"Emancipation. Liberty. Freedom." The most popular idea in our English language. We who live in West Virginia, almost heaven, say it in classical Latin in our state motto: Montani Semper Liberi. Martin Luther King, Jr., longed for the day when he could say, "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last." A college freshman, leaving home for the first time, pats himself on the back, now free from home, from little brother, from curfews and from parents breathing down your back. But, uh…oh, suddenly college professors assign homework, more and harder than in high school. Talk about how words mean different things to different people! "Freedom" is the toughest word to define truthfully.

Talking with Pastor Bill McCoy, some of us reminded him that "Big Green" refers not only to the Marshall University football team, perhaps a somewhat negative reference, but "Big Green" also refers to money, and we are going to need lots of it. We need to be careful to put a good, positive spin on "Big Green." Kermit the Frog, one of my favorite moppets, helps us see green positively. Kermit sings, "It’s not that easy being green. But I am green and it’ll do fine. It’s beautiful and I think it’s what I want to be."

Jesus tries to teach us what freedom means in God’s kingdom. Some followers believe in him, but when Jesus tries to move them beyond belief to freedom, their ideas clash head on. Why do they need to be freed up? They’ve never been slaves to anyone! Relying upon their Jewish ancestry and heritage, they resist Jesus’ offer of freedom on his terms. And you and I may drag our feet, resisting change from our normal way of thinking to Jesus’ new way of thinking.

Jesus says, "If you remain in my word, listen to me, study me and my teaching, and continue to grow in your fellowship with me, then, you will be becoming my disciples." The word "disciple" means to learn. They are not already his disciples, because they resist his teaching and resist learning to know and love him. They believe, perhaps some correct ideas about him as a prophet, but they resist getting to know him as their Lord and Savior and continuing to learn from and with him. They make the mistake we humans often make. We like to think of freedom as something we already have. Especially we like to shed rules and boundaries. Jesus offers freedom as a growing relationship with him, when we learn more and more how to love and serve him.

"When you continue in my word," Jesus says, "You will know the truth, and this truth will set you free, will liberate you." To pious, proud Jews, Jesus sounds arrogant and condescending. But Jesus says, "I am the truth, the way and the life." Come unto the Father in and through me. To become Jesus’ disciple, to come to know God’s truth, God’s divine revelation, is to know not history, not God’s laws, not facts, not scientific truth. To know this truth is to know Jesus himself as Emmanuel, God here with us.

And as you come to know me, Jesus insists, as you and I grow together in our communion and fellowship, as you know this truth who I am, you will discover I am setting you free, liberating you from your old, normal, natural self, welcoming you into the Kingdom of God as citizens you are created to become. Jesus’ grace and mercy showers us with his spiritual strength to become who we are created to become, humans created in the very image and likeness of God our creator. Jesus says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." This rest, this peace Jesus gives is our freedom from trying to make it on our own, freedom from rugged independence, liberated from clawing our way to heaven by our own efforts, freedom for thanksgiving and obedience and service gladly and joyfully expressed. Yes, this is our freedom with responsibility to love and serve each other. This is the Jesus "whose service is perfect freedom," as one prayer book puts it. "Take my yoke upon you," Jesus continues, "and learn from me; (becoming my disciples) for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Yes, he asks us to share his yoke. "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Today I bring my lion again to the pulpit. This time this is not Aslan, as C. S. Lewis named his lion, but this is Elsa, the lioness in the movie "Born Free." Do you remember this movie? Joy Adamson, a naturalist, discovers an orphaned baby lion, names her Elsa, raises her, enjoys her antics as a pet, but soon realizes Elsa will never be truly happy unless she returns to the wild. And so Joy helps Elsa to do this, to return to the wild, to find her truth, so she will be "born free." We can use this story as a parable for Jesus’ teaching. We are created to be free, but we get all screwed up in our sinful selves and we need to be born again, repent of our sins, accept and welcome Jesus as our liberator, and learn how to live joyfully with Jesus and each other so that we become who we are supposed to become. As Elsa was not supposed to live in captivity, pampered by her owners, so we are not truly free so long as we are hung up on our selfish goals and objectives, we need to listen to Jesus who invites us to become his disciples, to be born free, to become who we are supposed to be, as God our Father created us to be. (Sing lyrics from "Born Free.)

Born free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born free to follow your heart.

Live free and beauty surrounds you
The world still astounds you
Each time you look at a star.

Stay free, where no walls divide you
You’re free as the roaring tide
So there’s no need to hide.

Born free, and life is worth living
But only worth living
‘Cause you’re born free.

Are we born free, you and I? Better, are we in the process of being born free? Because this is not an instant, automatic switch, but a life-long growing process, changing us from our baptism through confirmation into adulthood, through adulthood, and through our baptism with Christ in our death, and our arrival into the eternal presence of God whom we are blessed to know and to enjoy forever.

Next Sunday is Rally Day, when we kick off our fall schedule of worship services, classes and activities, all designed to help us to continue in Jesus’ word, to continue to grow as disciples, learners, serving and growing in fellowship and communion with our Lord. In staff meeting, we counted up and discovered we have 65 or 70 small groups meeting regularly here in our congregation, either weekly or monthly, Sunday School classes, prayer groups, other Bible study groups, choirs and other music groups, athletic teams, each one an opportunity to do just what Jesus invites us to do—continue in his truth, grow in our knowledge of him as our truth, and continue to discover ourselves being set free, liberated from our old selfish selves to become, through the spirit’s energy and power, become who we are supposed to become, in the eyes of God and in the great plan God has for each one of us.

Let me ask you. Are you being born free? In English the word "you" can refer to singular or plural, one person or 300 people. In Greek, the language of the New Testament, we have different words to indicate if "you" is singular or plural. And in this passage, Jesus always uses the plural word for "You." "If you, altogether, all of us including me, if you, my church, continue in my word, you will become my disciples, you will know the truth, and this truth will set you free. All plural "yous." This means Jesus is inviting us to do this together, to join together to share this opportunity, this yoke he offers us, to bear one another’s burdens, and so all together to become the body of Christ.

And Christ overlooks no one. Each of us is gifted and blessed and invited and needed, so that if any one of us is tardy or absent, all of us suffer and are weaker. But when we, all of us, come together to study, to listen, to worship, to share, to learn, to celebrate, to give thanks, then we can affirm, yes, Lord, because you love us, and because you in your love will never let us go, yes, Lord, we are being born free.

And today as we share our Lord’s Holy Supper, Jesus himself teaches us how to love one another. For here, in this meal, he shares himself, his body and his blood, his freely given love, and invites us to share this blessing with one another, so that as we share this outward and visible sign and expression of the inward and spiritual presence of Christ himself with us, we may indeed affirm together, "We are being born free!"