On my personal Facebook page this morning, I shared an article outlining the history of Juneteenth, the day commemorating when, in 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were informed that they had been set free from slavery. Juneteenth celebrations have happened for a long, long time, but the day was not on my personal radar until a few years ago. I gladly attended Midland’s local Juneteenth block party earlier this week, as well. I know I still have a lot to learn about why this day is so important to so many people.

But on the post where I shared the article this morning, one person left a brief comment:

“Not a holiday.”

That’s it. That was the whole comment. You can read between the lines just as well as I can. And perhaps you agree with the sentiment, that Juneteenth is not an appropriate holiday to celebrate on a national level.

(By the way, I deleted the comment, because I don’t engage in Facebook arguments with people, and I choose to curate comments on my posts so that they stay generally positive.)

But to say that Juneteenth is “not a holiday”? That’s just plain incorrect – try going to the post office or the bank today. To say that Juneteenth isn’t worthy of being celebrated? That’s something deeper, something less obvious, something more divisive. And on that level, I think it’s problematic.

We are so used to believing what we want to believe, saying what we want to say. We have such a hard time listening to voices of people who are different from ours. We prefer to shut down conversation (“Not a holiday.”), rather than hear what others have to say, or engage with a different perspective.

From a Christian point of view, I think the way forward is pretty clear. We, especially people of faith, are connected to each other. We are united. We are one. There is no “us and them”; there is only “us.” Jesus talked about unity frequently (see especially John 17). And Paul eloquently summarized the situation in Galatians 3:26-28 (NIV):

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Obviously, cultural differences are important. Jews and Gentiles had different perspectives in Paul’s time. So did enslaved people and free people. So did men and women. The differences between people are not abolished by our common faith in Jesus. Those differences still matter and are very much real. But what matters more is that we “are all one in Christ Jesus.” We belong to each other.

Therefore, what matters to someone else should matter to you, too.

That’s exactly why it is important for me to recognize Juneteenth. The story of Juneteenth is not specifically my story, but it is our story. Freedom from slavery really matters to many people in our society, so it should matter to me. Our cultural heritage is important, even if it’s not my specific cultural heritage. I want to be the kind of person who listens to others’ stories and learns from their experiences.

Freedom from slavery is worth celebrating. Ensuring that all people are treated well in our society today is worthwhile, too. I hope you feel the same way.

So I’ll say it again: Happy Juneteenth.