20200401
FREEDOM
OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD
01 April, 2020, Wednesday, 5th
Week in Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Daniel 3:14-20,24-25,28 ©
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God has sent his angel to rescue his servants
King
Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do
not serve my gods, and that you refuse to worship the golden statue I have
erected? When you hear the sound of horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, or
any other instrument, are you prepared to prostrate yourselves and worship the
statue I have made? If you refuse to worship it, you must be thrown straight
away into the burning fiery furnace; and where is the god who could save you
from my power?’ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar,
‘Your question hardly requires an answer: if our God, the one we serve, is able
to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your power, O king, he will
save us; and even if he does not, then you must know, O king, that we will not
serve your god or worship the statue you have erected.’ These words infuriated
King Nebuchadnezzar; his expression was very different now as he looked at
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He gave orders for the furnace to be made seven
times hotter than usual, and commanded certain stalwarts from his army to bind
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the burning fiery furnace.
Then
King Nebuchadnezzar sprang to his feet in amazement. He said to his advisers,
‘Did we not have these three men thrown bound into the fire?’ They replied,
‘Certainly, O king.’ ‘But,’ he went on ‘I can see four men walking about freely
in the heart of the fire without coming to any harm. And the fourth looks like
a son of the gods.’
Nebuchadnezzar
exclaimed, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: he has sent
his angel to rescue the servants who, putting their trust in him, defied the
order of the king, and preferred to forfeit their bodies rather than serve or
worship any god but their own.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Daniel 3:52-56 ©
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To
you glory and praise for evermore.
You
are blest, Lord God of our fathers.
To
you glory and praise for evermore.
Blest
your glorious holy name.
To
you glory and praise for evermore.
You
are blest in the temple of your glory.
To
you glory and praise for evermore.
You
are blest on the throne of your kingdom.
To
you glory and praise for evermore.
You
are blest who gaze into the depths.
To
you glory and praise for evermore.
You
are blest in the firmament of heaven.
To
you glory and praise for evermore.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt4:4
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Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Man
does not live on bread alone,
but
on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Or:
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cf.Lk8:15
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Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed
are those who,
with
a noble and generous heart,
take
the word of God to themselves
and
yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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John 8:31-42 ©
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If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed
To the Jews who
believed in him Jesus said:
‘If
you make my word your home
you
will indeed be my disciples,
you
will learn the truth
and
the truth will make you free.’
They answered,
‘We are descended from Abraham and we have never been the slaves of anyone;
what do you mean, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus replied:
‘I
tell you most solemnly,
everyone
who commits sin is a slave.
Now
the slave’s place in the house is not assured,
but
the son’s place is assured.
So if
the Son makes you free,
you
will be free indeed.
I
know that you are descended from Abraham;
but
in spite of that you want to kill me
because
nothing I say has penetrated into you.
What
I, for my part, speak of
is
what I have seen with my Father;
but
you, you put into action
the
lessons learnt from your father.’
They
repeated, ‘Our father is Abraham.’ Jesus said to them:
‘If
you were Abraham’s children,
you
would do as Abraham did.
As it
is, you want to kill me
when
I tell you the truth
as I
have learnt it from God;
that
is not what Abraham did.
What
you are doing is what your father does.’
‘We
were not born of prostitution,’ they went on ‘we have one father: God.’ Jesus
answered:
‘If
God were your father, you would love me,
since
I have come here from God;
yes,
I have come from him;
not
that I came because I chose,
no, I
was sent, and by him.’
FREEDOM OF THE
CHILDREN OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [DANIEL
3:14-20, 91-92.95; JOHN
8:31-42]
The world today is
obsessed with personal freedom. The
world has abused the notion of freedom to the extent that it has become a new
form of slavery. This was what the Lord told the Jews, “I tell you
most solemnly, everyone who commits sin is a slave.” Indeed, when one
cannot control his sexual desires, lives a life of promiscuity, is under the
influence of drugs, addicted to pornography, drinking, smoking and gambling, is
vindictive and revengeful of those who are perceived as obstacles to one’s
desires and ambitions, and obsessed with power, money and fame, how can anyone
in his right frame of mind say that is freedom? Anyone who is under any
form of addiction, lacks self-control and the ability to live a life of grace
and love, is not free. It is slavery under the guise of freedom.
Freedom is not an option
to choose good or evil. Freedom
is the ability to choose life, love and truth. When one lacks the
capacity to do what is true and good, one has lost his or her freedom. He
or she is a slave of the world and a slave of Satan. So those who claim
to be free are saying that they are free from God but unfortunately, they are
not free to choose good over evil. Rather, they have surrendered their
freedom to the world, the flesh and Satan. Such people might appear to be
happy doing whatever they like to do, flirting and sleeping around, eating and
drinking and getting drunk, wearing fine clothes and living in style.
Those of us who have given ourselves to the world and Satan, feel deep in our
hearts, emptiness, guilty, angry and resentful. We are impatient,
demanding and self-centered. Our lives have no meaning because we only
live for ourselves.
