Word of Life

July 2007

We have a treasure within: the voice of the Holy Spirit. If we live in unity with one another that voice will be amplified and we can be transformed.

For you were called to freedom. (Gal. 5:13)

In the middle of the first century, the apostle Paul had visited the region of Galatia, in central Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. Christian communities grew up there which enthusiastically embraced the faith. Paul had presented Jesus crucified to them, and they had been baptized, which had clothed them with Christ and bestowed on them the freedom God’s of children. They were ‘running well’ along this new way, as Paul himself recognized.

Then all of a sudden they began to seek freedom elsewhere. Paul was surprised to see how quickly they turned away from Christ. This is when he pressed them to rediscover the freedom Christ had given them:

For you were called to freedom.

What kind of freedom are we called to? Can’t we already do what we wish? ‘We have never been slaves to anyone,’ said Jesus’ contemporaries when he told them that the truth he brought would set them free. ‘Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin,’ responded Jesus. (John 8: 34)

There is a subtle slavery, the fruit of sin, which torments the human heart. We are well aware of its many faces: closing in on ourselves, attachment to material goods, hedonism, pride, anger…

On our own, we will never be able to free ourselves completely from this slavery. Freedom is a gift from Jesus: he set us free by making himself our servant and giving his life for us. This is why we are invited to respond to the freedom that has been given to us.

‘This freedom is not so much the possibility of choosing between right and wrong, but rather of aiming increasingly towards what is good. I have experienced that good frees us, while evil makes us slaves. To be free, we need to love, because what enslaves us the most is our own ego. When we always think of others, or of God’s will in fulfilling our duties, or of our neighbour, we are not thinking about ourselves and so we are free from our ego.’

For you were called to freedom.

How should we live this Word of Life? Paul himself tells us how when, after reminding us that we are called to freedom, he explains that this consists in becoming ‘slaves to one another’, ‘through love’, because the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. (Gal. 5:13-14)

We are free – and this is the paradox of love – when out of love we put ourselves at the service of others, when going against our selfish urges we forget ourselves and focus on the needs of others.
We are called to the freedom of love: we are free to love! Yes, to be free, we need to love.

For you were called to freedom.

Bishop Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, imprisoned because of his faith, remained behind bars for thirteen years. Even then he felt free because he was still able to love at least the prison guards. He once said:

‘When I was put in isolation, I had five guards. They took it in turns, two at a time, to be with me the whole time. The governors had told them, “We will swap you every two weeks with another group, so you won’t be contaminated by this dangerous bishop.” Later they changed their minds and said, “We won’t swap you any more, otherwise this bishop will contaminate all the guards.”

‘At the beginning the guards didn’t speak to me. They only answered “yes” or “no”. It was really sad.… They avoided speaking to me.

‘One night, a thought came to me, “Francis, you are still very rich. You have Christ’s love in your heart. Love them as Jesus loved you.”

‘The next day I began to love them even more, to love Jesus in them, smiling, exchanging a kind word with them. I started telling them stories about my trips abroad.… They wanted to learn foreign languages: French, English… my guards became my students!’

By Fabio Ciardi and Gabriella Fallacara

Next Month: Run with resolution the race which lies ahead of us, our eyes fixed on Jesus. (Heb. 12:1-2)

Meditation:

Chiara Lubich answering the questions of young people, Palaeur, Rome, 20 May 1995.
Testimoni della Speranza, Città Nuova, Rome, 2000, p. 98.