Author: admin

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When I think of July 4^th, I think of cheeseburgers and fireworks; cold drinks and hot grills.

But above all, I think of freedom.

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This weekend we remember the sacrifices made by America’s bravest – our sons and daughters, parents, and grandparents, men and women who’ve served our country with honor.

Many barely of the age to vote.

They willingly risked their freedom so that we can have ours. Some even gave their lives.

May we never take their sacrifices for granted.

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But what does it mean to be free? Is it the power to do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want, regardless of how my choices may affect other people?

Or should freedom be used to reach a higher calling, such as civic duty, moral living, and even a life of faith?

This is certainly a conversation we’re having as a nation: what freedom means, and how we should use it appropriately.

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It may sound strange at first, but most – if not all of us – wouldn’t want an absolutely free society; we’d shriek at a world without laws and limits.

For example, your freedom to swing your fist stops where my nose begins.

My freedom to accelerate my car ends as I approach a red light.

Freedom needs boundaries. Otherwise, we’d be living in a world of car crashes and broken noses.

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In the Gospel, Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

In Jesus’ day, farmers used oxen to plow their fields. Often, they’d pair an older, stronger ox with a younger, less experienced ox using a wooden apparatus called a yoke. 

The oxen complimented one another, so they plowed the fields together.

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In a similar way, Jesus invites us to yoke our freedom to him; to walk in tandem; to plow through the fields of life together.

But be aware. 

Plowing through life with Jesus leads us to make certain choices:

Putting God first in our lives; turning the other cheek; forgiving others their mistakes, giving them second or third chances; working for peace and justice for all.

That’s not always easy.

But Jesus teaches us how to use our freedom wisely; to reach for a higher calling. Otherwise, we’d be living in a world of car crashes and broken noses.

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Think of how people use their freedom wisely in the Gospels.

There’s the Prodigal Son who returns home after squandering his father’s inheritance. There’s his father, who eagerly forgives him.

There’s the Good Samaritan who crosses ethnic lines to help his neighbor dying by the roadside. 

There’s Jesus himself, who turns the other cheek, heals the sick, and lays down his life for friends. 

In these cases, when freedom is used well, a father gains a son; a life is saved; a world is redeemed.

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So how do I use my own freedom?

Do I waste what I have like the Prodigal Son? Do I hold onto grudges like his older brother? 

Or, do I freely forgive others like their father?

Do I see myself as my brother’s keeper, regardless of another’s persons politics, race, or religion, like the Good Samaritan? 

Or, do I judge, even neglect, others in need?

Most importantly, do I try to better the lives of others like Jesus? Or do my choices add to a world of car crashes and broken noses?

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July 4^th reminds me of many things: cheeseburgers and fireworks; cold drinks and hot grills.

But above all, it reminds me of freedom — and my responsibility to use it wisely.

And what better way is there than to plow through life with Jesus, working for peace and justice for all?

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Any couple that’s been married for many years can look back and tell you about the joy that marriage brings. 

There’s the proposal; the wedding day; the birth of children; anniversaries; and the promise that someone is always at home waiting for you.

Marriage is meant to be a joyful thing.

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But, at times, it can also be quite stressful. 

Simply planning your life around another person is hard enough. Then there’s the possibility of financial stress, emotional distance, careers taking center stage, raising children, and unexpected grief.

Most marriages are a mixed bag; there are natural highs and lows.

Perseverance is required.

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The same is true in the spiritual life. There will be highs and lows; perseverance is required.

In the Gospel, for example, Jesus refers to himself as the “bridegroom,” meaning he brings the same type of joy you’d find at a wedding. 

Following the Lord is meant to be a joyful thing.

But in the very next verse, Jesus warns his disciples that he will be taken away from them, a prediction of his death.

If they are to remain faithful to God all the days of their lives, then the disciples must accept the joy that comes and persevere through the sorrow.

Like a marriage, there will be highs and lows.

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There’s no doubt we’ve all struggled through this Coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps one of the harder hit areas has been our spiritual lives.

For example, many of us went at least 100 days without going to Mass or confession. Did we regress at all spiritually? Or have we found the grace to push through?

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Much like a marriage, the spiritual life can be a mixed bag; there will be both highs and lows, times of consolation and times of sorrow.

Perseverance is required. If today is hard, stay faithful and hope for a better tomorrow.

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Critics are quick to point out what they see as the many contradictions in our faith. 

For example, people call me “Father,” yet I have no children. 

And how many of us believe that God can bring some good out of the havoc wreaked by the Coronavirus?

Illogical, absurd, impossible in the eyes of many. Yet, we believe nothing is impossible for God.

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Consider what else we believe to be possible.

Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us; to humble ourselves in order to be exalted; to lay down our lives only to take them up again.

He himself forgave the weak and those living on the fringes of society, while condemning religious authorities; he preached about virtue while he ate and drank with sinners.

The night before his death, Jesus offered his Body and Blood under the appearance of bread and wine after washing his disciples’ feet; the Master kneeling before his servants.

It doesn’t make sense; it defies logic. It seems Jesus teaches us to believe in contradictions, that down is up and up is down.

Maybe that’s the point.

Faith turns our lives upside down, right side up.

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The message is clearest when Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. 

Why does he wash Peter’s feet, but not his head? Peter even protests, telling the Lord to wash him entirely.

But Jesus insists Peter’s feet are enough. Peter must use his feet before his head, following the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense, because up is down and down is up.

What’s the alternative?

To think first; to reason; to rationalize; to bargain with God.

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Think of how often our head slows down our feet. 

We know where we should go, or what we should do, but fear stops us; we think about it too much. We don’t trust in Providence. 

We put our head before our feet. 

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This why the best way to see the world from a Christian perspective is to surrender, feet facing up; viewing the world upside down. 

Or, better said, right side up.

We follow the Lord, we trust Him, even when we don’t understand.

The world will try to convince us that we’re crazy, that we should be in control of ourselves; that we’re our own masters; that we should chart our own destiny; that our faith is filled with contradictions.

Maybe it is.

But it’s the Lord who challenges our minds and hearts. It’s he who turns the values of this world upside down, right side up. 

Instead of seeking revenge, he tells us to let go. Let God. Instead of being selfish, be generous. Instead of exalting ourselves, be humble. Instead preserving our lives, lay them down.

To the world, that’s nonsense; a “how-to” on being a doormat. 

But to us it’s the path to salvation.

Remember the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your good, not for evil” (Jer. 29:11).

Plans to turn your life upside down, right side up.

For Peter, that meant becoming an Apostle, and eventually, the chief shepherd of the Church. But he’d never make it that far if he thought about it; if he put his head before his feet. 

The same Peter who sank into the stormy waters on the Sea of Galilee, would’ve sank into his ego, his fear, his unworthiness if he knew his future.

It’s why the Lord washed his feet, not his head. 

Peter, an ordinary fisherman who didn’t always get things right, had his life turned upside down, right side up.

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This is how Peter dies, too; feet first, hanging upside down on a cross. 

He demonstrated to the Lord his willingness to follow him, to do the illogical, to lay down his life, trusting he’d pick it up again.

Not in this world, no. 

But in the next.

On that awkward, quickly assembled cross, Peter finally understood the head-over-heels message of his Master, who turned his life, his values, his doubts, his security, topsy-turvy, upside down, thirty-five years earlier on the shores of Galilee with two simple words:

“Follow me.”

And Peter did.

All the way to Rome, to the center of worldly power. Peter scoffed at the threat of death, diving feet first, seeing the world in all its contradictions upside down, right side up.

There he preached his final sermon like his Master, not with words but with his life. 

He testified to a God who reveals his power with gentleness, not force; who came to serve, not to be served; who gave his life as a ransom for many.

For Peter. For you. For me.

Perhaps that’s how Peter entered heaven, too, feet facing up. He finally learned that the road to heaven isn’t paved with reason, but with love. 

The best way to reach it is upside down, right side up.

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To many our faith is filled contradictions. We know them. We’ve tried living them. And often enough, we fail. I’ll be the first to admit it.

Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you. Lay down your life, in order to take it up again. It sounds illogical.

But maybe it’s the world – not us – that has its logic twisted. Faith turns our lives upside down, right side up, teaching us to live like Peter:

Heads well grounded; feet pointed toward heaven, eyes viewing the world from a different perspective; earthy logic upended; hands useless; efforts to save ourselves futile.

Ready to follow the Lord feet first, saying “yes,” even when we don’t quite understand.

Somehow, doing so leads us along the topsy-turvy, upside down, right side up road to heaven.

Which is why the same words Jesus spoke to Peter he now speaks to us:

“Follow me.”

Will we do it?

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