By Fr. Roy Cimagala
THAT gospel episode about some Pharisees who dared to tell Christ that his disciples did not observe the Sabbath law since they were plucking corn in a field during Sabbath (cfr. Mt 12,1-8) somehow reminds us that if we are not truly with Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life for us, we end up having a very restrictive, and even erroneous understanding of things, compromising our freedom and our ability to love.
It’s only when we are with Christ that we can truly be free, with the freedom that channels the very love of God for us. It’s when we would be in the truth that, as the gospel also tells us, would make us really free. (cfr. Jn 8,32)
We need to understand that our true Christian life can only be developed in the ground of freedom. It’s a freedom that will break any earthly and improper attachments, like egoism and sin. It’s a freedom that would enable us to love God and others whatever the conditions and circumstances may be. It’s a freedom that would really spring from inside us, from our most intimate part. It would not just be a façade.
We can develop this kind of freedom when we truly pray, when we have an intimate connection with Christ. We can develop this kind of freedom when we live our life according to God’s will and plan as attested by Christ himself who said: “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8,31-32)
We should see to it that our heart is really given to Christ. How important therefore it is to conquer our heart for Christ. This will require great effort on our part and that humility to ask always for the grace of God to work on us.
The heart, as we all know, is actually the very seat of our thoughts, desires and conscience. It’s that part that contains our whole being, and therefore the most precious part we have. Our whole identity, both in its stable and dynamic states, is found in the heart.
It’s the source of what our mouth would say. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Mt 12,4). It is what gives the motives for our thoughts, desires, and words and deeds.
It’s also where we hear the voice of God as well as that of the devil, where we discern the spirit of God and that of the evil one. It’s where we make our decisions, promises and commitments.
It’s where the dynamics of our faith, hope and charity is played out. But it can also be where merely worldly values, passing and relative, can dominate. Thus, it is where our interior struggle is done, where our choice of either God or ourselves is made.
When our heart is truly identified with the heart of Christ, we would realize that true freedom that springs from God’s love would always respect the opinions, views and solutions that others maintain or propose even when they are different or even in conflict with ours. True freedom somehow respects plurality and diversity.
Even when there are doctrinal and moral errors involved in the views and opinions of others, the freedom that comes from the love of God would know how to deal with them, even going to the extent of offering one’s life for the others.
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
