So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31-36).
Perhaps you aren’t aware of the history of today’s holiday, Juneteenth (June 19th). It is a federal holiday in the United States celebrating the liberation of enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865. Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but it was not implemented in places still under Confederate control, and because Texas, being on the westernmost edge of the Confederacy, was farthest from the military action of the Civil War, many people were still enslaved, as there were no soldiers there to enforce the executive decree. But when Union troops, both white and Black, arrived in Galveston Bay on June 19, 1865, two months after the official end of the war, they saw to it by threat of force that the 250,000-plus enslaved Black people in the state were freed. Thus the date began to be celebrated.
There is a greater battle that took place for the freedom of mankind almost 2,000 years ago. Our reading today comes from the Gospel of John where Jesus is teaching some of the Jews who had come to believe in Him. They were confused by His statement that they were free in Him. Being proud of their heritage they asserted they had never been enslaved, even though the Romans had taken their land and freedoms from them many years earlier. Before the Romans there were the Greeks, and before them the Babylonians, and even before them the Assyrians. They hadn’t known personal freedom for many centuries. Yet, they claimed to be free.
Their tragic mistake has been repeated many times over. We cannot accept political freedom as if that were the ultimate gift. Real freedom can only come from the Son, Jesus Christ. Thank God for His amazing grace! Thank God for His gift of eternal freedom in His Son!