04-09-2014, 09:29 AM
UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH ENABLES US TO LIVE IN TRUE FREEDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: DN 3:14-95; JN 8:31-42
http://www.universalis.com/20140409/mass.htm
One of the ways in which we can interpret the redemption of Christ is that of liberation. The real purpose of Jesus’ mission is to liberate human beings so that they can truly live for God and their fellow human beings and consequently also for themselves. Conversely, if we are not truly free, then we cannot live for God, others or ourselves. Freedom therefore is fundamental to authentic living. Indeed, part of this Lenten programme, especially the emphasis on good works and penance, is meant to liberate us from selfishness for selflessness.
But the question we need to ask ourselves is, whether we are really free in the way we live our lives. Unless we know that we are still prisoners of ourselves and of others, we cannot speak about the need to be liberated. In the scripture readings today, we have two groups of people who are prisoners of themselves but they thought they were free.
In the first reading from the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar indeed seems to be the one who has power over life and death. He could throw the three Jewish young men into the fiery furnace at will because they did not submit to him to serve his god. Of course, we know that the three young men escaped unscathed. Now, by throwing the three men into the furnace simply because they did not agree with him shows that the king was really the person who was unfree. He needed to impose his will and his faith on others. Unless others agree with him and follow him in his ways and beliefs, he could not be at peace. Surely, such a person who can find happiness only when others live up to his expectations, his whims and fancies, his philosophy of life, must be a most miserable person! For the fact is that none of us would ever think alike and see life alike. So if we feel the need to convert people to our ways, then we are really still slaves to ourselves.
Then again, we have the situation of the enemies of Jesus. They claimed to be free simply because they were members of the chosen race, just because they had Abraham as their father. But in reality, they were not free because freedom has nothing to do with our status in life. Happiness is not dependent on the external conditions of life but the interior conditions of the heart. Happiness is not even freedom from physical sufferings and freedom from death. Consequently, Jesus told the Jews that they were really not free even though they might be the descendents of the chosen race. For in the first place, they lived in sin. And the greatest of all sins is their blindness to the truth; their blindness to the presence of God in Jesus. They could not recognize that Jesus was sent by God. Instead, all that they had was evil in their hearts, since they harboured intentions to kill Jesus.
Surely, none of us can claim to be free if our hearts are full of evil and malice and resentment against our fellow human beings. Indeed, we cannot claim to be free simply because we are Christians, unless we can recognize the presence of God in others; unless we have freed ourselves from a negative mind and a wicked and selfish heart.
Yes, the crux of today’s scripture readings is to remind us that true freedom is of the heart and mind. If the mind is positive and the heart has the capacity to love, then we can transcend all material and physical conditions. Freedom is not determined by the situations that we are in but the attitudes that we have. The three young men were physically bound and even physically burnt, yet they remained truly free in spirit. We need not spend too much time trying to discern the historicity of this story, but we can be sure that anyone who has this interior freedom of the mind and heart, is one who can never be enslaved. Jesus, too, while physically under threat, was truly the free man because He was not afraid to speak His mind.
However to have this freedom of spirit, we must paradoxically give up our own will for the Father’s will. The extent of one’s freedom is dependent on how much one has been able to make God’s will, his own. Concomitantly, the extent of one’s slavery is the result of one’s attempt to make his will God’s will. Jesus was truly a free man and also truly God because He had come to identify God’s will as His will. For Jesus, He had only one will, which was the same as His Father’s. In that sense, He was not really a slave to His Father because He freely chose to do His Father’s will. We too are invited to make our Father’s will our own – for until we do that we cannot achieve real liberation.
In the final analysis, however, we can freely submit ourselves to the Father’s will only if we see the truth and the wisdom of following God’s will in our lives. For this reason, it is necessary that we follow Jesus who understood the mind of God. For He tells us: If you live according to my teaching, you are truly my disciples, then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Yes, the only way to live in true freedom is to change our minds and our hearts to be in tune with God’s mind and heart. This can come about only when we understand the truth about Him and ourselves from Jesus who shows us the way, for He is the Word of God and therefore the Word of the Father.
