Juneteenth
18“The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
Today is the national celebration of June 19, 1865, “Juneteenth”, the day when Union Soldiers finally made it to Galveston, TX to proclaim to the slaves there that they had been freed. The news took two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed to reach the slaves in Texas. African Americans in Texas held their first Juneteenth celebration in 1866 and it has been celebrated in the African American community ever since. It was not until President Joe Biden made it a federal holiday that it was brought into the mainstream. Now, four years later, America’s current president has systematically sought to wipe out African American history from America’s history. In fact, while trump had plenty to say about erecting two flag poles on the White House lawn, he had nothing to say about the holiday today. While our fearless leader might have been mute on the day, my home church of Compassion Christian put a very special video together to celebrate the day, which you can watch by clicking the image below.
While today should be a day to celebrate a crucial moment in American history, we are living in a country led by the most despicable president to ever sit in the oval office. Despite his own claims, trump’s approval ratings are the lowest in presidential history. All the steps this country took in the last four years to progress in the right direction have been erased in the last four months. It is hard to celebrate anything about being American anymore. Luckily, I find my identity in Christ, which is why I find this day one to lift up.
Juneteenth reflects the hope of Heaven, that all men and women live in freedom, freedom from the man-made bondage of slavery, and the bondage of sin. Spend time today reflecting on the amazing leaders that helped make America the “Land of the Free” for everyone 160 years ago.
Today is a day to reflect on the dark history of our nation. But today is also a day to celebrate that our nation fought for the freedom of all people. Today is a day to praise. Today is a day to worship. There’s a 1,000,000 reasons why we should celebrate. Probably even more, but as Brandon Lake sings in his latest single, he’s got at least a million reasons why.
Common Sense Reborn 