On the 4th of July, but other times as well, it is good to remind ourselves that God created us with free will and gifted us with the freedom to use it. But, of course, we had to foul things up. When Adam and Eve sinned it opened the door to all kinds of captivities that profoundly affect our liberty. As Paul put it in Romans 6, we became slaves of sin and slaves of uncleanness. It is a terrible thing to be a captive.
May Angelou describes it in her poem, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," this way:
A free bird leaps on the back
Of the win and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange sun's rays
And dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage.
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.
In 1776 the politically "caged bird" broke out and declared his independence and so we celebrate freedom each Fourth of July.
The children of Israel were like a caged bird for hundreds of years in Egypt. But finally God gave them freedom and they have celebrated it ever since in the Passover meal. Their celebration meal includes four cups of wine which was considered a royal drink and symbolized freedom. The use of four cups is based on God's promises in Exodus 6:6-8 where four terms are used to describe God's action in achieving their freedom. First, "I shall take you out"; second, "I shall rescue you"; third, "I shall redeem you"; and fourth, "I shall bring you out as my people."
The third cup is referred to as either the cup of redemption or the cup of blessing and it was probably when they came to this place in the meal when Jesus took the cup and called it "the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you."
When Jesus began his ministry he saw that all people, not just Israel, were like birds in a cage, captives of sin and death. The first thing he did was to give a defining speech in the Synagogue of Capernaum when he quoted Isaiah 61 and said, in part, "He has sent me to proclaim releases to the captives and ... to set free those who are oppressed" (Luke 4). Then, as his ministry reached its climactic point, just as he was about to give his life to set the captives free, he gave us a way to celebrate our freedom. Not with war-like rockets and firecrackers, not with loud, blaring noise, not with some stirring extravaganza, but with the simple elements of bread and wine. And so let us celebrate our freedom, made possible by his body, given for us, and his blood, shed for the remission of our sins.
