Once, a friend of
mine and I planned to go out for a walk in Intramuros to see the old Spanish
buildings and churches in the walled city. We prepared our itinerary and marked
the places we are to visit. We printed maps and did some research on the
obscure things we are to look for in our tour. I googled for must-do things and
places to visit. When the day came for our scheduled walking tour, it rained
hard. Streets in Manila were flooded. We ended up canceling our tour because the
heavy downpour prevented us from going outside. We satisfied ourselves browsing
the net and taking a virtual tour of the walled city on that rainy day. Truly,
some things in life limit us from doing what we desire. In our case, the rain
stopped us from going outdoors.
As Christians, we
desire one thing: to follow Christ. Along our journey, some things hinder us
from pursuing our goal. But it is consoling to know that Christ enables us to
overcome any obstacles on our way to obey Him and the Father's will. Christ has
set us free!
As God invites us
to serve Him, He gifted us with freedom and liberation. It is a freedom that
directs our attention not from the things we have left behind; from which we
have been liberated, but rather to the things that await us as we exercise this
freedom. It is a freedom for, more than freedom from. This gift of freedom
allows us to generously and unreservedly respond to God's invitation to follow
Him. Have we truly embraced this freedom for, or have we continued holding on
to the things that keep from responding to the call of God?
There is no
turning back in following the Lord. We have to burn bridges that would enable
us to go back to our former ways of life so that we may fully live to the new
realities God gave to us. When God called Elisha through the prophet Elijah,
Elisha slaughtered his oxen and used his plow to cook the meat. When he met Elijah
and came to know God's desire for him to be His prophet, it was a point of no
return. Killing his oxen and destroying the yoke that he had been using as a
farmer meant a total change of way of life. From then on, Elisha ceased to be a
farmer and began to be God's prophet. He was set free to follow the mission God
gave to him.
St. Paul warns us
in his letter to the Galatians (5:1, 13-18): For freedom, Christ set us free;
so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. We are not to take
once again the yoke of slavery we call sin for such disables us to assume the
yoke of service and love that Christ offers to us. The yoke of sin and death
stops us from taking the yoke He offers to us; yoke that is easy, a burden that
is light (for it is a yoke we shall carry together with Christ). The Lord freed
us from the yoke of slavery of sin. Would we not be fools to take it again in
exchange for the yoke of freedom and love Christ offered to us?
What shall we do
with the freedom God confers upon us? Are we to use this freedom to serve God
and others or to exercise it for our own selfish-interest; for self-service? We
are set free from sin to love! More than a FREEDOM FROM, it is a FREEDOM FOR.
The Spirit of the Lord shall be our guide as we enjoy the gift of freedom for
(to love) others; freedom for us to do God's will. We can only be truly free
because of God's love, we are to be, like God who loves and serves others more
than ourselves. When we use that freedom to serve ourselves, we destroy others
and ourselves due to our selfishness. We submit again to the yoke of slavery and
of selfishness instead of using this freedom to love selflessly. The gift of
freedom, genuinely lived, brings forth creativity and not destruction to one
who had been set free and to whom a true free disciple serves. God's gift of
freedom recreates us and helps us to recreate our relationship with one
another, governed not by selfish love but of selfless love in imitation of the
Patron of this freedom who freely offered Himself for our sake. In the mission
given to us, there is no destruction where love overflows, reaching love’s
perfection in mercy.
From his
ministries, Jesus headed to Jerusalem. That was a point of no return to His
ministries and mission. He when straight to Jerusalem. He did not zigzag from
one town to another. Such manifests His resolute and undaunted mind to fulfill
the mission given to Him by the Father. Others like the Samarians could not
accept Jesus going to Jerusalem. They do not welcome Jesus, the One eager to
fulfill the will of the Father (to suffer and be offered as the sacrificial
lamb in Jerusalem). Samaritans did not want anything to do with Jerusalem. In
our journey, in following Jesus, we also meet the same unwelcoming things and
people. they may discourage us from pursuing our mission. But like Jesus, we
continue on our journey nevertheless, free from any reluctance and doubts but
confident in God's providence.
Following Jesus
is not a comfortable journey. Jesus himself did not live a comfortable life,
nor must his followers. He is always on the way, on the road, on a journey:
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has
nowhere to rest his head." He is in a mission moving around, at home in
others’ home. He had set himself free from anything that may prevent Him from
doing the Father's will. And so, as we follow Jesus, we busy ourselves with the
affairs proper to Christian discipleship. The gift of freedom and discipleship
is anchored on the love of God, more than the love of this world and even of
others. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well” (Mt 6:33). Following Jesus may entail
difficulties in exercising the gift of freedom, but with God who is with us, it
will be bearable and meaningful. He will sustain us in our mission.
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