Well, today is a very special day in America – the 4th of July. In fact, it is the 245th anniversary of our declaration of independence from England. Of course, we all know that the Revolutionary War was fought with England to permanently remove ourselves from being under the authority of the English king. Colonial Williamsburg is one of the wonderful living history museums that tell the story of this time in our country’s history and each year there are celebrations to remember the day of our declaration.
This day also holds other significance in that both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on this date in 1826, 50 years to the day after we declared our independence. There was also a third former president who died on this date – James Monroe died five years after his two compatriots. So three of the first five U.S. presidents passed away on what has become a national day of celebration in the United States.
Throughout the years, the celebrations on this date are known far and wide. But, in addition to the deaths of three of our Founding Fathers on July 4th, the surrender of Vicksburg, one of the battles of the Civil War, also occurred on this date. The troops of Confederate Lt. General John Pemberton surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant after a successful siege forced the Confederate forces to succumb to the superior force of the Union army.
In fact, this surrender at Vicksburg occurred just one day after the Union victory at Gettysburg. These two battles were instrumental in turning the tide and virtually assuring that the North would win the Civil War. Coincidentally, it would be more than 81 years before the town of Vicksburg would join once again in the celebrations associated with the 4th of July – the loss at Vicksburg was too much for the city to bear.
It was after Allied victory in WWII that the city of Vicksburg once again considered celebrating July 4th. Prior to this time, there were no fireworks, displays of celebration or any other festivities. People worked a normal day and even the local post office was open on this day. There was a small interest in reviving the festivities in this southern city in the mid-1940’s but it waned until 1976. The bicentennial celebration of the founding of this country was grand enough that Vicksburg once again joined the rest of the nation in celebrating on this memorable day.
It’s clear that celebrations can be powerful and memorable. Victors in battle celebrate and, of course, there are many other reasons to have wonderful festivities. . The Bible is full of examples of celebrations – many of them commanded by God Himself. These events included the Passover, when the people of God were spared as the angel of death passed over the houses of the Jewish people and annual feasts to remember the goodness and faithfulness of God.
So the Bible endorses celebrations. The spirit of celebrations is to be authentic and truthful – not wicked, antagonistic or mean spirited. They are a time of joy and happiness. Our verse for tonight is from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Paul tells the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5:8, “Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.”
While there are many verses that deal with specific feasts and celebrations, Paul’s admonishment is that we are to have a proper attitude about our festivals – and that includes the 4th of July. God has blessed this country, at least so far, with independence and our forefathers started this country with a reverence for God.
My encouragement this evening is that we are to have celebrations to remember those times that we have been blessed by God. Even when great times are over, we are to remember that they occurred, rather than that they are over. My prayer is that we will always celebrate with a spirit that we have been blessed by God. These are joyous occasions that are to be remembered throughout the generations. Happy Birthday, America! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…