The Juneteenth holiday is as American as apple pie and filled with biblical themes, according to an upcoming TBN special. “Juneteenth: Conversations of History and Healing” will be shown on the network at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Juneteenth is a new national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States and has been celebrated within certain segments of the black community since the late 1800s. It became an official holiday in Texas in 1979. The holiday was born June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved people—250,000 or so in the state—were free. Their arrival came some two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
“This is not a black holiday; it’s an American holiday,” host Rick Rigsby says. “And what I really want people to know is that history is beautiful at times, it’s ugly, it’s even and it’s uneven. It is a series of threads that make up a tapestry. This is an American holiday worthy of being celebrated. Why? Because the Lord is being glorified. Because wrongs are being discussed and addressed. And that’s a good thing.”
Juneteenth is filled with biblical themes, he said.
“Imagine you’re living in the 1800s and you have no voice, you have no rights, your feelings don’t really matter,” he said. “Every minute of every hour of every day is in servitude. You’re mocked, you’re denigrated, you’re exploited, you’re beaten, you’re broken. But you keep your head up, you persevere and you pray. You have the nerve to believe that God can redeem. And one summer, a couple of thousand folks — two years after the emancipation and in the unlikeliest of places, Galveston, Texas — march into your city saying, ‘You are free.’
“‘Thank you, Lord, we have been free — let us worship and celebrate.’ I can’t help but think about the children of Israel. I can’t help but think about the Pauline letters: You are no longer a slave to your body.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice