WATCHWORD:
1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 9:1-9
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
Meditation:
Before Damascus
I wonder if some of us, in our religious lives, are back where Paul was before he became a Christian? Oh, I don’t mean they are out there persecuting other Christians, but what if we are caught up, or I should say grown-up, with a religion that has taught us, we are bad, we are sinful. It taught us how to feel guilty, but not how to be free, free and at peace.
A pastor once told me about a woman, who, in the midst of a sermon where the preacher called the congregation dirty rotten sinners, stood up and stormed out of the sanctuary. Her message was clear: No one was going to call her a rotten sinner. I wonder how many children, maybe even you and I, have grown up, sitting in church week after week and heard that same theme in sermons — We’re all sinners. Young children, hearing that repeatedly may search in their minds for how they were so bad, what sinful things have I done, and not really having a resolution of that question.
In the Galatian passage above, I believe that Paul was referring to how the law, those 613 “expectations” of Judaism, as a religious system defined for people the behaviors required by God. What Paul had realized was that his religion, think before the Damascus experience, taught him to feel guilty but not how to be free. It had given him a bad conscience without really empowering him to be good.
The Damascus experience laid out for him the reality that in Jesus Christ he was counted by God as a person of worth. So he could forget the strain of trying so hard to be perfect, and, in the freedom to respond to love in love, he discovered a more spontaneous and joyful life in Christ. Deliverance from having to measure up to outside expectations, from the pressure of having to be perfect all the time, this is what Paul meant when he wrote For freedom Christ as set us free.
The real problem with our growing into Christian freedom is not God but in us. This Christian freedom is not only a grace, it is also a challenge. The question becomes: Do we really want such freedom? Are we courageous enough to accept it?
I think we know that in accepting the risks of Christian freedom we open ourselves to joy, to authentic goodness, to faithfulness To God. You know, there is no such thing as half-measures of Christian freedom. Are you ready for that? So be it.
Bulletin Board:
Some Irish humor as 2021 slowly draws to a close:
An Irishman is struggling to find a parking space. “Lord,” he prayed. “I can’t stand this. If you open a space up for me, I swear I’ll give up the Guinness and go to mass every Sunday.”
Suddenly, the clouds part and the sun shines on an empty parking spot. Without hesitation, the Irishman says: “Never mind, I found one!”
Remember:
Beginning with Monday, January 3, Watchwords will be posted on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Closing Prayer:
Almighty God, we thank you for planting in us the seed of your Word. By your Holy Spirit help us to receive it with joy, live according to it, and grow in faith and hope and love, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
