To Keep It Up

“With nothing left to be done in the way of building up, he would set boldly to the task of pulling down.” A 29-year-old Abraham Lincoln spoke these words in Springfield, Illinois to a 62-year-old nation in 1838. He worried about the need for new generations to find a new sense of purpose in America. Living off the accomplishments of forebearers would never be sufficient. 

Young Lincoln knew then, at an age that would have made him a Gen Z elder, a quarter century before his Gettysburg Address, that having harvested on the field of glory, “New reapers will arise, and they too will seek a field.” 

Many today seek a field on which to sow and reap. America, like Israel, is at its best when heeding Lincoln’s words. Thankfully and wisely, Lincoln made a habit of heeded words from Scripture. Let us too turn to this week’s portions of Torah and Prophecy. 

First, in the Torah we encounter a Census (Num. 26). On the surface, it’s just another counted-list. What’s special about another biblical census or genealogy? But then I’m reminded of what Frederick Douglas said in 1855: “Genealogical trees do not flourish among slaves.” That is, knowing your ancestry, staying familiar with your forebearers, keeps you free. 

As for Jeremiah’s prophetic message, his commission from God instructs: “I appoint you this day to uproot and pull down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jer. 1:10). That is, a single-sentence that includes pulling-down and overthrowing cannot conclude without resolute commitments to building and planting.

On this historic 250th birthday of our nation, we’ll rightly focus on rebirth. No matter how worn down, torn down, and let down we sometimes feel, we honor our forebearers by staying free and brave, by seeding and growing. The need for this is not new, but what we’ll harvest will be. 

Early in Spielberg’s movie Lincoln, the President delivers a short speech at a flag raising ceremony. “The part assigned to me is to raise the flag…When up, it will be for the people to keep it up.” You’ll see a lot of flags raised this weekend. Going forward, it will be your job to keep them up.