Micah 4.1-5; Revelation 21.1-7
Swords into ploughshares.

In the Civil War they melted church bells into cannonballs, but were they ever melted back? Preachers and politicians preached about the Cause–God’s cause–with pockets fat and buldging–did any of their sons or daughters go to war?

Words like freedom, liberty, independence all get tossed around these days–blessings from God–but have we grown complacent that we cant fathom the feeling, the desperation, the hunger for these things that our founders did. Did Jefferson’s heart burn as he penned the declaration? Did he shed tears? Could even stomach his beloved macaroni and cheese as he wrote words about all men being created equal just paces away from his row of slave quarters on the hill in western Virginia?

Today, fireworks, BBQs, “America the Beautiful,” sang by everyone from Bing Crosby to the Grateful Dead, Bessie Smith God-blessing an America we take for granted. Gas prices, taxes, unemployment nearing ten-percent, politicians who have always cheated … “… and we interrupt Neil Armstong narrating the Lincoln Portrait for the latest on why the King of Pop faked his death and was spotted in southern France eating eggs and tomatoes with The King, who was having peanut butter & bannana?”

Independence Day for independent thinkers spurred to action, pen in hand, signing their name on paper that would eventually fade and crack, and if not for the preservationists, turn to dust. “We the people …” All people? “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Has not the last been the pursuit that has worn thin–instead, “life and the freedom to own (eventually) whatever you can buy on credit?”

And who will buy all the cannonballs and give the church’s their bells back?