by JLucas (Reflection)

Emancipation is a celebration of togetherness. It is our Emancipation as a nation and our independence as a people. It is a day to cherish our beautiful Island, a time to cherish family, a time to celebrate our culture as people of different colours and backgrounds and yet one people, it is a time to cherish our food, fruits of all kinds, ground provision that nourish our physical bodies and flowers of all kind that beautify our land. Not forgetting all kinds of birds, hummingbirds and even jackrows were all created and placed only in Jamaica. It is as if God had a bombastic, loving eye for us Jamaicans.

It is Emancipation/Independence Sunday for us. It is time to celebrate our faith too as a nation. Among many other countries, we are known to have churches opposite or next to a bar. And we are known to attend dance hall parties immediately after church. We pray and call the Lord’s name in many of our conversations and evil plays dancehall in our minds backyard. With all kinds of evil taking root even in our youngest generation. We Jamaicans are so Christians that even the bad man dem call the name of our Lord and quote bible viruses even when them know they have turned people pickney into duppy.

What is emancipation 

1. EMANCIPATION IS NOT JUST A MEMORY, IT IS A MANDATE. – Words of Lisa Hanna. 

• This Independence Day, we celebrate the gift of our freedom and the sacrifices made to earn and keep it. The Founding Fathers believed in Christian principles and wanted a country that not just reflected those principles, but lived those principles.

2. Emancipation is not just about history, it is about Jesus 

• In the Gospel of John, Jesus says plainly: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36). He was speaking to people who believed they were already free because they were descendants of Abraham. Yet Jesus shows them that the true slavery is not of the body but of the soul. He says, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). This is not political rhetoric. It is divine truth. The deepest bondage is not imposed by governments or chains. It is the slavery of sin in various forms, for example, pride, hatred, lust, greed, indifference, and corruption.

• This is why true emancipation cannot be found apart from Jesus Christ. Where He reigns, there is truth, justice, mercy, and peace. In Him, we discover not only who we are, but who our neighbour is: a brother, a sister, equal in dignity, made in the image of God.

3. Emancipation is a celebration of faith 

• As we celebrate Emancipendence as Jamaicans! Let’s not forget… Our ancestors fire 🔥 of faith is still burning 🥵 within us. Their fighting inspires our own. Their faith fuels our spirit. We carry more than pride… We carry legacy.