FREEDOM OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD

A different kind of reasoning, relationship and renunciation

23rd Sunday in Ordinary time - September 4, 2022
Wisdom 9: 13-18; Philemon 1:9-10,12-17; Luke 14:25-33

Wisdom and Freedom have a lot to do with each other. Wisdom is a specific gift from the Holy Spirit to the children of God. And freedom is no less a gift, and very specific to the children of God. A true child of God is necessarily a person of freedom and a truly free person is very close to being a Child of God. This is the crux of the Word this Sunday - the meaning of the Freedom of the Children of God.

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 preaches. We think freedom is the ability to do whatever we think... but that is not what freedom is all about. Freedom instead 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 different kind of Reasoning that one possesses. Taking up the cross willingly, giving and forgiving without any compensations for it, looking at everything from the perspective of God... these make 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. We need not understand everything. We need not feel obliged to be in control of everything. Let us leave that part to God and things will become clearer to us in the due course of time.

Freedom of the Children of God is manifested in the kind of Relationships we treasure. While everywhere, possession and entitlement, gain and profit, benefits and advancements rule the roost, we are called to think of giving up, forgiving, accepting, welcoming someone without any conditions and so on. 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 or even understood 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. Have we not come across people who renounce a few simple things in life and are extremely 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. Renouncing something is important; but renouncing the so-called merits of the renunciation is the true renunciation!

Freedom of the Children of God permits us to live a life that is free, full and highly inspiring. It helps us reconfigure our way of thinking and our list of priorities. It helps us redefine our relationships, in terms of maturity and mutuality and not selfishness and exploitation. It helps us renounce not just a few things, but renounce the very merit of renunciation, that we may become truly free in our spirit. May we grow everyday in this great gift we have received from the Spirit of the Lord: the freedom of the children of God.