Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church

The Fourth of July is always a time for celebration in our land. It is a chance for family and friends to gather together for barbecues, outdoor activities, and fireworks. On Independence Day, the cause of our celebration is freedom, freedom from a cruel, repressive government, and freedom from a tyrannical king. This freedom is not only about liberation “from,” but also liberation “to;” freedom to chart our own course, to work for our own goals, and to reap the fruits of our own labors.

While this civil holiday may not be found on our ecclesiastical calendars, we can certainly derive some spiritual food from it, right along with our hot dogs and ice-cold beverages! The Fourth of July can be an opportunity for us to recall that there is a spiritual struggle for independence that goes on in our lives every single day. The tyrannical king is the devil; his cruel government is this fallen world and death; the overwhelming tax burdens and the tax collectors are our sins along with the demons who wait in the aerial toll-houses to accuse us at our death.

Nothing is better than spiritual freedom. The Lord Jesus Christ said: “If the Son (of God) therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). But in order to gain this freedom, this freedom which is in Christ, there needs to be a revolution, a revolution in us! Now the word “revolution” literally means to turn. Isn't that what repentance is? A turn? A change of direction? A change of mind? Repentance is a spiritual struggle, a spiritual war against the tyranny of evil. Repentance is a noetic revolution and an ascetic strategy that employs spiritual armaments given to us by the grace of God. St Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but have Divine power to pull down strongholds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

So, then, the Fourth can serve as a good reminder to us that we need to keep up the struggle and “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). It's only when we let our guard down, relax our efforts and resolve, that we find ourselves slipping back into the clutches of our Adversary and the tyranny of his fallen order.

“Stand fast therefore” (says St. Paul) “in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

Archpriest Basil Rhodes