DO YOU WISH TO BE FREE?

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Today’s Readings:

Exodus 32:7-14

Psalm 145:8-9,13b-14,17-18

John 5:17-30

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If you wish to be truly free, keep these three things in mind:

• Be attached to nothing and no one except God.

• Create space in your mind for learning new things.

• Beware of thinking that others are the problem.

• Be attached to nothing and no one except God.

We can grow fond of people, things and even our ideas. But everything you know now, you have learnt over time, through your experiences of pain, pleasure and trauma. If situations were different, you would be a different person, maybe better or worse. But just so that you are not stuck in your head about what is right or wrong, do not be attached to anything. Pain will teach you the value of time, opportunity and choices. It should never harden your heart, making you incapable of feeling. Pleasure should remind you that there is beauty in the world, but it should not make you a slave to it. Trauma is a hard reset, teaching you to never take anything or anyone for granted. But it can cause you to be stuck in a world of “could have been”. Life is always lived forward. Learn from every situation and forgive quickly. Speak to God and let Him lead you to people who can help you heal from your trauma.

• Create space in your mind for learning new things.

The worst thing that can happen to you is believing that you know it all. Smart people know they are not the smartest people. Wise people are humble and unassuming. This is not to say that they are timid or lacking in confidence. They are aware of the vastness of the mystery of our world. The things we do not know dwarf all that we are so convinced about. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ time were so convinced that they knew the law of Moses, but Jesus assures them that the same laws will indict them because they failed to see God’s hand in the mystery of the incarnation (God becoming man in Jesus). Be open to the possibility that the things you are so sure of right now may not be the whole truth.

• Beware of thinking that others are the problem.

It takes two people to start a relationship. It also takes two people to break it off. Wherever there are two or more people involved in a relationship, they share the responsibility of its success or failure. None of them is ever completely innocent, and none is ever completely guilty. Accepting shared responsibility reduces the burden on either of them and allows them to dialogue whenever things go wrong. If you fail to take some responsibility for the problem, you might be the real problem. I say all this to say that freedom is accepting your place in the world and letting Divine providence shape you through the events of your life.

QUESTION: Which of these three points speaks to you the most?

As we look up to God for respite from all that befalls us, let us not become the sources of our problems by our active choices or our passive acceptance of things meant to harm us.

JUDE-MARY OWOH

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To surrender your life to Christ, say this prayer out loud. “Father, I acknowledge my sin against You. I repent and ask for forgiveness, in the name of Jesus. I surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, take control of my heart and lead me in Your path of righteousness. Thank you, Lord.

If you said the prayer, Congratulations! You are welcome into the body of Christ. Prayerfully look for a living church and meet the resident reverend, pastor or priest.

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Prayer:

1. Eternal Father, thank you for the gift of free will that You have so generously bestowed on us. May we use it wisely to treat others with love and respect, and grow in our knowledge and love of You. Amen.

2. Lord, help us realise that true freedom is found in letting go of our opinions of happiness and freedom and clinging to You as the Way, Truth and Life. Amen.