is a day to celebrate that God’s power is greater than any power of demons or oppression out there. Today is a day to celebrate liberation.
And yet, sometimes we’re not so good at celebrating, especially when what we’re celebrating is not our own freedom, but the freedom of our neighbor.
Look again at the gospel text for today. In the very moment of the liberated man’s celebration, his neighbors respond not in celebration, but in fear. And they ask Jesus to leave them.
Now why would these neighbors respond in such a way? You’d think they’d be overjoyed for the man. You’d think they rush to Jesus to find their own healing and freedom. You’d think they’d lift every voice to sing. But they didn’t. They responded not in celebration, but in fear. And they asked Jesus to leave.
I wonder if they responded in fear because they couldn’t see the abundance of God’s mercy. I wonder if it was because they were operating from a mindset of scarcity, competition, and self-preservation rather than mutual flourishing. They saw the healing of the man as a threat to the power structures and status quo that kept them comfortable rather than a sign of God working among them.
Such is the history of so many white Americans in this country’s journey for black freedom and prosperity. Because when the power structures are shifted and the status quo is questioned, those of us with social privilege often fear what may happen to our place in the world. And so rather than celebrating with our neighbor, we respond in our fear, sending Jesus away.
Now I know this is not an easy topic for us in this nation. I can already feel us shifting in our seats. And yet it’s such an important conversation for us to have! Because the topic of race is everywhere in society. It’s our history. And however easy it’d be to not talk about it, God has something to say about it. Because God wants to bring healing to our world’s division. God wants to bring healing to things that are hard to talk about. God wants to bring healing and justice to the systems of oppression in which we so often find ourselves operating.
How many of you need healing this morning? Whether it be healing from a sickness or a broken relationship, whether it be freedom from sin or an addiction, or whether it be exorcism from a harmful ideology of racism, we all need healing.
And so as we read our gospel passage this morning I’m wondering what would have happened if instead of clinging to fear and power the people along the lakeshore had embraced joy and celebration? What would have happened if they had seen this man’s healing as sign of God’s abundant mercy? What would have happened if instead of rejecting Jesus they had accepted him? They would have come to Jesus with their own wounds, their own fears, their own demons, and he would have healed them as well.
That is the invitation for us this morning. Sometimes we in our white communities leave the celebration of black freedom and resilience to black communities. Sometimes we in our white communities leave the work of dismantling racism and proclaiming freedom for all to communities of color. And in doing so, we leave our own wounds exposed and unhealed.
But God’s loving, liberating, and life-giving work is for us all. We belong together in Beloved Community and people in community with one another celebrate with one another and work together side-by-side. And when we participate in that Beloved Community we find ourselves healed as well, and God knows there’s plenty of things for which we need healing.
Today is called Juneteenth—a celebration of freedom which remembers that day in Galveston one hundred and fifty-seven years ago. But Juneteenth is not just for black folks to celebrate. It’s an American holiday we should all recognize. For when we become the Beloved Community, the emancipation of our neighbor is a celebration for us all and an opportunity for the healing of us all.
So today may we not turn Jesus away; instead, may we join in the proclamation of liberation. May we join in the song,
Lift every voice and sing,
‘Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Amen.
*While the invitation to celebrate Juneteenth with our black siblings is open, it’s important to be mindful of the ways in which we celebrate. Here are some articles to help us think carefully about how we as white folks can join our black siblings in the celebration of and working towards freedom for all. For white folks, celebration may look more like work than recreation!
Why We Should All Celebrate Juneteenth by Jazmin Kreimer from The Progressive Magazine
10 Things We Want White People to Do to Celebrate Juneteenth by Guimel Carvalho and Amy Hogarth
Thoughts on Faith 