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
SCRIPTURE READINGS: DN 3:14-95; JN 8:31-42
http://www.universalis.com/20140409/mass.htm
One of the ways in which we can interpret the redemption of Christ is that of liberation. The real purpose of Jesus’ mission is to liberate human beings so that they can truly live for God and their fellow human beings and consequently also for themselves. Conversely, if we are not truly free, then we cannot live for God, others or ourselves. Freedom therefore is fundamental to authentic living. Indeed, part of this Lenten programme, especially the emphasis on good works and penance, is meant to liberate us from selfishness for selflessness.
But the question we need to ask ourselves is, whether we are really free in the way we live our lives. Unless we know that we are still prisoners of ourselves and of others, we cannot speak about the need to be liberated. In the scripture readings today, we have two groups of people who are prisoners of themselves but they thought they were free.
In the first reading from the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar indeed seems to be the one who has power over life and death. He could throw the three Jewish young men into the fiery furnace at will because they did not submit to him to serve his god. Of course, we know that the three young men escaped unscathed. Now, by throwing the three men into the furnace simply because they did not agree with him shows that the king was really the person who was unfree. He needed to impose his will and his faith on others. Unless others agree with him and follow him in his ways and beliefs, he could not be at peace. Surely, such a person who can find happiness only when others live up to his expectations, his whims and fancies, his philosophy of life, must be a most miserable person! For the fact is that none of us would ever think alike and see life alike. So if we feel the need to convert people to our ways, then we are really still slaves to ourselves.
Then again, we have the situation of the enemies of Jesus. They claimed to be free simply because they were members of the chosen race, just because they had Abraham as their father. But in reality, they were not free because freedom has nothing to do with our status in life. Happiness is not dependent on the external conditions of life but the interior conditions of the heart. Happiness is not even freedom from physical sufferings and freedom from death. Consequently, Jesus told the Jews that they were really not free even though they might be the descendents of the chosen race. For in the first place, they lived in sin. And the greatest of all sins is their blindness to the truth; their blindness to the presence of God in Jesus. They could not recognize that Jesus was sent by God. Instead, all that they had was evil in their hearts, since they harboured intentions to kill Jesus.
Surely, none of us can claim to be free if our hearts are full of evil and malice and resentment against our fellow human beings. Indeed, we cannot claim to be free simply because we are Christians, unless we can recognize the presence of God in others; unless we have freed ourselves from a negative mind and a wicked and selfish heart.
Yes, the crux of today’s scripture readings is to remind us that true freedom is of the heart and mind. If the mind is positive and the heart has the capacity to love, then we can transcend all material and physical conditions. Freedom is not determined by the situations that we are in but the attitudes that we have. The three young men were physically bound and even physically burnt, yet they remained truly free in spirit. We need not spend too much time trying to discern the historicity of this story, but we can be sure that anyone who has this interior freedom of the mind and heart, is one who can never be enslaved. Jesus, too, while physically under threat, was truly the free man because He was not afraid to speak His mind.
However to have this freedom of spirit, we must paradoxically give up our own will for the Father’s will. The extent of one’s freedom is dependent on how much one has been able to make God’s will, his own. Concomitantly, the extent of one’s slavery is the result of one’s attempt to make his will God’s will. Jesus was truly a free man and also truly God because He had come to identify God’s will as His will. For Jesus, He had only one will, which was the same as His Father’s. In that sense, He was not really a slave to His Father because He freely chose to do His Father’s will. We too are invited to make our Father’s will our own – for until we do that we cannot achieve real liberation.
In the final analysis, however, we can freely submit ourselves to the Father’s will only if we see the truth and the wisdom of following God’s will in our lives. For this reason, it is necessary that we follow Jesus who understood the mind of God. For He tells us: If you live according to my teaching, you are truly my disciples, then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Yes, the only way to live in true freedom is to change our minds and our hearts to be in tune with God’s mind and heart. This can come about only when we understand the truth about Him and ourselves from Jesus who shows us the way, for He is the Word of God and therefore the Word of the Father.
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved