Sunday Readings
The Word of God is absolute Truth. The Bible is inerrant. If you want to be free from the deception of the world, start by accepting the Truth of the Gospel and living according to its teachings–Clement Aladi
My Dearest Friends in Christ,
Today we are presented with the reality of the Truth and the liberating power of God’s Word. The readings challenge us to accept, believe and practice what we hear. Living the saving and liberating Word of God, transforms our lives and brings us salvation.
Most political figures in our time would hardly consider making the liberation of the captives an essential part of their political manifesto. This may be partly because it does not sound like a good agenda, so they would rather promise infrastructural developments and better policies. Regrettably, many political leaders have escalated their tyrannical rule to the point of holding in captivity the very people whose freedom they were called to protect and safeguard. They do this through various means, especially policies that enslave people in their own country and which worsen the situation of immigrants. Unlike these tyrants and the Pharisees, and religious leaders of Jesus’ time, Jesus took a complete departure from the political ideologies of His time. As a leader during His earthly life, Jesus’ inaugural speech was a theology of total liberation, hence the emergence of what we call the liberation theology. This liberation, “… to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed…” is primarily based on the truths of the Gospel. It was these “dangerous” truths of the Gospel, that would someday make Jesus a target of the religious authorities. Jesus’ Mission was a liberating one.
Speaking in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus used Isaiah’s (cf. Isaiah 61) prophetic terms, long since seen as referring to the coming Messiah and His Mission. Jesus said He had been sent, among other reasons, “…to bring Good News to the poor.” The success of Jesus’ Mission, particularly with the poor who had no political power except that conferred by their sheer numbers, made Jesus a “dangerous” person to the religious authorities of Israel and eventually resulted in His Crucifixion. The Christian Gospel is still dangerous when its Truth is put into practice.
In the first reading, after rebuilding the Temple and restoring the city, Ezra leads the people in a “Covenant Renewal” ceremony by reading and interpreting the Law. The Word of God became the foundation of that covenant relationship.
The second reading, taken from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that “…together we are Christ’s Body, but each of us is a different part of It.” This suggests that, as different parts of Christ’s Body, each of us has a share, as instruments in God’s Hands, in bringing the liberating and saving Mission of Christ to the world.
In a world blinded by the darkness of falsehood, today’s Gospel is a challenge to us all. As St. Paul rightly points out, we are all sharers in the saving and liberating Mission of Christ. Are you aware of this?
The Truth is our tool for liberation. Nothing holds a person in captivity more than ignorance of the Truth. There is so much falsehood in our society that we have become captives in our land. We claim to be free when in reality we are in bondage. Freedom without living in the Truth is slavery. When the governments of the world don’t tell the truth to their citizens they keep them in captivity. When leaders of the world, from the lowest to the highest in rank, deprive their followers of the truth, they become tools of enslaving them instead of agents of liberation. When we keep quiet over the evils happening around us and, thereby, become accomplices to evil policies and actions, we contribute to keeping many in captivity. Everyone, no matter the age, is entitled to the truth. Parents can lie and keep their children in captivity but when they know the truth, the outcome is often not welcome. Many today are living in captivity because they have not been told the truth. Many families and relationships are at war because the truth was never told when it should have been. Truth delayed is often truth denied.
We need to reflect on liberating others, especially those we’ve kept in the darkness of captivity by our lies and malicious intents. It us better to tell the truth and be free than hold yourself in captivity. Some people control others and manipulate them because they have access to certain truths those do not have. Someday, when all know the truth, no one will be a slave to another. Modern slavery is alive because many are deprived of the truth that will liberate them.
The Word of God is the source of all Truths. The Truths of the Gospel are often described as “dangerous” because they are like a double-edged sword that pierces the human heart. They are bitter truths, but they offer life everlasting. Jesus’ Mission was to convey Eternal Truth to humanity. He became the enemy of the Jewish authorities because the Liberation and the Truth He preached challenged the cultural, political, and religious atmosphere and ideologies of the time. His Mission transcended earthly ambitions. He came to establish a new order of creation founded on Truths of the Gospel. His preference for the poor and marginalized was unparalleled. His compassion for them is comparable to none.
Can we say we are liberating people when we ignore the poor amongst us? Jesus came to restore the sight of the blind. He does it through His miracles by healing physical blindness, but more the spiritual blindness of the people of His time by teaching the Eternal Truths. God continues to heal, but now He uses us. We may not perform miracles of healing the physically blind among us, but we can restore the sight of those living in the darkness of falsehood and ignorance by teaching them the liberating Truths of the Gospel.
Let us hold on to the immutable Truths of the Gospel and practice its principles. Participate in the Sacraments and your life will be renewed to renew others. Many are dying, many are imprisoned for doing nothing wrong. Many were falsely accused and are paying the price of offenses they did not commit. It is time we speak out and liberate those in captivity…
Those who have suffered captivity at the hands of others, whether it is an abuse of any sort, dishonesty, slander, gossip, or unfair judgment, can take comfort in the Truth of Christ. He has the power to take those burdens from us and liberate us from the damaging effects they cause.
May God continue to inspire you and fill your heart with love to be a source of liberation for others. May we be liberated from the captivity of sinful habits and blindness to the Truth. May God open our eyes to see His good works. May we become agents of liberation in our enslaved world.
