1 Kings 19:16b,19-21;
Galatians 5:1,13-18; Luke 9:51-56
It seems as an issue of freedom has
been on mind of many in our country including our American bishops who have asked
us to observe from June 21 to July 4 Fortnight for Freedom.
The issue of freedom was very
important to Saint Paul as well. As a matter of fact this is the main topic of
his letter to the Galatians from which we have heard today. And so I would like to spend some time today talking
about what Paul proposes to us in this and other letters regarding his understanding
of Christian, ecclesiastical freedom. Perhaps his observations might be some
help to all of us.
I hope we all have heard clearly the
words of Saint Paul today from his letter to the Galatians: "Brothers and sisters: For freedom
Christ set us free; to stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of
slavery....for you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters."
Why is Paul writing these words?
He writes them in attempt to confront so called the Missionaries who
brought to the Galatians a different gospel from the one Paul proclaimed to them.
The Missionaries offer the Galatians
a nicely packaged blue prints on how to conduct their lives to be the followers
of Christ. The Galatians are to be circumcised and to obey the Jewish Law with
all its rules. This will not only enable them to be rooted in an ancient and
holy tradition of God's people, but it will also make them the God's people and
the true followers of Christ. This will prevent them from falling into any type
of moral chaos while they are embracing Christ as their savior.
You probably can imagine that the
missionaries' gospel is very much welcomed by the Galatians, after all it was satisfying
a deep and persistent need of our human nature for rules and structures.
However, Paul insists that the
security offered by the Jewish Law is a false security, that the Galatians will
be enslaved by this Law. Paul boldly claims that Christ does not demand of his
followers to follow the Jewish Law. Paul is encouraging the Galatians to throw
away the safety net which the Missionaries present to them.
Is Paul calling his readers to some
type of a rugged individualism or an inner liberty of the conscience or the
will?
Not at all.
Instead,
Paul is calling the Galatians to live under the guidance of God's Spirit. To
embrace this Spirit trusting that it will guide them, shape them and show them
the way.
Could Paul be possibly right? Can the
Galatians become the true followers of Christ only following the guidance of
the Spirit, and not already existing institutionalized laws of the Jewish
people?
The church of Corinth has already
tried that. They threw away rules and traditions and sought to live in pure and
spiritual spontaneity. But as they talked about following the Spirit they grew careless
and ended up in a behavior encouraging sexual misconduct, financial
irresponsibility, and manipulative abuses of their community's leaders. Instead
of following Christ and his Spirit, they ended up in envy, backstabbing, and
competitiveness. They ended up at odds with God following deadly desires of
their flesh.
However, Paul still tries to
convince the Galatians that freedom for
the followers of Christ without following the Jewish Law is possible. But that freedom has to be rooted in Christ by the means of a self-emptying
love of the members of the community, by their mutual service to each other. The
love of the members of the community needs to correspond to and to mirror the self-emptying
love of Jesus. And the Spirit can show the way how to do it. As a matter of
fact it is through such self-emptying love that Christ brought the Jewish Law
to its fulfillment.
So is Paul right? Is that possible?
Have we ever met any Christian
community whose members are capable of a self-emptying love in their mutual
service to each other? Have they truly overcome the barriers of nationality,
race, class, or gender without strictly following institutionalized laws which
enforce certain type of behavior and prevent them from exercising any form of
envy, backstabbing, gossip or competitiveness? And have they been able to have
a room for genuine diversity in their midst?
The exercise of the gift of freedom, under the
guidance of the Spirit and rooted in the acts of self-emptying love of the
members of the Christian community, is quite a challenge. Particularly for those communities who
possess individuals who believe that their ways and causes are the only right
and legitimate ones. Quite often their words and actions are injuring others
and dividing the church, and plunging the community into a chaos in which there
is no room for any form of diversity and where the desires of the flesh rule.
I hope that the wisdom of Saint Paul
regarding Christian freedom can be some aid to our own community and to all
Catholic Communities of our country particularly as we continue celebrating
Fortnight for Freedom.
May God's Spirit guides us and our
nation in the ways which will enable us to be both the followers of Christ and
proud Americans living in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
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