Is Jesus free?
The Gospel (cf. Mk 3:20-35) tells us that Jesus, after beginning His public ministry, faced a twofold reaction: that of his relatives, who were worried and feared He had gone a little mad, and that of the religious authorities, who accused Him of acting under the influence of an evil spirit. In reality, Jesus preached and healed the sick by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And precisely the Spirit made him divinely free, capable of loving and serving without measure or conditioning. Jesus, free. Jesus was free concerning WEALTH: therefore, He left the security of His village, Nazareth, to embrace a poor life full of uncertainties (cf. Mt 6:25-34), freely taking care of the sick and whoever came to ask Him for help, without ever asking for anything in exchange (cf. Mt 10:8).
The gratuitousness of Jesus’ ministry is this. And it is also the gratuitousness of every ministry. He was free concerning POWER: indeed, despite calling many to follow Him, He never obliged anyone to do so, nor did He ever seek out the support of the powerful, but always took the side of the last, teaching His disciples to do likewise, as He had done (cf. Lk 22:25-27).
Finally, Jesus was free of the PURSUIT OF FAME and approval, and so, He never gave up speaking the truth, even at the cost of not being understood (cf. Mk 3:21), of becoming unpopular, even to the point of dying on the cross, not allowing Himself to be intimidated, nor bought, nor corrupted by anything or anyone (cf. Mt 10:28). Jesus was a free man.
He was free in the face of wealth, free in the face of power, free in the face of the pursuit of fame. And this is important for us too. Indeed, if we let ourselves be conditioned by the quest for pleasure, power, money, or consensus, we become slaves to these things. If instead we allow God’s freely-given love to fill us and expand our heart, and if we let it overflow spontaneously, by giving it back to others, with our whole selves, without fear, calculation, or conditioning, then we grow in freedom, and spread its good fragrance around us too.
So, we can ask ourselves: am I a free person? Or do I let myself be imprisoned by the myths of money, power, and success, sacrificing my serenity, and peace, and that of others, to these things? In the places where I live and work, do I spread the fresh air of freedom, sincerity, and simplicity? May the Virgin Mary help us live and love as Jesus taught us, in the freedom of the children of God (cf. Rom 8:15,20-23).
Excerpts from Pope Francis.
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