Reading 1
Rom 8:12-17
Brothers and sisters,we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption,through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Gospel
Lk 13:10-17
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”He laid his hands on her,and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply,“There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.” The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham,whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?”When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
Meditation: Romans 8:12-17
Adoption and slavery—what a contrast!
St. Paul used these images because he wanted to emphasize, in the strongest terms possible, the difference between living in “the flesh” and living in the Spirit.
When Paul talks about the flesh (Romans 8:12), he isn’t referring to our physical bodies—which were created by God and are “very good” (Genesis 1:31). No, he means the inclinations to sin that we inherited from Adam—those daily temptations to act in unloving, selfish ways toward ourselves and others. This is the “flesh” that we were set free from when we became children of God at baptism.
We may not remember being baptized, but something important and powerful really did happen then: The Holy Spirit came to live in us and made us members of God’s family. The stain of original sin—the mark of our alienation and slavery—was washed away, and now the Spirit is free to shine God’s love into the deepest corners of our hearts. He actually prays in us, teaching us to call out to God in the most intimate way: “Abba! Father!”
So when we are feeling tempted or bound by sin, we can recall who we really are: children of God. We can experience the power of the Holy Spirit to put sin to death in our lives. The more we internalize this truth in our everyday lives, the more we will find ourselves living in the Spirit and not in the flesh.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath who for eighteen years had been unable to stand up straight. When the synagogue leader rebukes him, Jesus says: “This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free?” (Luke 13:16). Child of Abraham! Child of God! What title could possibly be better than this? What other short phrase could possibly be so rich in promise, joy, and freedom?
Today in prayer, ask the Lord to help you recognize what may be binding you. Perhaps it’s an addiction, or a sinful pattern, or anxiety, or fear. Then step out in faith and claim Jesus’ victory as your own by acting out your freedom as you go through your day. You’ll be amazed at the freedom!
“Father, thank you for adopting me into your family. Today I walk in the freedom your Son won for me.”
No comments:
Post a Comment