Indeed, the world
promises freedom to all except to those who disagree with their form of
freedom. If we are against
relativism, promiscuity, the sanctity of marriage and family, abortion, euthanasia,
killing and wars, then we are wrong. We may not express our disagreement
or rejection. Otherwise, we will be attacked ferociously by so called
promoters of freedom and truth. They will not mince their words to attack
those who hold views that differ from theirs. We are called to
conform to how the world defines freedom. So even on this level, freedom
is not absolute. This is the greatest irony of today’s world, the
dictatorship of relativism. Just before they do not believe in God or the
Sacred, they demand that the whole world subscribe to secularism, where God is
completely put out of public space even though in many countries there are more
believers in the Sacred or in God than agnostics, which is between 15% and 25%.
In reality, most of us are not free. We are so worried about public
opinion; what people say or whether they like what we do. We use
politically correct language. We are afraid to offend people by speaking
the truth. We are ambiguous and ambivalent in expressing our opinions.
Sometimes under pressure, because of the fear of losing our jobs or popularity,
we subscribe to popular views. We know we are saying things which are
even against the Church, just so that we can win the favour of some influential
people.
In a similar vein, the
Babylonian King wanted everyone to worship his gods. Otherwise they would
be put to death.
The king threatened the three young men. He said, “Is it true that you do
not serve my gods, and that you refuse to worship the golden statue I have erected?
When you hear the sound of horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, or any
other instrument, are you prepared to prostrate yourselves and worship the
statue I have made? If you refuse to worship it, you must be thrown straight
away into the burning fiery furnace; and where is the god who could save you
from my power?” He did not allow freedom of worship. He sought to
impose his religion on others. This is the other spectrum of
dictatorship.
Again, we must come back
to the true meaning of freedom, which is to be faithful to the truth. Since in relativism, no truth can be
found, it cannot be the criterion to determine what is good or evil.
Relativism leads to individualism and pragmatism. Freedom can only be
exercised when what we do is for the good of all, for the promotion of life,
love and truth. If freedom is used to promote self to the detriment
of the legitimate rights of others, that freedom cannot be permitted because
there cannot be absolute freedom in this life. So in whatever we do, we must
always ask, whether it is true, whether it is good, whether it serves life,
love and truth.
Today, we are asked to
stand up for what we believe to be the truth, especially in our faith. Do
we have the courage to be like the three young men in the first reading? They displayed remarkable faith when put
to the test. Instead of bowing down to the gods of the king, even under
the threat of death, they remained steadfast. They replied to King
Nebuchadnezzar, “Your question hardly requires an answer: if our God, the one
we serve, is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your
power, O king, he will save us; and even if he does not, then you must know, O
king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue you have
erected.” Although they were captives and prisoners of the king, they
were really the ones that were truly free. They were so free that nothing
could disturb or unsettle their faith in God. They were ready to die for
their faith in God without conditions. They accepted death if God did not
want to save them. Their allegiance to God and faith in Him was complete
and total. Few of us have this kind of faith. Many of us profess
our faith in God with so many conditions, provided He grants us good health and
success, He heals us or our loved ones of sickness, or we strike lottery or get
promoted in our job or have success in business. Indeed, for them,
it was better to entrust their lives to God than to the foreign gods or be in
the hands of men.
How, then, can we remain
true to our faith so that we enjoy true freedom? “To the Jews who believed in him
Jesus said: ‘If you make my word your home you will indeed be my
disciples, you will learn the truth and the truth will make you
free’.” We need the Word of God. Unless we abide in His Word, He
will not abide in us. This was what the Lord told His disciples, “They who have
my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will
be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” (Jn 14:21)
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and
it will be done for you.” (Jn 15:7)
We are called to be true disciples of Christ. By living according to the
gospel, listening to His word and obeying Him, we are free for love and for
life. Christ’s teachings free us for service of God and humanity.
Most of all, He frees us even from our enemies as He did for the three young
men because He taught us not to focus on them but on God’s love and
mercy. We can put our trust in God who will act on our behalf.
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for
it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'” (Rom 12:19)
Secondly, we must
reclaim our dignity as the sons and daughters of God. When we commit sin, we are slaves of
sin. The greatest form of slavery is to be under the bondage of the Evil
One, our desires and attachment. Sin causes us to be blind to what is
good and true. Jesus told the Jews that if they wanted to enjoy the
freedom of the children of God, they must live in the truth. It was not
enough simply to be just children of Abraham, unless they shared in his faith
as well. Similarly, baptism does not necessarily make us children of God
unless we live our lives as such. We know that we are children of God
only when we live a life of freedom founded on truth and love. Indeed, God
shows Himself to be faithful to us when we are faithful to Him. God will
protect His sons and daughters. Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the
God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: he has sent his angel to rescue the
servants who, putting their trust in him, defied the order of the king, and
preferred to forfeit their bodies rather than serve or worship any god but
their own.” Indeed, we know that, like the three young men, even if we
have to suffer in this life, we will share in Christ’s life in the life to
come, because we will rise with Him to eternal life.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
