Readings
Old Testament: Exodus 16:10-22
Psalm 18:1-20
Gospel: John 15:12-27
Epistle: 1 Pet. 2:11-25
Devotional
I (Soren) long for freedom right now. Everything in me desires to be out, to resume normal live, to be unconstrained by rules and laws and the silent (or noisy) judgement of the social media mobs. I am the sort of person that sees laws and rules as suggestions, even when they aren't; it is tough to be my boss, because the thing I want more than anything else is freedom. Freedom is a good thing... isn't it?
Unequivocally yes. Peter makes it clear that God has set us free, having paid our ransom (1 Peter 1:18). But the biblical idea of freedom, the idea of freedom that Peter talks about in our reading today, is very different from the American idea of freedom. When we think of being free, we often think of being able to do what we want. It's this kind of freedom that I find myself thirsting after right now. I want to be able to go where I want when I want to; I want to be able to wear what I want when I want to; and on and on. But when the Bible speaks of us being free, it doesn't mean being allowed to do what I want; instead, it means being able to do what I ought. Before we became Christians, we were unable to conceive of serving anything except ourselves. This isn't as evil or malevolent as it sounds; after all, why wouldn't we do what was basically best for us? Sometimes that even includes doing what is best for the community or the world, to help us live our best lives now.
Jesus has set us free from doing what we want, by giving us a different master (God) and a different goal (the glory of God). We have a new factor to take into account now- not just what we are allowed to do, but what we have been enabled to do when God opened our eyes to his purposes (1 Peter 2:16). This means that sometimes, being free to serve God will mean forsaking our desires, and serving others (1 Peter 2:11-15). Put simply, the goal of Christian freedom is not to be able to do what we want; its the ability to do what we ought to, even when we don't want to.
In the coming days, there will be many discussions about freedom, and there should be. As citizens of a democracy, it is right to discuss the role of government in our lives. My hope is that, as Christians and as citizens, we use our freedom to serve others, even to the point of suffering unjustly. May we take our obligations more seriously than our rights.
Hymn
O Christ Our King Creator Lord
Prayer
O God, who for the salvation of the world brought about the paschal sacrifice, be favorable to the supplications of your people, so that Christ our High Priest, interceding on our behalf, may by his likeness to ourselves bring us reconciliation, and by his equality with you free us from our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.