The Eve of the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany [Feb. 7,
2004]
Canon Richard T. Nolan
BONDAGE
(a brief meditation)
“Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us, we beseech thee, the liberty of that abundant life which thou hast manifested to us in thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in unity with the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.” [Collect of the Day, Rite One]
Tonight’s Collect refers to one of the most fundamental convictions of biblical thought: freedom from bondage. It is a conviction rooted in two pivotal, historical events and in the human spirit as well.
The entire Old Testament is written within the context that during a particular period, the Hebrew people were freed from 400 years of Egyptian captivity and were led toward the Promised Land under a series of leaders, Moses being the first. Although the stories connected with this Exodus were embellished (as every people have done with their histories), this deliverance is referred to throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and has been maintained in all Jewish worship to the present day. The Exodus is the primary example of the Semitic passion for basing their life on an actual event, not just an inner awareness. Of course, the event is interpreted providentially, meaning that the Creator was leading them, nudging them forward, freeing them from political and spiritual bondage, to become a great people living in their own land; they were chosen to become a “light to the nations.” Through them, all humanity would be drawn toward the freedom provided through the people’s love of God and neighbor, through righteousness and justice for all.
The entire New Testament is written within the context that during a particular time, all humanity was invited to freedom from spiritual bondage by following the Word of God exemplified in the Risen Jesus, the redefined Messiah. The unique, pivotal event was the Resurrection of Jesus after his execution for treason under order of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. The Resurrection was God’s singular intervention intended to proclaim Jesus’ life and ministry as the authentic expression of God’s Will for every human being. This new event, liberating from bondage the hearts and minds of all who follow this Lord and Christ, did not contradict the ancient Exodus; instead, it furthered the Exodus by personalizing God’s Purpose for humanity in a new and dramatic way.
In terms of the human spirit, the Exodus and the Resurrection events have the power to touch everyone in both heart and mind. The theme of the liberation of the human spirit from all kinds of bondage may be found in secular fiction and non-fiction, in religious myths, legends, and other writings throughout the human journey. It is natural for humans to desire liberty, not enslavement.
Now let me proceed at a slower pace, for your careful reflection. At various times of our lives, you and I might discover that we are held captive by addictions - to one or more human beings (such as particular relationships and popular idols), to groups (even religious institutions), or to substances. We might find ourselves enslaved by excessive loyalties - to careers, to social status, or to political ideologies. Perhaps we are imprisoned by obsessive pursuits - of affluence, of health and long life, or of various achievements. Maybe at times we are paralyzed - by words of the Bible itself, by traditional ways of life, by resistance to change, or by fear of new knowledge and experiences. So many individuals live in bondage, often in quiet desperation, far from an “abundant life.” So much of current Christian ministry merely continues to preserve the past rather than creatively to invent the future.
In the Gospel reading, we heard the figurative tale of Peter’s lack of trust in Jesus’ words to fish yet again, Peter’s sense of personal unworthiness, and of his friends’ shared failure to grasp the true goal: to catch the hearts and minds of people with the freeing Word of God. However, enlightened further by their Master with courage, faith, forgiveness, grace, self-acceptance, and understanding, “they left everything and followed him.” In this symbolic story, they were liberated from the bondage of fear and doubt, unworthiness and ignorance.
The Good News of Christ is neither imprisoning nor nonjudgmental. Many value judgments are necessary for Christians to follow God’s Word day by day, to minister in Christ’s Name. Nonetheless, too often throughout Jewish and Christian history God’s Word has been interpreted in terribly enslaving ways. Individuals and entire cultures continue to be harmed extensively through repeated Christian missteps. This religious captivity and the many self-defeating paths of secular cultures have repeatedly held the human spirit in bondage. In a multitude of subtle and flagrant ways, global peoples remain in bondage to this day, as many contemporary controversies expose so glaringly.
I invite you, on an ongoing basis, to join me in discerning those areas in which our individual and corporate lives remain in bondage, far from the Exodus and Resurrection spirit, distant from truly following him whose Way is “the liberty of that abundant life.” Only when we and other Christians choose to make sufficient room for this graceful discernment - as did Peter, James and John - will our churches become more effectively fit for mission.
“Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us, we beseech thee, the liberty of that abundant life which thou hast manifested to us in thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in unity with the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen. ”