Freedom is not free!
Gal 4: 22-24, 26-27, 31 -5:1; Lk 11: 29-32
Freedom, is not an all sweet gift. It was Jean Paul Sartre who made that provocative but profound statement, "we are condemned to be free". Freedom comes with the duty attached. We are free, free to choose and the responsibility of the choice is laid entirely upon us. It would be childish to clamour for freedom but shy away from responsibility. We are free children of God, declares Paul. With that comes the condition that we are to be held responsible for all the choices we make. Just this morning, as I was speaking to a group of youngsters, I raised a query: who decides I should be happy or not? And they refused to answer, with a knotty smile on their faces! Yes, it is our choice, or rather our choices. The free choices we make amount to the consequence we face.
The Lord grants us the greatest gift of freedom, and leaves us with the responsibility for our choices. That is why, when we choose not to see the presence of God, when we choose not to find the moments of grace, when we choose not to realise the opportunities to do good, when we choose not to identify our brother or sister in the person next to us, we are choosing to rush towards a state that is so sad and so inhuman. We are free children of the promise (cf. Gal 4:22-24); yes we are given the great gift of freedom. But Freedom is not free; we have to pay for it with our personal responsibility!
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