Stand firm

Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

With the celebration of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ last Sunday, we have now arrived at the second part of the season that we call Ordinary. It is called ordinary because each Sunday is designated by an ordinal number. The ordinal numbers are those that end in “st,” “nd,” or “th,” and are used to indicate a thing’s or person’s position in a series. This particular Sunday is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Like the other Seasons in the Church year, Ordinary Time has a particular theme; namely, “the cost of discipleship.” In other words, the Scriptures for this time of the year will emphasize what it really means and takes to be a disciple or follower of Jesus.

That theme is very evident in today’s readings, particularly in the reading from the Letter to the Galatians written by St. Paul. Before we look at what St. Paul has to say in the passage we read today, it is important that we remember that St. Paul received his education from Jewish rabbis and Greek philosophers. His letters reflect how his experience of Jesus has influenced the teachings of Judaism and will also follow the rules of Greek rhetoric. It is important, therefore, that we consider not only what St. Paul says but also how he says it.

For instance, today’s passage begins with an indicative statement followed by an imperative command: “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery!” Another way of saying the same thing would be: “You are free; therefore, act as one who is free!” or “You have been set free from sin; so turn away from sin!”

The use of an indicative followed by an imperative points us to the eschatological future. Yes, Christians are already free, but they are not yet totally free. Full freedom will come when Jesus returns. It is not merely that Christians could lose their freedom, though this is clearly a possibility. Rather, the reason they might lose it is that, though freed by Christ, they are not yet completely free within themselves. Habits of mind and heart, addictions of all kinds, retain their hold even after they are renounced. On Easter Sunday, we renewed our baptismal promises, renouncing sin and the works of Satan. Yet we all know that from time to time, we fail to keep those promises. Inasmuch as we fail, we slip back into slavery to sin. Freedom itself is a frightening thing because it requires the willing renunciation of whatever compensations people have cultivated in order to cope with those habits that enslave them. Paul realized this, so he exhorts the Galatians to stand fast in their freedom.

Having warned the Galatians against reverting to some form of slavery after being set free by Christ, Paul next addresses the opposite inclination. He insists that the freedom to which the Galatians have been called is not an invitation to license. It is not an opportunity for throwing off all moral restraint and indulging in some form of libertinism. Though no longer under the bondage of the law, they are not free to live lawless lives. In fact, they are expected to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Though not slaves of the law, they should be servants of one another in love. In this way, though they may not accomplish all that the law requires, they will have fulfilled all that the law intends.

Next, Paul contrasts life lived in the spirit with life lived in the flesh. However, we need to set aside our preconceived notions of the distinction between spirit and flesh. For St. Paul, life in the spirit means doing things that draw us closer to God. Conversely, life in the flesh holds us away from God. Everything that pulls us away from God – greed, avarice, gossip, rash judgment, prejudice of any kind, sexual immorality – are all sins of the flesh. They all pull us away from God.

Jewish anthropology of St. Paul’s day maintained that the inclination toward good, which resided in the spirit, and the inclination toward evil, which resided in the flesh, were in constant contention within the human being. It is this inner struggle Paul has in mind. He insists that if, through a false sense of freedom, the Galatians give into the inclinations of the flesh, they will eventually destroy one another. However, if they serve one another in love, they will live lives of genuine freedom guided by the spirit of God.

The prophet Elisha in the first reading is an example of someone who is guided by the spirit. In the Gospel, we learn that Jesus resolutely determined that it was time for him to go to Jerusalem. We all know what will happen in Jerusalem when he arrives. He knew what would happen, and he has told his disciples and the apostles what is going to happen. However, he also knows that the cost of his obedience to the will of the Father is his death on the cross. Just as Elisha put his former way of life behind him to follow in the footsteps of Elijah, just as Jesus obeyed the will of his Father, we need to recognize and accept the cost of our freedom, the cost of our discipleship, won by Jesus.