On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was placed before Mr. Lincoln by Secretary Seward, for the President’s signature, Mr. Lincoln took a pen, dipped it in the ink, moved his hand to the place for the signature, held it a moment, then removed his hand and dropped the pen. After a little hesitation, he again took up the pen and went through the same movement as before. Mr. Lincoln then turned to Mr. Seward and said: “I have been shaking hands since nine o’clock this morning, and my right arm is almost paralyzed. If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. But if my hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, “He hesitated.” ” He then turned to the table, took up the pen again, and slowly, firmly wrote “Abraham Lincoln,” with which the whole world is now familiar. He then looked up, smiled, and said, “That will do.”
With a stroke of a pen president Lincoln declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." As a born-again southerner I take issue with the president’s reference to “rebellious states” but that stuff about being free is profound. As news of the president’s Emancipation Proclamation spread across the south, can you imagine the reaction. I am sure there was more than one slave master who was, shall we say, less than willing to comply. The history books are full of such reactions. But for the moment I am more interested in how the men, women, and children who had spent their entire lives as slaves reacted. Imagine living your life at the mercy of another man’s whims; to have no choice but to go where that man tells you to go to do what that man tells you to do. It doesn’t matter if the thing that man tells you to do is demeaning or degrading, it doesn’t matter if the thing that man tells you to do is personally damaging or destructive, it doesn’t matter because you don’t matter. You are nothing more than a tool to be used and abused and when you have outlived your usefulness you are to be discarded along with all the other garbage. Forget about how the masters reacted, I want to know how the slaves reacted when they heard "that all persons held as slaves" "are, and henceforward shall be free."
Can you tell me? Can you tell me how they reacted? I ask because I know you know what it is like to be a slave. In John 8:34 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” I know your conscience has already informed you of this but for the sake of clarity I’ll say it. You are sinners. Which means, you know what it is like to be mastered, it’s just your master was not another man, your master was your sinful self. Your sinful self was “hostile toward God” [1], it would not, could not, and did not submit to God’s law. Further, your sinful self was hell bent, literally hell bent on indulging in passions and desires, holding onto resentments and grudges, seeking vengeance and retribution. You know what it is like to be at the mercy of whims, you have been forced to do demeaning degrading things that are personally damaging and destructive. You have been used, abused, and treated like refuse. You know… because once you were enslaved by your sinful self.
So, can you tell me; can you tell me how a slave reacts to being emancipated? I ask you because you were once mastered by your sinful self, but that is no longer the case. In verses 6-7 saint Paul proclaims, “6 For we know that our old self (our sinful self) was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” You have been freed from sin. You are no longer a slave to sin. With the stroke of a pen saint Paul declares you “are and henceforward shall be free”. How does one react to that kind of freedom?!?
Before you answer I will admit it is too simplistic to say that President Lincoln freed the slaves with the stroke of a pen. The loss of property during the civil war was extensive; cities like Atlanta were left in ruins. Financially, the country hemorrhaged billions of dollars and the loss of life was catastrophic, an estimated 750,000 men lost their lives during the civil war. More than ink was spilled to emancipate America’s slaves. So, I know it doesn’t surprise you to learn it took more than a stroke of a pen to set you free from your slavery to sin.
This Sunday we are recognizing the baptism of our Lord. In our gospel lesson we read “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”[2] Our gospel states this event simply as a matter of fact but let us not miss what a remarkable event Jesus’ baptism was for us. With that act Jesus connects Himself to us; He presents Himself as the one who will live under the righteous requirements of the law and perfectly keep the righteous requirements of the law in our place. And that is exactly what Jesus did. All the years of His life Jesus kept Himself free from the shackles of sin. But still, His connection to people who were enslaved by sin proved deadly. Three years after His baptism Jesus was treated as though His mind was hostile to God. Jesus was punished as though He indulged passions and desires, held on to resentments and grudges and sought vengeance and retribution. Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried because of His connection to us.
But that is not the end of it. Not only did Jesus connect Himself to us in His baptism, but in our baptisms, Jesus connects us to Himself. Listen to what Paul writes in verses 3-4, “3… don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Our baptisms connect us to Jesus, they connect us to His death on the cross where, along with Him, our sinful self was crucified. Not only that, but our baptisms connect us to the empty tomb where, along with Jesus, we are raised from the dead; raised as Paul says to “live a new life”; a life free from the slavery of sin.
More than ink was spilled to emancipate you from your slavery to sin. I’m curious, how are you going to react to that? Saint Paul has a suggestion. In verses 12-14 he writes, “12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. You are not a slave to sin. Therefore, you do not have to give in to those passions and desires. You are not a slave to sin. Therefore, you can let go of those resentments and grudges. You are not a slave to sin. Therefore, you don’t have to seek vengeance and retribution. You are not a slave to sin. You have been set free. You are free to live chaste and virtuous lives. You are free to forgive and forget. You are free to encourage and support. You are free to be an instrument of righteousness because you are not a slave to sin.
Though the president declared it to be true, for many years the people of America struggled to adopt the Emancipation Proclamation, sadly some struggled more than others, sadder some are still struggling today. It is taking a long time for America to let go of slavery. However, I think even the most jaded critic would have to admit progress has been made but at the same time the most obtuse activist would have to admit we need to make more progress still.
Even though the president proclaimed emancipation, the journey from slave to free has been filled with setbacks frustrations, faults, and failures. Don’t be surprised if the same is true for you. You have been freed from sin. You are no longer slaves to sin. Your God has declared it to be true. But you will continue to struggle with sin. Though you try not to give in to passions and desires but rather live chaste virtues lives, there will be setbacks. Though you try to let go of resentments and grudges but rather forgive and forget, there will be frustrations. Though you try not to seek vengeance and retribution but rather offer encouragement and support, there will be fault. Though you try not to offer parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer parts of your body to God as instruments of righteousness, there will be failure. There may be so many setbacks, frustrations, faults, and failures that it feels like you have once again become a slave to your sinful self. But you haven’t. Though you may struggle to act like it, the fact that you are struggling is evidence that you are free. Listen to what Paul writes in verse 14. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”
Through His baptism Jesus connected Himself to you. Through your baptism Jesus connected you to Himself. As a result, you are not a slave to sin. You are not at the mercy of whims, you cannot be forced to do demeaning and degrading things that are personally damaging and destructive, you need not be used, abused, and treated like refuse. Because of Jesus, you are, and henceforward shall be free. Amen
[1] Romans 8:7–8
[2] Mark 1:9