We need to be reminded that God has a dream for us in which all His children and indeed the whole of His creation will live in the harmonious interdependence which was God's intention from the beginning. --Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This concept of God's dream for the world has long rung in my heart. As far as I know, I first heard of it in relation to Bp. Tutu, though not precisely in his words above but probably quoted by others in sermons and prayers. It seems a dream that is not about a "pie in the sky when you die" paradise to be had in the distant future if we have lived a good life here. Rather, it is about the world as it could be--as it should be--right here and now. if only we could align ourselves with what God intended at the creation.

I am acutely aware these days of the vast gulf between this world and God's dream. It has become more and more evident over the past year or so--not just with the realities of the pandemic, but with the voices that have been more and more clear about the atrocities that have been perpetuated on certain segments of the population through the centuries since the "discovery" of our land. These continue to impact those populations and indeed all of us and our environment to this day: the forced removal of indigenous peoples, the enslavement of African Americans, the internment of Japanese Americans as well as exclusion of Asians. The oppression of women and, most recently, those who identify their gender and sexuality on a non-binary spectrum. Some of our groups in church have been engaging in discussions with books that address these lesser known parts of our history.

On this weekend when we celebrate our country's independence, I am hopeful that we can openly acknowledge those areas in which our nation has not yet achieved its aspiration

"that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and in the words of our Pledge of Allegiance 'with liberty and justice for all." Not in the sense of blame but with a desire to hear one another's stories, to fill in the blanks that were left in our history lessons, and to be accountable to those who continue to suffer in the wake of such injustice.

And I pray that we can accept the part that the church has played. Right at this moment, we are reeling from the discoveries of bodies at Indian boarding schools in Canada knowing that the Episcopal Church, too, was accountable for 18 of these schools in the United States.

May our future--of the church, of our nation, and of each one of us-- move in new directions even as we watch parades and fireworks and enjoy picnics. May we celebrate the blessings of our nation even while prayerfully acknowledging the ways in which we fall short. And may we always strive toward God's dream for creation and walk in the ways of Jesus.