(I meant to post this yesterday but, well, life intervened.)
In this Friday’s Morning Prayer we have a reading from the letter to the Galatians that made me really, truly, stop and think. We read:
I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:19b-20)
For some reason every time I’ve read this passage I’ve always at least partially dismissed it as Paul’s description of himself. I don’t think there is any arguing that St. Paul was a zealot, so seeing such strong and complete language from him isn’t very surprising. But yet this is far more than a reflective statement – more than just Paul explaining why he acts the way he does. Behind these words is the cry, “I have come this far, come with me, live only in and for Him!” It is, as is only fitting, a call to follow.
So … all those times you have the opportunity to do what you want or do what you ought, which do you pick? And when you do do what you ought, do you do it begrudgingly or with the joy of knowing you are following Christ’s call to charity? Do you find joy in the freedom of being yoked with Christ or look askance at your perceived loss of freedom? It may be that in surrendering what we perceive to be our freedom we find ourselves only then to be truly free.
