Freedom

What does the 4^th of July mean to Messianics? A good number of us are American patriots. Many of us are disillusioned with American government, ideals, and cultural values. Do we celebrate? Do we abstain? What are we celebrating? What are we abstaining from?

If it is appropriate to celebrate anything at all, it is certainly appropriate to celebrate the freedom to observe our religious traditions without hinderance. In fact, on the Jewish calendar we have four celebrations of that very thing. Passover, Hanukkah, Purim, and Israeli independence day. So it seems like it would be ironic if we didn’t at least take a moment to remember that the United States has been one of the most friendly countries in history regarding free practice of religion, including Judaism. The ride has had its bumps and we haven’t always been universally accepted, but overall, we’ve been very well accepted.

At the same time, we can be too accepted. The modern American Jew is facing an assimilation problem like never before. This is especially true of Messianics. Where we are so accepted it is easy to forget that we are supposed to be distinct, a city set on a hill, a light to the nations, a kingdom of priests. It seems almost ungrateful to insist on remaining separate from a culture that has been so welcoming, but we should never forget that we have a higher calling. Anyone can blend in, but we can stand out. God desired for us to be outstanding, not average. “Hashem desired, for the sake of (his servant)’s righteousness to make the Torah great and glorious.” (Isaiah 42:21)

We have a long tradition of submitting to civil authorities as far as is reasonable, and I don’t think I need to cite the epistles or the Mishnah where is this made clear, or to retell the story of Esther. We should not forget, though, the advice of R. Shemayah, “Love work; despise lordliness; and do not become overly familiar with the government.” (Mishnah, Pirkei Avoth, 1:10) The sages repeatedly caution us about relying on governors, and the prophets repeatedly warn Israel not to rely on Egypt, because they will not support us in the end.

“So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,” Ephesians 2:19-20 (RSV). We are not primarily citizens of this country. We are primarily citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. That is where our only loyalty lies. God does not demand our first loyalty, so that our second is for our country. God demands our only loyalty. The Messiah is not our first love, He is our only love.

We should remember that it is not the country or these western laws that make us free, but whom the Son has set free is free in deed! (John 8:36) The sages remind us that as soon as we came out of Egypt we made ourselves slaves to HaShem and His law. True freedom is not what we have here. True freedom is the freedom to dedicate ourselves entirely to serving God.

So when we celebrate the 4^th of July, we should keep in mind we should not celebrate the birth of a nation to which we owe no loyalty. We are not celebrating cultural values that are not ours. We celebrate that we have been welcomed guests, but only guests, with our eyes turned east, with the Temple in our hearts and God’s mercy on our faces.