Freedom

The Way, the Truth and the Life . . . the Truth will make you free . . .

Friday of the Second Week of Lent ~ 3/10/23

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who have believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  John 8:31-32

What is freedom?  True Freedom? We hear about Freedom of Speech, and America being “The Land of the Free”. . . but do we really, and, is it really?  Free from what?  Free to do what?  Free to be what?  There is a worldly freedom and a heavenly freedom, and they are often diametrically opposed.  

When we were in the military, we would often hear, “I don’t appreciate what you say, and I don’t agree with you, but I defend your right to say it.” Even when slurs were directed at the military/service person.  I imagine Jesus might have felt that way, too, but I don’t think that is a norm in today’s world. 

So many people are so sensitive about things said racially, or, gender-related, or, faith-based, even if made ‘innocently’, or, in ‘ignorance'. . . it’s almost as if we need a daily update about what is allowed to be said in the public square and what is not!  Certainly, for business owners, it can be disastrous to be uninformed.  I try to always be kind and considerate, no matter with whom I interact. But, sometimes, an insensitive remark slips out, totally unintentional, and trying to apologize can add insult to injury. But I will always hope to err on the side of kindness.

I have, who appears to be a young girl, visit me here at the sanctuary, and I am learning how to address ‘them’.  Although I still see, visually, a female and automatically (in my mind) want to refer to ‘her’/’she’ as female,  I must stop and be very mindful, they prefer “they”. We’ve had many discussions together and they really appreciate someone ‘my age’ (sigh) being not only interested in them, but willing to accommodate the changes in identity as they shift, including names they go by.  So, I am learning.  We are both learning.

It is difficult to write this as I feel sorry for the confusion they must be undergoing . . . both vying for the freedom to be themselves - their authentic self - and the freedom to interact in society as a conflicting persona to others.  And, yet, I truly admire their confidence and bravery at dealing with what must be an intense inner struggle.  Is this really freedom, though? It is an honest question.  I cannot imagine what they go through on a daily basis, from the time they get out of bed and choose what to wear that day, and throughout every action., decision, and interaction they encounter.  They are not alone, singularly nor collectively. 

Jesus offers a very radical freedom . . . totally counter-intuitive and counter-cultural.  It is in losing yourself and following him, that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.  If you cannot believe this, you cannot move forward in faith.  Faith is believing in things unseen . . . if only Jesus was right here, right now, in the flesh, in person, to prove who he was/is.  If only.  But He is!  He is within each believer.  He was really visible in Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Pope John Paul II.  They both saw Christ in others. They truly believed they were looking into the face of Jesus, in anyone with whom they came into contact. And, He is within you, if you only accept that as truth.  He is the Truth.

A little later in John’s gospel, Thomas asked Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”.  John 14:4-6

We have to choose which freedom:  The Word, the Truth (Jesus) that will make us free -or- creating a freedom within this mixed up world that leads us away from the Truth.  Satan is the great deceiver and so many have bought into his lies and deception.  At the name of Jesus EVERY knee shall bend . . . in heaven, on earth and below the earth (the realm of evil). Satan must bow to Jesus, but Jesus cannot bow to Satan!  He defeated him while in Hades after His death and before His resurrection. The grave could not hold Him. 

We may be tricked to believe in false freedoms here on earth, but St. Ignatius offers several techniques of discernment on how to tell the evil spirit from the good spirit.  Most important is how doing a thing makes you feel.  If you do something evil, how do you feel compared to doing something good? That is one benchmark.  So do you, then choose to do the good thing or the bad thing?

Ironically(?) God’s greatest gift to us is our own Free Will.  He will allow you to turn your back on Him, but He won’t force you to turn back towards Him.  You are already His beloved creation and He will always be there to turn back to, but you must choose.  You can go your own way for as long as it takes . . . hopefully before your time on earth is done.  But His love for you is everlasting . . . lasting for ever!

So, at what cost freedom?  You must give up something to be free: 
Lose yourself (ego)/Jesus’ freedom -or- lose your soul/evil’s freedom. It’s a choice we make dozens of times a day, maybe a million times in our lifetime.  Perhaps you will be drawn to seek out more of Jesus’ freedom than that of the world.  You will be richer both in this world and the next.

Continued blessings on your journey.