Volume 27, No. 10                                                      
March 10, 2002

Putting Liberty On A Pedestal

   We know what the Statue of Liberty stands for, but few of us know what she stands on, and that’s an important part of her story.

   That story began at a dinner party where some influential French citizens decided their country should present the United States with a gift honouring America’s centennial in 1876.  Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi came up with the idea of a giant statue and, over several years, designed “Liberty Enlightening the World”.  As the artist set to work, the plan was for France to finance the colossal figure and America to pay for her pedestal -- a giant stone base planned for a 12-acre island in New York Harbour.

   But raising the $400,000 for the statue was a monumental task.  The project often ran out of money and the gift was nowhere near ready for the American milestone.  Eventually, supporters held a Liberty lottery, which proved to be their ticket to success.  In the States though, penny-pinching politicians refused to pay for the pedestal, which infuriated Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World.  So for five months, starting March 16, 1885, he asked his 100,000 readers to donate whatever they could, with the assurance that each contribution -- no matter how humble -- would be mentioned in the paper.  “The statue is not a gift from the millionaires of France to the millionaires of America,” he wrote, “but a gift of the whole people of France to the whole people of America.  Take this appeal to yourself personally.”

   They did.  More than 120,000 people sent in pennies, nickels and dimes that totaled a triumphant $100,000 just three weeks after Bar-
tholdi’s statue arrived in New York.  The average donation was just 83 cents, but it got the job done.  Ten years late, the Statue of Liberty was officially unveiled on October 28, 1886.  It was another seventeen years before its foundation was graced with the words of “The New Colossus”, a poem Emma Lazarus donated to an 1883 auction  raising money for Liberty’s pedestal:  "Give me your tired, your poor,  Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

   Standing at the entrance to a New World of his own, Jesus says the same to those of us seeking a fresh start.  His is the gift of Liberty – freedom from guilt, pride, shame and punishment.  It’s a free gift, offered, not just to a privileged few, but to anyone who will accept the forgiveness of God and strive to live a life of gratitude.  But the pedestal upon which the freedom of Christ rests is “the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

   Truth and liberty can’t be separated.  Real freedom is found in knowing the truth about God, ourselves, and the world around us.  Only then can we recognize the lies and shake off the shackles placed upon us by those who insist we fit in and not stand out.

    But though truth and liberty are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, they can’t be seen in the world unless there’s a strong, stable church to hold them up.  We’re called to make room in our lives for that church, and to support her with whatever time, energy and talents we possess.  That responsibility rests, not just with the spiritual elite or those who govern the church, but with all believers.  Each of us must take the appeal personally, no matter how measly our efforts might look in our own eyes.  Nothing offered from a humble, grateful heart is insignificant, and even the smallest thing we do can make a difference when God puts it to work with the spiritual gifts of others.  Any service we offer will be recognized in the Book of Life.  

    Nothing we do will make us deserving of the Gift, but we can show our life-long appreciation for the liberty that truly does enlighten the world. “ God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription:  ‘The Lord knows who are his,’ and ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’” (2 Timothy 2:19).  What you stand on is as vital as what you stand for.

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.