The liturgy asks us to reflect on freedom with which Jesus went to his passion and death. We see in the first reading that all tyrants, no different than Hitler or Stalin or Idi Amin, the book of Nebuchadnezzar commanded that people adore his homemade god, his ideology. And he backs it up with threats of death and his strong arm police force. This is quite common in our world that people abuse power and take people’s freedom away even though they claim that this is going to give them freedom.

We see also in that particular passage there are young men who stand up and fulfill God= s Word. In the process they exercise freedom and the depths of that freedom is manifested in the fact that they aren’t even delivered from the threats and the abuses of the power hungry Nebuchadnezzar. But this scene is a reflection of all kinds of opportunities in which the human race is placed to show forth the correct use of freedom.

In the life of Etty Holussom who was a Jew. She remembered seeing all these Jews getting into the train cars and they were singing psalms. Yet she looked at the faces of the Nazi guards which were stiff, cold and starring and asked herself even at her young age who was really free. And Nelson Mandella was told by his guard: A Don= t you know I have power to kill you,@ and he answered him A Don= t you know that I have the freedom to choose to die freely.@

So it is with all kinds of situations in our world. The person who decides not to take hard drugs because he knows it’s going to lead him down the wrong path is exercising his true freedom. A person who fights the on going onslaught of perverted sexuality in our world is also exercising his freedom. The person who fights against the pressures of getting an abortion is exercising that freedom.

So we see Jesus as he= s approaching his death exercising his freedom. Jesus shows where the source of freedom is. He’s a Son in his father= s house meaning he obey= s his Father= s will, he does the Father= s Word, and so he remains a Son in the house, he= s free. But he exercises that freedom precisely for the good of others. He sees and hears quite clearly the people that are with him. He sees their understanding, he sees where they have some good points, but he also sees where there lack is and he says it. He says it calmly, lovingly, hoping that they would change. What does he say? He says, A Sure you have the right attitude. Abraham is your father and God is your Father.@ But that implies that you going to obey and follow Abraham and follow God.@ Namely, again, keep the Word of God and become truly free. So Jesus is showing us that he freely goes forward loving more intensely as he comes closer and closer to his death.

So that means for us to reflect on how we exercise our freedom. Whether we remain in the Father= s house by being obedient. By also being open to the Word that sets us free. So we need to ask ourselves some questions: Are there people who I do not like to look at? Are there people who I do not listen to? Are there people who I do not accept? These are the areas where God is trying to open us up. The Lord has constant need to do this for us because we are limited freedoms on the way and we need to constantly grow. If our freedom doesn’t grow we are already dead. So the issue is how do we pay attention to the area= s where the Lord is expanding, trying to open our heart, trying to humble us so that we will be open to the truth and enlarge our heart as St. Benedict says: A so that we can run the way of God’s commandments in love.@