Lent: 3/20/09
March 20, 2009
Genesis 47:1-26
1 Corinthians 9:16-27
Mark 6:47-56
“Slaves to Freedom”
For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. – 1 Corinthians 9:19 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
Jean Paul Sartre said, “We are condemned to freedom.”
Bob Dylan sang, “You gotta serve somebody.”
Paul is recorded boasting, “For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all.”
What is the connection between these seemingly conflicting points of view? Which is it? Are we free or are we bound? Are we masters of our own destiny or are we eternally linked to others in ways outside of our control?
The key to this answer might be found in our understanding of what freedom really is.
When I was in High School, I was often associated with the nonconformist and the alternative crowd. This was an interesting and diverse crowd of brilliant and thoughtful people who questioned everything and intentionally tried to follow a different path through life. At the core of these young people was the desire to be free and different, just like all the free and different people they wanted to be like. There was more than a little irony and tragedy in their conformity to being non-conformist.
I once had a friend who was a devout atheist (that is really funny!). He actively and passionately denied the existence of any higher power or even the suggestion that there was some sort of intelligent order in the universe. “It is all projection, wishful thinking, and superstition”, he would argue at every opportunity. He made it his business to oppose every religious holiday, symbol, and sentiment that he encountered with equal measures of zeal and glee. Until one day when I pointed out that he was completely dedicated and obsessed with living in response to something that he claimed did not exist at all. Obviously, this was not the intellectual high ground or freedom that he imagined it to be.
I have known persons that were blessed with wealth sufficient for them to do whatever they desired, and yet they chose to spend their lives and money serving others. I have know brilliant individuals who could have been successful in whatever field they choose to pursue, and yet they taught High School, served as Pastors, and practiced Civil Rights Law and Public Health Medicine.
Who from these different people should we admire as being examples of freedom? Who should be pitied as hapless slaves of their situations? Who is free, and who is not?
Today let us meditate on the substance of freedom. What is more a celebration of freedom than willingly sacrificing a measure of it for the sake of others? Is there really freedom except in choosing where we are to be bound? This is the beauty of the Incarnation. This is the beauty of the Cross. This is the beauty of Christian discipleship and the Gospel! Money is worthless, unless it is spent. Freedom is meaningless, unless it is employed in the purchase of freedom for others.
Let us pray,
God of Freedom,
You have liberated us from the houses of bondage with a mighty hand.
You have made us free.
You have given us the ability to choose without coercion or fear.
You have released us from captivity so that we might choose to serve you.
You have purchased our independence so that we might come to see our utter dependence.
We have been set free for joyful obedience to your will.
We have been eternally bound together with shackles of love and mercy.
We have decided to follow your precious example in Christ,
and offer ourselves with out reserve so that all may one day be free too. Amen.
