Third Sunday of Lent

Today's Readings

“Oh, freedom, Oh, freedom
Oh freedom over me
And before I'd be a slave
I'd be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lord and be free.”

So goes the post-Civil War African American freedom song. Over the course of human history, so many people have been enslaved both from outside forces and at times from their own decisions.

The people of Israel had yearned for freedom from their slavery in Egypt. They desired to be freed of the yoke of forced labor, degradation and brutality under which they survived. As God acted on their behalf, they followed Moses, God’s mouth-piece into the desert. But the freedom from the Egyptians came at a cost.  Fear set in and they “grumbled against Moses”, indeed against God too. 

For all of us, freedom comes as a gift, an invitation to enter into the possibilities of life, sometimes with ease, other times with a premium that demands acts of courage and risk, even when we think it should go more easily for us. Eric Fromm, a German psychologist, discussed in his book, Escape from Freedom, two types of freedom: freedom from and freedom for. For each of us and for our communities and societies, considering these two freedoms is essential. The believer is called to live, work and pray to be free from evil, oppression, self-interest and all that demeans our common humanity. At the same time we should consider what we are free for: what do we do with our freedom that lifts human dignity, promotes goodness, brings joy to the world?

In our Lenten journey through the wilderness, we are reminded by the scriptures that there is no easy road to freedom, but that God is always with us calling us to embrace the fullness of freedom in the grace of faith in Jesus Christ. 

Rev. Michael Callaghan, c.o.

Pastor

The Oratory Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary