Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
Everyone Who Commits Sin is a Slave
Brethren, in a world where freedom is the held with high esteem, and where a view of truth and freedom has been distorted as the ability to choose whatever we deem as good, or good for us, from among a limitless array of options, we can easily be tempted to act as the Jews in today's Gospel, who think that they are very free since they are no longer under exile. They forget that spiritually they indeed slaves Because of sin, because Jesus tells us today that whoever sins is a slave of sin. If we are stuck in our sins, we are not free but slaves of sin and the only way to be free is to accept the truth, What is this truth? It is Jesus Christ and the truth which will set us free. As Bishop Robert Barron says, freedom is “not so much liberty of choice, but rather the disciplining of desire so as to make the achievement of the good first possible and then effortless.”
Today's understanding of freedom: free to do whatever I wish with my life, free to rule my family as I want, free to work or not and so forth, has made us to sin more because we think we are free, even to the extent of killing anyone who comes in our way, rape, steal, take drugs, avoid church, treat people the way I want, put on the way I want even being naked, insult others or live an individualistic life. This freedom indeed has made us lose the sense of sin making us see sin as a normal thing. This is why Jesus says, we are slaves of sin and therefore we need Freedom; we are not free at all but enslaved.
If we need to be free, let us get ready to face the difficulty of this freedom, the freedom from sin requires a real sacrifice of oneself. Practically speaking, many people are very comfortable living in sin. Sin offers a deceptive satisfaction that can be hard to turn away from. Sin can make you “feel” good in the moment, even though the long-term effects are that, it strips your freedom and joy. But so often that momentary “satisfaction” is enough for many people to keep coming back.
Overcoming sin requires purification. The process of “letting go” of sin requires true sacrifice and commitment. It requires you to turn to the Lord in absolute trust and abandon other things. In doing so, you experience a sort of death to yourself, to your passions and to your own selfish will. This hurts, at least on the level of your fallen human nature. But it's like a surgery of getting from your body which eats you to claim that freedom.
Jesus claimed for us this freedom by taking away the sins of all the world, but it's not surprising that we have gone back to our work of sin and we have fallen into temptation of sins and made ourselves idols. We have not resisted to worship idols like the way Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego resisted to worship the idols of King Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed we are more slaves of sin than even those before Jesus.
To reclaim our freedom we have to shun those idols, not necessarily the golden idols of the first Reading, but they are the contemporary behaviours which lead us to sin. Some music is still used to put us in the mood for sin, TV and other visual stimuli can influence us to modify our behavior and thereby can rob us of our freedom. Nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and other substances can alter our consciousness in subtle yet enslaving ways. Let us pray for the grace of God to identify the golden images in front of us and refuse to adore them. Is it money? Hunger for power? Unnecessary love of technology? Fellow human beings e.g leaders, rich people or secret spouses apart from your own husband/wife? There are also many ways we are leading bad examples and in a way leading people into sin. Let us examine ourselves.
Lent is a time, more than any, in which you must honestly focus on your sin for the reason of identifying those things that keep you bound, so that you can invite the Divine Physician to enter your wounds and heal you. Do not let Lent go by without honestly examining your conscience thoroughly, and repenting of your sins with all your heart. The Lord wants you to be free! Desire it yourself and enter the process of purification so that you will be relieved of your heavy burdens.
When we renew our baptismal promises on the first day of Easter, we will proclaim our freedom from Satan and our freedom to believe in the Holy Trinity. During the Easter season, we profess and live the ultimate freedom of the risen life. Finally, the Easter season culminates in Pentecost, when Jesus' apostles and disciples were freed from their fears and unbelief to leave the upper room and lead three-thousand people to Baptism into Christ and into the newborn Church.
Reflect, today, upon your attitude toward your own personal sins. First, can you humbly admit to your sin? Don’t rationalize them away or blame another. Face them and accept them as your own. Second, confess your sins. Reflect upon your attitude toward the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is the Sacrament of freedom. It is so very easy. Just go in, admit all your sins, express sorrow and be set free. If you find this difficult then you are trusting your own feelings of fear rather than the truth. Third, rejoice in the freedom that the son of God offers. This is a sacrament of reconciliation, and we need it for our spiritual growth and preparations for the light of Easter.
Let us Pray
For our own self conversion and the freedom that God gives not human freedom. Lord, I want to be free, free me by your truth. Amen.
Blessed Lenten period
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