On this Canada Day weekend, Paul’s words have great resonance for us.  They speak to us of a God whose desire is to help us come to true freedom.  But what is this freedom of which Paul speaks?  For what kind of freedom has Christ set us free?  And what might this have to do with us as we celebrate our national holiday this weekend? 

Here in Canada, we talk a lot about freedom.  We tend to define freedom in terms of individual rights: my autonomy, my civil liberties, my ability to make unrestricted choices. It is legal freedom, freedom from external constraints.  We need this kind of liberty in order to function as a society.  Freedom from tyranny and oppression, freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of conscience and of religion: these are important rights.  It is good that we live in a society that promotes basic civil and political liberties.  But this is not the whole picture.  What happens when “the right to life”, becomes “the right to create life and to end life, exclusively on my terms”, as we have seen in the recent debate over medically assisted death?  What happens when freedom becomes merely “an opportunity for self-indulgence”? This is only the beginning of true freedom.

Freedom also can be seen from a psychological perspective.  Some people are not "free", no matter how many liberties or material advantages they possess. Why is this?  Because their constraints are internal, harder to overcome.   Some people are enslaved by addictions: to alcohol, drugs, sex, food, TV, gaming, social media, unhealthy relationships.  Others are held captive by guilt, shame, poor self-image.  Others still are blinded by deeply ingrown prejudices and cultural biases. We can be slaves to the past: unable or unwilling to let go of painful experiences which prevent us from moving freely into the future.  We have autonomy, but are we really free?    

Paul tells the Galatians that those who are led by the Spirit are not subject to the Law.  This reflected a big controversy in the fledgling Christian community: did the Gentiles who desired to follow Christ need also to follow the Law of Moses, including circumcision? Peter and Paul, whose common feast is celebrated this Wednesday, had a huge argument on this very question.  But as Christianity spread throughout the nations, Paul's point of view won the day.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; all are one in Christ.” 

What is Paul telling us?  That salvation comes not through external observance of the Law, but in a free and full response to Jesus Christ.  Faith is not an ideology, a set of rules, but an encounter with Jesus of Nazareth, the Promised One of God: “For freedom, Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

So we are called to something more than freedom “from” external or internal constraints.  Christ sets us free for something positive: for “life in the Spirit.”  And the way we know we are living according to the Spirit is to look for its fruits in our life: does it manifest “love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, humility, chastity, self-control.” These are not “commandments” to be obeyed but an invitation to a deeper and more meaningful life.  This kind of freedom is marked by virtues into which we grow, and not easily measured by simple lists of “dos and don’ts”.

In the end, Christian freedom is not only freedom “from” sin, or freedom “for” virtue and good works; it is the freedom of relationship, freedom “with” God.  We are called to the freedom of walking “with” Jesus as disciples, following wherever he leads. 

This kind of freedom is illustrated in a rather disturbing way in today's Gospel. In his ministry in Galilee, we have seen Jesus revealed as prophet, teacher, healer, worker of wonders – as the Christ, God’s anointed one. In his words and deeds, in his very being, Jesus reveals the presence and power of God.  His message brings comfort and hope to the poor and outcast. People are drawn to follow him, to be with him.  Today, Jesus leaves Galilee behind to “set his face to go to Jerusalem,” and encounters opposition. He tries to enter a Samaritan village, but is turned away.  Undeterred by the rejection, Jesus calms his angry disciples and continues on his journey.

Then, confronted with three would-be disciples, who all promise to follow him “later”, Jesus responds with three hard sayings:

Foxes have their holes and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Let the dead bury their dead; your duty is to go and proclaim the kingdom of God. No one who puts the hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.

What do we make of this tough, demanding Jesus, who calls his followers to nothing less than total and absolute commitment?  His disciples can expect neither hospitality, nor security, nor even respectability.  The call to proclaim the Kingdom of God supersedes every other attachment in life: possessions, home, family and loved ones.  And that NOW - not five minutes, six months, or ten years from now - is the time to answer the call.

A number of years ago, Sr. Beverley told a story about the foundress of her congregation, Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher.  As a young woman, Eulalie (as she was then known) lived with her father in a parish rectory near Longueil, where her brother was pastor.  

When Bishop Bourget asked her to found a community, her elderly father objected, asking that she at least wait until he died.  After struggling for a while with what to do, she discerned that God was calling her to found the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Six years later, she died, but having begun a work whose fruits have endured for nearly two centuries – and can you imagine St. Monica’s without the contribution of Sr. Beverley, Sr. Mary Ellen, Sr. Pat, and the many other Holy Names sisters?  Oh, by the way – Eulalie’s father outlived her by several years! 

When we come spiritually alive, when we hear the call of God resounding in our hearts, the moment is decisive.  It is time to act. Jesus is not against work, security, or family.  These are also important sources of God's grace in our lives.  But in using these as an excuse to delay their response to Jesus, these three would-be followers missed out on something very precious: the adventure of coming to know Jesus and the freedom he offers. 

Most of us can look back over our lives and identify these missed opportunities.  Probably, we had a very good excuse at the time.  There may also have been times in our lives when we were inspired to take a risk, “a leap of faith” if you will, not quite knowing where it would lead us, and God graced us through that. It happens more often than we might realize: leaving home; a change of career, moving to a new city, buying a house, deciding to get married or have a child, retiring, downsizing from house to apartment to seniors’ residence.  In each case, letting go in freedom is the necessary pre-requisite to the next stage of one’s journey. 

Discipleship costs.  Freedom costs.  Following Jesus comes at a cost.  Jesus may seem to ask a lot, but what he offers is infinitely more valuable: unconditional love, total acceptance, intimate friendship, and union with him in his life, death and Resurrection.  In this relationship with Jesus, we find our freedom.  Freedom to be the person God has called me to be; freedom to embrace my commitments in life to family, friends, work and society appropriately; freedom to follow Jesus and to work with him in the building of his Father’s Kingdom.       

Today’s Gospel calls us to move forward in freedom, without nostalgically dreaming of the past, without dwelling on past failures, regrets, or guilt.  It reminds us to place all our hope and security in God as we journey. Jesus said he had no place to lay his head. Jesus’ only home was in God and that’s our only true home too: here and now, and in eternity.

Indeed, the place Jesus did lay his head was on the cross. As we celebrate the Eucharist, our sustaining meal and our memorial of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, let us ask for the strength we need for our journey, the same journey Jesus took up to Jerusalem, to death and to resurrection.