By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
23rd Sunday in Ordinary time – September 8, 2019
Wisdom 9: 13-18; Philemon 1:9-10,12-17; Luke 14:25-33
There is a story told of a man who went on a long journey in search of an old sage in the forest who allegedly had the most precious diamond in the entire world. It was an overwhelming moment when the man met the sage and asked him if he really had the diamond. Because, the sage said as a matter of fact, “Yes. I have it”. The man with much trepidation regarding the price he would have to pay, asked the sage, “can you give it to me?” The next moment, he could not believe his eyes, the sage held it out to him and said, ‘here, take it.’ The man took the diamond and hurried back anxious the sage should not suddenly change his mind. That night as he lay down to sleep, his eyes would not close and his mind would not stop wondering. The moment he saw some light he got up and went straight back to the sage and said, ‘here take this diamond back, but give me that heart that allowed you to part with it so easily’.
If we are really convinced of our identity as Children of God we would realise we are given with a freedom that makes us so different from what the world believes. At times we think freedom is the ability to do whatever we wish… that is not what freedom is all about. Freedom is the capacity to do the right thing without any external force. When we have this capacity, we would be totally different from the so-called majority in the society today. Because this freedom amounts to a different kind of reasoning, a different kind of relating and a different mindset of renouncing.
Freedom of the Children of God is seen first and foremost in a kind of Reasoning that one possesses, qualitatively different from the others. Taking up the cross willingly, forgiving without any compensations for it, looking at everything from the perspective of God… these make up a different kind of reasoning that we are called to possess. The first reading speaks to us of an important fact – that we may not understand everything in life and we need not be worried about it. Leave it to God and things will be clear to you in the due course of time.
Freedom of the Children of God is manifested in the kind of Relationships we treasure. While everywhere, gain and profit, benefits and advancements rule the roost, we are thinking of giving up, forgiving, accepting and welcoming someone without any conditions. St. Paul instructs Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ and even tacitly asking Philemon to free Onesimus from his slave-ship. A redefinition of relationships is a natural outflow of the freedom of the Children of God. We cannot but be reminded here of the numerous cases of inequality and discrimination among and within the Christian communities… a clear sign that we have not yet truly experienced the freedom of the children of God.
Freedom of the Children of God is best seen in the Renunciation that seems so natural and far from being a deprivation. I have come across people who renounce a few simple things and are so mindful of that fact – reminding themselves of it so often, making sure others know that they have renounced (whatever it is), making up for the renunciation in and through other means (sometimes going to another extreme). Jesus presents renunciation not as an extraordinary means of following God, but as an inevitable means of being disciples, of loving God above all else. Renouncing something is something, but not really enough. What matters is renouncing the so-called merits of the renunciation – that is true renunciation!
Although today is Sunday and the nativity of our Blessed Mother is overshadowed by the Lord’s day, let us not miss the chance of celebrating in and through her the great example that God provides every child of God! If we apply what we reflected so far to our Blessed Mother, we would be astonished to observe what a great inspiration she is with regard to this Freedom… she reasoned totally different from the world, entrusting herself in total surrender to the Lord not requiring an explanation for everything that was happening in her life; she treasured true relationships in the Lord, going out to meet Elizabeth, remaining always beside her Son in his mission, sticking on to the disciples till the promise was fulfilled; she renounced her will, her comfort and her total self, when she said that yes and all that remains uppermost in her mind was that the world does what the Lord wished: do whatever he tells you! A great example of the Freedom of a Child of God.
Freedom of the Children of God permits us to live a life that is free, full and highly inspiring. May our Blessed Mother inspire, teach and guide us to grow in this great gift that we have received: the freedom of the children of God.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.