True Freedom: Living Intentionally
1. Some Things Are Automatic. Faith Isn't.
This
microphone doesn't go on automatically. I have to turn it on.
But many
things in our lives do happen automatically.
Have you
noticed that when you begin typing something into Google, before you've
finished your sentence, Google often finishes it for you? Or when you begin
typing an email address, your computer fills in the rest automatically.
Artificial intelligence can organize information, summarize articles, and
answer questions in seconds.
These are
remarkable tools.
But they
invite us to ask a deeper question.
As
life becomes more automated, am I becoming more automated?
And
is that really a good thing?
Because
discipleship often means struggling against what comes automatically or
instinctively.
Faith is
often a struggle against doubt.
Love is often
a struggle against selfishness.
Forgiveness
is often a struggle against revenge.
Repentance
is often a struggle against hiding what I've done wrong.
These
virtues don't happen automatically.
They grow
through God's grace and our willing response, one choice at a time.
That is why
Jesus never asks for an automatic response.
He simply
says,
"Come
to me."
2. The King Who Comes in Humility
The prophet
Zechariah gives us an unexpected picture of a king.
If we
imagine a king, we expect someone arriving with an entourage, with power,
perhaps on a mighty war horse.
Instead,
Zechariah describes God's King riding on a simple donkey.
That
prophecy is fulfilled when Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
The King
comes in humility.
Then Jesus
says,
"Come
to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."
Notice what
Jesus does not do.
He doesn't
drag anyone to Himself.
He doesn't
force anyone.
He doesn't
pre-program anyone.
He simply
invites.
Then He
says,
"Take
my yoke upon you."
At first
that sounds like a contradiction.
How can a
burden become light?
A friend of
mine once told me that early in his marriage he realized they didn't have
enough money to pay the mortgage that month.
He dreaded
telling his wife.
Instead of
making things worse, she simply said,
"We'll
get through this together."
He told me
later that the burden immediately became lighter.
Not because
the mortgage disappeared.
But because
he wasn't carrying it alone.
That is
exactly what Jesus promises.
He doesn't
promise a life without burdens.
He promises
that we never carry them alone.
3. The Commitments That Shape Our Lives
There are
signs of commitment all around us.
A wedding
ring doesn't make someone married.
It reminds a
husband and wife that every day they choose to love each other again.
Parents
choose to love their children.
Citizens
choose to serve their country.
Priests
choose to serve God's people.
One simple
way we answer Jesus' invitation is by making Sunday Mass part of our lives—not
only when we're home, but even when we're traveling or on vacation.
I remember
my parents doing that when I was growing up.
Wherever we
went, we found a Catholic church.
Sometimes it
was unfamiliar.
Sometimes we
had no idea where we were.
One of the easiest Google searches you can make this summer is:
"Catholic
Mass near me."
Jesus is
already waiting there.
4. Ordinary Afternoons Shape Our Lives
A few months
after I was ordained a priest, I met several former coworkers for lunch in
Manhattan.
It was a
wonderful reunion.
The
conversation felt very familiar.
I even
remember Bryant Gumbel eating in the restaurant that afternoon.
As lunch
ended, I caught myself thinking - AUTOMATICALLY,
"Well...now
it's time to go back to work."
I caught myself.
I wasn't going back to this office building anymore.
I was coming
back here.
Back to
priesthood.
Back to
serving God's people.
Then another
thought came to me.
My life
wasn't going to reach its high point in that lunch.
The
friendship around that table was genuine.
But it
wasn't dependent on that restaurant.
The lunch
would end.
The
friendship would continue.
And I
realized I was also being invited into another friendship—
a friendship
with Jesus Christ,
lived out in
the ordinary work of being a priest.
The same is
true for every one of us.
This weekend
we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
We celebrate
with fireworks.
Parades.
Barbecues.
Family
gatherings.
Those
celebrations are wonderful.
But our
lives are not shaped by fireworks.
They are
shaped by ordinary afternoons.
One faithful
decision at a time.
5. The Greatest Freedom
The
Declaration of Independence speaks about life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
Those words
have inspired our nation for 250 years.
But every
generation has to choose to live them faithfully.
The same is
true of the Gospel.
Our greatest
freedom is not simply political freedom.
Our greatest
freedom is the freedom to worship.
The freedom
to repent.
The freedom
to forgive.
The freedom
to love.
The freedom
to answer Jesus' invitation.
Every day
technology asks us,
"What
would you like me to do?"
Jesus asks
something very different.
"Will
you come to me?"
That
question cannot be answered by artificial intelligence.
It cannot be
answered on autopilot.
It can only
be answered by each one of us—
one ordinary
afternoon,
one act of
faith,
one response
to God's grace,
at a time.
And so we
hear His invitation once again:
"Come
to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."
No comments:
Post a Comment