{"id":21688,"date":"2022-08-13T05:47:10","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T10:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=21688"},"modified":"2022-08-13T06:16:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T11:16:54","slug":"freedom-a-holy-burden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/freedom-a-holy-burden\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom. A Holy Burden."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Theology is described as \u201cFaith seeking understanding.\u201d That means Faith comes first – – in the form of trust in what has been revealed. But then equally important, is the search for \u201ca reason\u201d for this trust. My reason won\u2019t allow me to believe in something absurd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So theology, trusting the Church which states that Faith and reason cannot contradict one another, has found good reasons for our belief. There we find in writing some of the \u201cfundamental principles\u201d that help explain the Christian Faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s look at one of these defining principles . . . . Freedom. What is it exactly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a twelve-year-old, freedom means \u201cstaying up late because there\u2019s no school tomorrow!\u201d Or . . . summer vacation starts this Friday! Or . . . no homework. For a child, freedom means \u201cnot having to do something\u201d. In fact, we all have this initial experience of being \u201cset free\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On closer look, however, things go much deeper. Human freedom is what sets us apart from everything else in creation. Think of it. Every creature you see, whether (as we used to say) animal, vegetable, or mineral, is harnessed to a natural order which totally determines what it becomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flowers in spring, the geese flying south in a wing, that stone at the end of your driveway, are all part of a natural order. This \u201corder of nature\u201d requires flower, goose, and stone to be in a particular, predetermined way in order for them to be what they are. (Beware! The goose that stops by your kitchen to have coffee with you is really not a goose!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human being, however, is a different kind of creature. We are set in \u201copenness\u201d to becoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means we are free to construct our own story as a \u201cperson\u201d. Our freedom is not \u201cfreedom from\u201d but \u201cfreedom for\u201d. Our daily choices and habits add up over time. We become \u201ctruth tellers\u201d or \u201cgenerous\u201d or \u201cpatient\u201d or \u201cforgiving\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, equally possible, we can become \u201cliars\u201d, \u201cgreedy\u201d, \u201cunforgiving\u201d, etc. It\u2019s up to us. We\u2019re free. This is the wonderful dignity of the human being as created by God. God has made us co-creators of ourselves. Our actions put into history who we are. We \u201cbecome\u201d. And because it was done in freedom . . . we become \u201cresponsible for it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why would God do this? Why would He wait for our response without forcing us to do His will? Because that\u2019s how love works. It can only exist in Freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some people don\u2019t like this. It\u2019s too heavy. \u201cI just wanna be. Go with the flow. Chill out. I can spend my life anyway I want. I\u2019m free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our human nature, as created by God, has a purpose. It is to share in His nature! God created us to have His love as our meaning. Like a fine crystal goblet, we can hold the sacred wine of God\u2019s life. But here\u2019s the kicker. We are free. We can accept this gift . . . or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God revealed it in Sacred Scripture. What does the bible tell us about ourselves?<\/p>\n\n\n\n