A record number of viewers tuned in to the Jimmy Kimmel show this past week for the comedian’s return after being cancelled as a result of unlawful pressure on the network from our current administration. Our freedom to voice opposition to government policy remains under attack.
Last week, we focused on the concept of belonging and its connection to confidence and free speech. And last Sunday, the world witnessed another powerful illustration of freedom when Erika, the widow of political activist Charlie Kirk, forgave the person who murdered her husband.
I’m sure Jimmy Kimmel and Erika Kirk disagree on politics. But we saw something between them that everyone can agree on. It’s a universal truth that forgiven people are free people, and free people forgive!
By way of contrast, this week began with our current president ordering the Attorney General to go after his political rivals. Morals, ethics, principles, or the law do not affect how and why decisions are made in the administration. Instead, personal whim dictates policy.
This is how despotism operates. Many argue that we are already under authoritarian rule because Congress is afraid to do the job it was elected to do. Luckily, the midterm elections provide a solution to this crisis. In the meantime, we must all be vigilant for any attempts to manipulate, precondition, or otherwise interfere with a free and fair election.
As the formation of our country began, the colonies lifted their voice and said, “No more kings!” These founding fathers were not only rejecting a distant king, but they were also rejecting the idea of too much power under a single leader.
They had tasted the bitterness of despotism. That is, policies imposed without consent, burdens laid without representation, and freedom restrained without justice. And so, the birth cry of our nation was a cry for freedom.
Our Declaration of Independence asserts that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” — life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. This belief in inherent human rights anchors the idea of freedom not in government, but in something higher. This founding document also asserted that humans should be free from oppressive rule and that all are created equal. This makes freedom a moral and political necessity.
Our Constitution set up a framework to protect and balance our rights with social order. Beginning with the belief that people can govern themselves through representation, checks and balances, and the rule of law. This belief makes freedom sustainable rather than chaotic.
Our Bill of Rights explicitly secures freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and due process. In other words, we believe that freedom is a moral truth, rooted in natural law and belief in equality.
In this week’s reading from our companion book, Hai and Grazina retrieve her old electric scooter and experience a taste of freedom as they take a ride around town. Unfortunately, their newfound agency is only temporary as Grazina’s condition deteriorates. And on Christmas Eve, when they visit her son, Lucas, plans are revealed to move Grazina into the Hamilton Home and sell her house. Grazina’s freedom is under attack.
Meanwhile, we also learn more about Hai’s addiction and his failed attempt at college. We also learn that HomeMarket’s illusion of “fresh food” is more processed than customers realize. Nevertheless, the HomeMarket crew continues to be a community and refuge, but always under attack. Sony is fired after a regional manager visits with news of a competitor opening nearby.
Hai, Sony, Grazina, Maureen, and BJ go on a road trip to Vermont to search for a diamond embedded in his father’s hand, but it’s not recovered after he died in a car fire. They find a burnt headrest but little else. Grazina again tastes freedom while becoming increasingly threatened by the possibility of being placed in full-time care. Their stories reveal an ongoing struggle between agency, dignity, and institutional forces.
As their stories continue, the tensions surrounding lies, identity, caregiving, family obligations, and loss accumulate. Grazina’s complete loss of freedom seems imminent. And Hai is increasingly torn between choices about truth-telling and survival.
We’re not only watching our nation revert to authoritarian control. Our administration’s policies are moving our country further and further away from the teachings of Christ. Our nation was founded with the idea that we all answer to God. Sadly, we’re following a path leading away from these founding principles.
According to scripture, during the days of Samuel, Israel cried out for a king, despite God’s warning against authoritarian rule. One person with that much power will take, take, and take again. This is the way of despotism—taking without giving, ruling without serving. It is the spirit of Pharaoh, not the spirit of Christ.
Just as God knew what happens under the heavy hand of a king, so too God knows the heavy hand of sin. Christ teaches us that sin is a tyrant, a despot of the soul. Sin takes your peace, it takes your joy, and it takes your future.
Paul wrote in his first letter to the church in Colossae, “Because of what Jesus Christ has done, we have been set free. Because of him, all our sins have been forgiven.” God does not want us to carry the burden that sin puts on us, nor does God want us to carry the burden of not forgiving others.
The people stood there watching.
Luke 23:32-42
Luke tells us that Jesus was hung on a cross between two criminals. And in the midst of His suffering, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”
They obviously didn’t. Luke tells us that as God’s Son was being brutally murdered, soldiers divided up His clothes by casting lots, and poked fun at Him. The rulers made fun of Jesus.
One of the criminals hanging there also mocked Jesus. But the other one said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus answered him, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Meanwhile, according to Luke, the people stood there watching.
Jesus often spoke about the possibility of heaven on earth. His presence meant that heaven was near enough to touch. But without forgiveness, heaven is a distant mirage.
Forgiven people are free people, and free people forgive!
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Pastor Tommy
Our companion book for this series: Ocean Vuong. The Emperor of Gladness. NY: Penguin Press, 2025.