Wisdom 7:7-11 / Hebrews 4:12-13 / Mark 10:17-30
Whenever the word “freedom” is mentioned, many ideas of freedom will start to arise.
- Students want freedom from exams (maybe the parents too)
- Prisoners want freedom from the jail
- Teenagers want freedom from their parents
There are more than enough examples that say the same thing, and that is, people want freedom from restrictions, or freedom without restrictions.
But can there really be freedom without restrictions? And can there really be freedom from restrictions?
There can be freedom of speech, but can we say whatever we like? In fact, freedom of speech can reveal who are the fools and who are those are wise.
Modern people like to think of freedom as the complete absence of any constraints or restrictions. But let us think of the fish. The fish absorbs oxygen from the water, not from the air.
If the fish wants to be “freed” from the water, and go on the land to explore the freedom there, then it will surely not be able to live. It will die.
So freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions, but to understand the right restrictions, those that help us to grow and to be joyful persons.
In a way, it can be said that the rich man in the gospel was searching for freedom and the joy of life.
He ran up to Jesus (that showed how earnest he was) and knelt before Him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Eternal life can be understood in many ways, but primarily it is a life of peace and joy, the kind of life that we can even live here on earth, so that we can have a foretaste of what eternal life is about.
The rich man told Jesus that he had done whatever he could but he was still not satisfied. Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him. And then He gave him this direction: to sell off everything he owned and give the money to the poor.
Jesus promised him an eternal treasure in heaven, and then he will have the freedom to follow Him.
But at this, the man’s face fell and he went away sad for he was a man of great wealth. He wanted to do more, but he couldn't live with less. His great wealth was also his great restriction.
We may not have great wealth, but we surely have possessions. More than just material possessions, we have our ambitions, our obsessions, our compulsions, our desires.
These can be our restrictions and if we can understand this, and control them, then we will have the freedom to live joyful and peaceful lives.
Back to the fish and here is a story about fishing.
A man was fishing by the river. He had been fishing for a few hours under the hot sun and had a few beers. Soon, he dozed off.
Suddenly, there was a strong tug at the end of his fishing line. A big fish had taken a bite and was hooked to his line. The sudden tug woke the man up and in his confusion, he lost his balance and fell into the water. The man struggled in the water, with the fishing rod in his hand and the fish still hooked to his line.
A boy who was strolling by the river with his father, was bewildered by the strange sight of the man and the fish both struggling in the water. He turned to his father and asked, “Daddy, is the man catching the fish or is the fish catching him?”
Yes, what are we catching? Or putting the question in another way – what is catching us? Usually what we possess can in turn possess us.
Today, at St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis will canonize Pope Paul VI, and also Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador.
Pope Paul VI died of a natural death but Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot to death by a single bullet to the heart when he was celebrating Mass.
Archbishop Oscar Romero served during a time of intense political turmoil and religious persecution in the country. He spoke out against the injustice, corruption and crimes of violence of the government.
Although he received death threats, he continued persistently to speak with the voice of God.
He even said this: If they succeed in killing me, I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realise they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the Church of God, which is the People of God, will never perish.
And with that his life came to an end on 24 March 1980, which is the eve of the feast of the Annunciation.
Archbishop Oscar Romero may not possess much, but even the life he had, he gave it up courageously. And he is rewarded with eternal life.
His message still persists even in our times, with those words: Hopefully, they will realise that they are wasting their time.
Well, hopefully, we will not be wasting our time thinking too much about our possessions or what we possess.
Let us ask the Lord to grant us the wisdom to know what true freedom is and to let go of what is restricting us from that freedom.
As the 1st reading puts it: I prayed and understanding was given to me. I entreated, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
May the spirit of Wisdom lead us to true freedom so that we can be witnesses of a joyful and peaceful life, and also be witnesses of the eternal life.