Paul says “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1) I for one am glad to hear it. I suppose the churches in Galatia enjoyed hearing this sentiment as it was read to them. No doubt, some took these words at face value. Other people were more cautious. “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” (5:13-15) What is the next question to be asked? Is it “and just who is my neighbor?” Or is it “do you actually know my neighbor?” My question is what is freedom?
What It Means to Be Free
“We do not have the right to say anything we want.” I declared this to a church member who was also a politician. His hackles rose. Then I said, “Secular law, the first amendment, gives us the right to do so. But Christians are not allowed to do this. What we say must be healthy.” The old word for healthy is “sound.” We may only say things that are truthful, helpful, and promote the good. And we must speak from a position of love. I am not sure he ever agreed, but he got my point.
We are not free to say anything that pops into our heads. Christians are also not free to act in harmful ways toward others. This is a primary concern during Holy Week when we read about Jesus’ actions and words during this time. Jesus is the person who exercises the most freedom in the gospel stories. He does what it pleases him to do. How is this possible for an Israelite peasant/craftsman?
The Proposed Roots of Freedom
There is a lot of ink spilled over the authority of Jesus and the demonstrations of his power. The problem with these discussions is that we do not get to the root of the freedom Jesus exercises. His freedom is not based on divine authority or power. When Simon Peter strikes the high priest’s servant, Jesus tells Peter and asks if he ever considered twelve legions of angels could be called to defend him if he wanted it. Such force would certainly overpower the military occupiers. But would it help anything?
Jesus is not free because he has a trade and can create wealth. The rich young ruler was free to do anything he wished. He chose to do good deeds. Unfortunately, his ability to do good was based on his wealth. Jesus advises him to give up what he had and do one last heroic good deed. But his ability and freedom is based on his wealth. What happens if he gives it all away? Will he lose everything that makes him who he is?
These assumptions about freedom are behind some of the moral questions people ask about God regarding divine power and benevolence. Why does God not feed the hungry, heal the sick, and intervene for justice? All proposals about the best use of money and force are based on our assumption that we would be very benevolent and generous. Yet, both wealth and power are corrupting influences. If God is incorruptible, then the divine would not rely on such means.
The Free Way
The crowd on Palm Sunday call for salvation that is promised and hoped for from the Son of David—the King. Jesus does not offer a correction that spiritualizes their hope for salvation. He frees the poor from the double-exploitation practiced on them by the Temple system—the devaluing of what little money they have and selling sacrificial doves for inflated money. Jesus tells them to leave and overturns their sales tables. They do not leave because they fear him. The “money changers” and “sellers of doves,” mentioned in Matthew, are afraid of the crowd Jesus brought with him. Jesus does not order this crowd to harm anyone or anything.
Jesus bases his freedom in perfect love and offered freedom the same way. If we take a step toward practicing perfect and mutual love, we begin to experience the freedom Jesus gives. Paul sums up the law in the one commandment. Jesus summed it up in two. Paul wants to emphasize this love to his Galatian audience. The way of freedom is not about grand gestures. It is the practice of love toward other people. The audience Paul has is disturbed by people who want to limit the practice to only the select and obedient tp their prejudices. Paul claims we are free from their methods, desires, and “authority.” Followers of Jesus are to love their neighbor setting themselves free that way.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In