Yes, I have recently seen the movie “The Sound of Freedom” – hence the title of this post as I ponder the question – “What does freedom sound like?” “Just what are the sounds of freedom?” I have never lived in a communist country, never lived behind the iron curtain, never lived under a dictatorship or in a country subject to tyranny, filled with chaos and ruled by fear. So maybe I take the sounds of freedom for granted, maybe I don’t even recognize them for what they are.

But I think the opposite of the sound of freedom is silence, an eerie silence – a silence so heavy that its weight cripples the hearts and souls of the people it envelops – a silence so deep that any questions, any cries, any authentic human communications are masked, are muffled, are misunderstood, are misinterpreted, are stifled, stilled and eventually suffocated beneath silence’s all encompassing blanket. It is a silence filled full with fear, with uncertainty, with dread – so full that there is no room left for voices to enter in, to be heard, to make connections with other voices, that they might find encouragement, hope, friendship, community, wisdom, guidance – but the silence separates, isolates, eliminates all possibility of any cries for freedom being heard and being shared.

Freedom, however, is not silent. Freedom cries out with courage and conviction. All God’s creation cries out continuously in praise and worship –

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)

Freedom can’t be silenced. When Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a colt, the crowds were rejoicing, praising God and shouting – “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” The Pharisees demanded that Jesus silence the crowds of people but Jesus replied –

“if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:38-40)

Freedom has many voices, many sounds. Freedom can’t be silenced. Tyranny tries, oppression attempts to suppress, while evil seeks to eradicate every voice leaving only a fear filled, compliant silence – an empty space once filled with the wonder of words telling our stories, connecting us in a thousand myriad ways to those who have gone before and to those who will come after. Freedom is the legacy we leave unless silence takes its place. But freedom will not remain silent.

Our world is full of the sounds of freedom. Church bells ringing out on a Sunday morning from multiple churches – must be why Dr. King said repeatedly in his “I have a dream” speech, “Let freedom ring!” Freedom sounds like bells ringing out across the land. In some places maybe freedom sounds like drum beats heard far and wide, a call to come together for worship.

Freedom is the sound of firecrackers and fireworks on the fourth of July, the National Anthem being sung by the crowd at a sporting event, the music of a marching band in a parade, the voices of a congregation singing hymns, the music of every concert from jazz to country western, to classical.

Freedom is the sound of the prayers of the parishioners at a Catholic mass, the sound of the prayers of a family around the dinner table, the sounds of prayers offered up by ordinary citizens for their country and for those they love as they cry out to God day and night. They are not silent. Freedom is not silent.

Freedom is the sound of a cheering crowd at a sporting event, the sound of applause, a standing ovation, whether on Broadway or a high school production, the sound is sweet. Freedom is the sound of rejoicing and celebration – singing Happy Birthday or dancing at a wedding. Freedom is the sound of lament and loss, too. Free to gather in our grief at a funeral, freedom allows us to weep and wail together. Freedom brings us together in our joy and in our grief. It is silence that separates and breaks our bonds of trust.

What does freedom sound like? As a teacher, it sounds like the hustle and bustle of an ordinary day in the classroom, students’ questions, or the loud chatter in the cafeteria, or the debate team practicing for their meet, learning the value of free speech. I imagine at a construction site freedom sounds like the hammering of nails, the sounds of drills and saws and other equipment as workers shout above the noise.

Maybe freedom sounds like a judge’s gavel or a jury deliberating long, or the oath each participant takes to tell the truth – the sounds of the system designed to keep us free from harm when we leave our homes to shop or meet up with friends for a meal or go to the park for a walk – that we might be free to do all these things and more in safety, without fear that we will be attacked or robbed or hurt as we go about our ordinary pursuits.

In the movie, the sound of freedom was the sound of the laughter of the rescued children at play – finally free from their lives as slaves of those who had kidnapped and sold them, they were free at last from fear and abuse – they were at peace, they were finally safe and free. It had taken an extraordinary, heroic effort to locate and rescue these children, but they had been set free. They had their lives back. They now had hope and a future.

You and I have been set free as well, dear readers. That’s why Jesus came – to set the captives (that’s us) free. In Isaiah it says He came to –

“to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:7)

We are all captives to sin, in need of a rescue, in need of a Savior to set us free. That’s why Jesus came – to set us free from the sin that so entangles and enslaves us. The cross and the empty tomb bear witness to the success of His mission. It is done – our freedom has been secured.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

I am so grateful to have been rescued and set free. I never want to take the sounds of freedom for granted. The sounds of freedom that surround you and I, as we live here in this free country, are a constant reminder of how fortunate we are. I want to be sure I add my voice to the “sounds of freedom” each and every day so that freedom never goes silent.

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things; . . . The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations. . . . Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn – shout for joy before the Lord, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with fairness.” (Psalm 98:1-9)

singing, shouting for joy, jubilant song, making music, harps, trumpets, blasting rams’ horns, the sea resounding, rivers clapping, mountains singing for joy – these are the irrepressible sounds of freedom – the praise and worship of the Creator of the universe – these sounds of freedom will never go silent – they cannot be silenced

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

let freedom ring!

sincerely, Grace Day