20250409 TRUE FREEDOM IS FOUND IN CHRIST
09 April 2025, Wednesday, 5th Week of Lent
First reading |
Daniel 3:14-20,24-25,28 |
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.’
Responsorial Psalm | Daniel 3:52-56 |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
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!
Or: | cf.Lk8:15 |
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!
Gospel | John 8:31-42 |
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.’
TRUE FREEDOM IS FOUND IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [DANIEL 3:14-20.91-92.95; JOHN 8:31-42 ]
Many of us are seeking freedom in life. Man wants to be free on his own terms. This has always been the greatest temptation of man since the foundation of the world. Adam and Eve wanted to be free to act on their own. They were enticed by the devil’s suggestion that “‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.” (Gn 3:4-6) Then it happened again at the Tower of Babel when the people thought they could find freedom from another deluge by building a tower into the heavens. (cf Gn 11:1-9)
The truth is that when man seeks his own freedom based on his own abilities, he becomes a slave not only to himself but to the world and to society. When man worships himself and make himself a god, he has lost all perspective in life. Indeed, we become insecure because no matter how secure we are, we always live under the threat of losing our security because of external factors not always entirely within our control. There will be competitors and enemies. We cannot also always protect ourselves from natural disasters or accidents and diseases. So we end up chasing after the wind, thinking that pleasure, food, fame, power and wealth can last. When we get old and we are no longer in control, all these things are meaningless to us, especially wealth.
This precisely was the slavery of the Jews in the gospel. They lived under the slavery of sin. They thought that they were free when they were not. They told Jesus who offered them freedom. “‘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.” In saying that they were not slaves they were deceiving themselves. In fact, Israel, after King David, was always living under the threat of their enemies. They were under the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes, the Greeks and the Romans. Spiritually, they were also slaves of the Torah, observing the letter of the law and being self-righteous, proud and not docile to Jesus, the Word of God in person. The final proof that they were slaves was their desire to kill Jesus, which was against the Law. “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.” Their hearts were evil. So in truth they could not say that they were not the slaves of the world and slaves of themselves.
True freedom, as the Lord teaches us, is to be found only in Him. True freedom is founded on His Word as the Lord 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.” To be free, we must make the Word of Jesus our own. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In His Sermon on the Mount, at the end of His collection of teachings, He warned His disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.” (Mt 7:21,23f)
Indeed, only when we obey His Word, can we be truly His disciples and God lives in us. He promised us in St John’s gospel, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.” (Jn 14:23f) Indeed, when God lives in us through His word, we are assured of true freedom. Jesus made it clear that He spoke on behalf of the Father. “What I, for my part, speak of is what I have seen with my Father.” He and the Father are one. Therefore, to reject Jesus is to reject the Father whom He has sent. Again, Jesus answered those who claimed that they love the Father. 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.”
When we live like His Son, we become heirs with Him, as St Paul wrote, “When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Rom 8:16f) On the level of our human relationship, Jesus also promised us, “”My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Lk 8:21) We are brothers and sisters of Jesus. So if we believe that God is our Father, then we would live like His Son by being obedient to the Word of God. As we enter the 5th Week of Lent just before Holy Week, the liturgy wants us to be clear about the identity of Jesus. He is the Word of God, the Son of the Father. If we truly love God our Father, we must accept Jesus and His word.
We must confess our absolute faith in Him, just as the three young men did when they were ordered to worship the golden statue of the King. For the three young men, only God was their king. There were no other gods, not even King Nebuchadnezzar who was but a human being. They refused to render worship to the King and his statue even in the face of death, and not just execution but being burnt in the fiery furnace. But they were people who were truly free because of their faith in the God of Israel. They knew that God was a faithful and all-powerful God. They were confident that God would not fail them. God would save them. 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.”
But their faith in God was greater than just faith that He would save them in this life. They said, 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.” They had total confidence in God and trusted in His divine wisdom and power. Such was their devotion to God that even King Nebuchadnezzar was embarrassed that these three young men could be so bold and audacious in their faith in their God. “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.” But God once again showed Himself to be the God of the world and astonished King Nebuchadnezzar who 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.'” The three young men were truly free even when threatened by punishment from the King. They walked into the furnace singing and praising God. Their freedom was beyond anyone’s imagination.
As a consequence, the King retracted his demand and recognized that there was a greater god more powerful than him. He 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.” We pray that we will also have the same faith as the three young men. We pray we have the courage to be faithful to Jesus even during times of trial and persecution or even in our suffering. We are called to place our total trust in Jesus and His Father. He will save us.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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