FREEDOM IN SUBMISSION

WORD 2day: 12th January, 2018

Friday, 1st week in Ordinary Time

1 Sam 8: 4-7, 10-12; Mk 2: 1-12

It is a human tendency to look for something or someone, to which or to whom, one can submit oneself! Whether by force or by choice, a form of legitimate dependence or extraordinary obsession, habit of blaming someone or positively seeking someone's counsel... we are always looking to submit ourselves to someone or something! 

The point to be noted here is this: whatever be the form of submission, and whatever be its reason, it makes us dependent or subservient. The first reading reminds us of this human tendency and before we judge the people of Israel of those historical times, let us understand how we ourselves fall into the same category! The only submission that gives us a sense of freedom and a sense of self-worth is the submission to God's authority - because God dwells in us and a submission to God, as God's children, is a reinforcement of our dignity, our self-worth and the sovereignty that God has placed within us, as human persons. This is what Jesus demonstrates in his encounter with the paralysed man. 

Jesus reminds us that we are children of God and we have an inbuilt authority wtihin us, the authority that is given by God. As long as we are true to our innermost self, we can enjoy that authority and it will seen by people. The moment we begin to compromise, even a little, we become diffident of that authority and begin to look for it elsewhere. This is the state of sin that we experience. 

Let us realise that God has the ultimate authority and has invested within us that authority as legitimate children of God. Mindful of this, when we are truthful, righteous and selfless, submitting ourselves only to God and God's will, we experience the greatest of all freedom: the freedom of the children of God.