Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” This is what St Paul admonishes in today’s passage from Galatians. Reflecting on this verse takes me to a couple places. It makes me ponder what the work of Jesus really means for me as a Christian and it invites me to look at how my day to day life is a testament to ‘standing firm’ against all the influences that draw me away from Jesus.
What DOES the work of salvation that Jesus accomplished mean? The magnitude of Jesus’ work is far beyond my own understanding. What’s more, the limited understanding I have been granted is pure gift. And my own capacity to grasp the deeper truth of this freedom St Paul speaks about is directly related to the quality of my relationship with Jesus. This freedom, so hard won and so graciously offered, is made available to me through my daily encounter with the Living Christ. It is the daily engagement and ongoing relationship that is the source and sustenance necessary to grow in this life of freedom. I find that when I am committed and perseverant in my prayer, my mind is somehow ‘raised’ above my own little world and I am more engaged in the work God places before me at each moment. When I ‘stand firm’ with the assistance of grace, I am able to more readily accept the invitation to live in the freedom St. Paul is talking about.
And then there are times I am invited to examine to what extent I am truly embracing the freedom that Jesus offers. Sometimes I resist or hold back. Like most of my fellow Christians, it seems I struggle with the same things over and over again; then I can begin to question whether I am truly standing firm! At times it can be a temptation to discouragement. What can coax me from this frustration is one fact—the basic truth of all our lives as Christians—that no matter what the struggle, the circumstance, or apparent misfortune I am facing, I have been ransomed, claimed, and set free by the Lord of the Universe. There is nothing I can do or fail to do that will change or diminish the love that Jesus Christ has for me. Even when I do fall short each day He continues to meet me and call me to himself. Who can fathom such love? I cannot even begin to comprehend the depth of this reality. I only know it brings me hope, it deepens my faith, and stirs me to love. Now that sounds like the freedom I am beckoned to live in; that sounds like the freedom I must strive to remain firm in. I pray this day for the grace to keep this foremost in my mind and reveal the truth of this with every person I meet.
--Gail Lyman