Monday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time
Gal 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1
Lk 11:29-32
When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
The backdrop to today’s first reading was the assertion by converts from Judaism who challenged St Paul’s authority and teachings, suggesting to converts from paganism that elements from the Mosaic law — such as circumcision — was necessary for their salvation. Hence, St Paul sought to correct this by “[setting] forth the unique importance of Christ and his redemptive sacrifice on the cross, the freedom that Christians enjoy from the old burdens of the law, the total sufficiency of Christ and of faith in Christ as the way to God and to eternal life, and the beauty of the new life of the Spirit” (taken from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops bible commentary on St Pauls’ letter to the Galatians).
What does this mean for us?
At first glance, it appears that our path to salvation has been paved and that we need not be burdened by compliance with many different rules – not all we agree with – in order to go to heaven. While it is true that through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection we are ‘freed’, as the chosen verse stated, this also requires a reciprocal response in that we recognise our sinfulness, repent, and to live the life that Gods calls us to.
Paradoxically, it is with the guidance and structure of having some rules that would help us to live a virtuous life and remain ‘free’.
However, just having a rule or a law does not mean that everyone would necessarily follow or respect them, or that we would recognise the spirit or intent of the law.
As my younger daughter often reminds me, “Daddy, please don’t jaywalk”, to which I respond that I can jaywalk if I am more than 50 meters away from the nearest traffic junction (according to Singapore law). While my response was technically correct, it may still fail to grasp the spirit of the law — which is for my safe passage to the other side (where the grass is not always greener).
Applying this to the commandments, could we reframe how we view them — as guides to remain free, rather than rules we have to follow to stay away from hell?
Perhaps what is needed is a healthy dose of the ‘Fear of our Lord’.
St. Teresa of Avila, in her ‘The Way of Perfection’, writes about love and fear being two essential ingredients as we traverse to our Father in heaven. What does this fear entail? She writes that this requires a hatred of sin, even venial sin, and for us to strive towards avoiding all occasions of sin; when we do sin, as all of us would, then we are called to repent and turn back to our Father swiftly.
The second part of the verse calls us to “stand firm” and not “submit again to the yoke of slavery”. From my perspective, the use of the word ‘again’ implies a process where we are likely to return to sin. Therefore, in addition to the ‘Fear of our Lord’, it might be prudent to pray for the gift of Fortitude.
Many of the saints demonstrated great fortitude even in the midst of suffering, trials, persecution and impending death, to cling onto Christ and remain free. Likewise, may we emulate the fortitude of the saints in choosing each day to wear the ‘clothes’ of righteousness and the path that helps us remain free.
One such exemplar is St. Augustine of Hippo.
Many of us have heard the dramatic story of his conversion, where he heard a child’s voice telling him to “take up and read” and his being deeply moved by the verses in Romans 13:13–14. Sometimes, we may erroneously think that he never struggled with sin thereafter. However, Pope Benedict XVI in his General Audience on 27 February 2008, shared about St. Augustine’s ‘third conversion’ that “brought him every day of his life to ask God for pardon” which carried on till his death, and that “until the end we need this humility that recognizes that we are sinners journeying along, until the Lord gives us his hand definitively and introduces us into eternal life”.
The commentary written by Fr. Henry Wansbrough for Universalis states that St. Paul’s central teaching in the first reading is about Christians being free from slavery, and that we have the “dignity and confidence of being heirs to [these] promises”.
Brothers and sisters, let us pray for the ‘Fear of our Lord’ and ‘Fortitude’, so that we may confidently believe that God “meant us to remain free” so that we do not “submit again to the yoke of slavery”…until the end.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nick Netto)
Prayer: Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins to be forgiven and who gave us eternal life through His Resurrection, all glory and praise is yours! I am sorry for the times when I sinned and submitted again to the yoke of slavery. I pray for the gifts of ‘Fear of our Lord’ and ‘Fortitude’ to be able to remain close to you and to remain free.
Thanksgiving: I thank you for the abundant blessings you have showered and continue to shower over me, most of which I am unaware. I thank you for the little fortitude and fear of our Lord I have, for helping me to grow these daily, and for helping me to remain free. Amen.
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