Let Freedom Ring…

Over the course of the past weekend, many people across America gathered with their friends, families, co-workers, etc. to celebrate the anniversary of the United States’ independence from Great Britain. Despite the oppressive heat in Texas, many people decided to have parades, barbecues, fireworks displays, and pool parties. Everyone dressed up in red, white, and blue and showed their patriotism.

I think the Fourth of July is one of those holidays that lost some of its meaning over the years. Don’t get me wrong, some people truly celebrate our freedom but many are more concerned with the three or four day weekend and the festivities that follow. The news programs will often run stories about our brave men and women who continue to fight in order to protect our freedom. I am thankful for those men and women and believe their sacrifices should be honored. As I spent my weekend with friends relaxing, enjoying creature comforts, and enjoying the freedom that has been given to me, I began to think to myself, “What does it mean to be free and what is true freedom?”

Initially when I think about the answer to those questions, the words to the Rolling Stones song, “I’m free to do what I want, any old time,” (shame on you if you didn’t just sing that to yourself) or Dr. Martin Luther King’s words, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last.” Certainly I think that Dr. King had a more appropriate definition of the word freedom. I think one of the difficulties that many of us face is thinking that freedom means to choose what we want whenever we want it. This definition of freedom has led to a battle of another kind, a battle against relativism. We now live in a world where a large number of people believe that they are free only if there is no one around telling them what to do. They rebel against their parents, their teachers, the government, the law, the Church, and even God.

Most of us who are past the age of adolescence know the struggle of living under our parents’ roof. As we grew older we started to think that we knew what was best for us and thought that we should be allowed to make our own decisions. Things such as curfews, phone restrictions, bedtimes, and other rules were seen as being unjustified oppression by our parents. We were often told that the rules were for our own good but that was always a hard pill for me to swallow.

When I went to college I was free to make a lot more decisions than I previously was able to. Sometimes I made decisions based on what my parents had taught me. Other times I did what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. Can you guess which decision making process worked the best for me? After college I worked for a police department. Those of you that do work for or have worked for a police department have certainly encountered the beloved policy manual. We always heard the expression that the policies were more guidelines than rules, although we quickly learned the difference between “may” and “shall.” To a young officer, the policies seemed stifling. They seemed to be written by people who were determined to make sure that everything was done the hard way and no enjoyment whatsoever should come from following then. At times they seemed to be as restrictive as my vest or shirt stays. It took a while to appreciate that by staying within policy at all times, I was actually freer to do my job in a way that was safe, effective, and, at times, fun.

And then there are those little rules called Natural Law and the Ten Commandments. There is that long list of things that Scripture and Sacred Tradition tell me are not good for me. Thankfully we do not have the 613 laws of the Mosaic covenant to live by. In fact, when ten seemed to be too many to the minimalist who asked Jesus which of the commandments was the most important, Jesus summarized them into two rules. And yet, many people see the way of life that stems from following these two rules as restricting and oppressive. In the name of freedom they make comments like, “The Church needs to stay out of my life and out of my bedroom,” “the church should not tell me how to raise my children,” or “who is the Church to tell me how to live my life?”

My parents, my supervisors at the police department, and even the church have told me my entire life that these rules are put into place for my own good. I have heard the phrase that freedom comes from obedience. As I get older, this makes more and more sense to me. Most of us have heard that through one man’s disobedience sin entered the world and through one man’s obedience we became free or through one woman’s disobedience we separated ourselves from God and through one woman’s “fiat” we were given the gift of the Son of God so that we might be brought back into communion with God. Even Pope John Paul II condemned (indirectly) the Rolling Stones definition of freedom when he said that Freedom is being able to choose the things that are good for us. In more philosophical terms, freedom is being able to choose what we are naturally ordered to do. As humans, we are ordered to be in full communion with God. That is the goal of life. The goal is not to get the most pleasure out of this life while we can. Instead it is to live our lives in obedience to the ways of God so that we can become more like him and one day be reunited with him in heaven. Through our obedience to God we become free to choose the things that are best for us. In doing what is best for us, we will discover happiness.

So I wonder, am I really free? It seems at times that my concupiscence and my own desires keep me from choosing the things that are best from me. My pride prevents me from being obedient at all times. There seems to be a battle for my freedom that is fought much closer to home. These are the battles that most of us fight everyday in our hearts. It seems to me that we should celebrate the victories when they occur. Perhaps we don’t need a holiday, or floats, or a particular color to mark the occasion. For me, the celebration occurs at the altar, in the Eucharist, where the war has already been won.

Pax Tecum,
Tom

PS. I know this entry is a little scatter brained. I have been mulling over these thoughts for several days and sometimes if I don’t write them down immediately they get jumbled and don’t come out as well. I offer them as an insight into what I am thinking. They are not meant as any sort of spiritual advice or preaching. I speak with no authority other than as a man who is trying to figure things out and doesn’t mind sharing his progress.