Wonder Of Advent #9

No Longer Captive

Read: Isaiah 9:1-7

You will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod.

Isaiah 9:4

PERHAPS the words yoke and slavery seem a little harsh. After all, freedom has become one of the highest values of civilization. Americans sing about the land of the free and the home of the brave, not the plight of captives and the yoke of the slave. People around the world are proud of their independence and join in the fight for human rights and freedoms. We are no longer captive to anyone.

Or are we? As much as we try to live selfless lives, our focus is relentlessly drawn back to ourselves. As much as we’ve tried to overcome bad habits, destructive thought patterns, broken relationships, sinful tendencies, and guilt and shame, we often remain gripped by their unyielding influence. And as much as we have fought against the specter of death, everyone eventually succumbs to it. So we think we are free, yet we serve ourselves; we think we are independent, but we need help; and we think we are invincible—until we have to give in to greater forces. And we inevitably do. If we’re not careful, even our freedom to choose will make us captive to our own desires. Humanity’s attempts at independence from God have enslaved us to much worse masters. We were not made for self-sufficiency.

How can we escape that cycle? Certainly not by breaking it on our own. No, we need an intervention from beyond, a completely new way of living, another genesis that gives us a fresh start with a different mind and heart. The good news of the Incarnation is that God has recreated humanity in his own image, even better than at first. He has given us not only an example of a truly free life; he has empowered us to live in that freedom. The child born in Bethlehem broke all bonds, defied all norms and expectations, and even conquered death, and his Spirit is implanted in those who believe. That means we can break bonds, defy norms and expectations, and overcome death too. Life doesn’t get any freer than that.

Don’t waste the extraordinary gift of the Incarnation by continuing to live in captivity—to habits, patterns, shame, self, others’ expectations, anything. In Christ, wounds can be healed, sin can be broken, and death is overcome. Jesus was born into this world in order to set us free.

Prayer

Father, forgive me for any attempts at independence from you, whether intentional or not. Liberate me from the power of sin and the wounds it has created. I flee from every false master and gladly accept the freedom of your grace. Amen.

REFLECTION

Is anything holding you back from living as a completely new, absolutely accepted, fully empowered child of God? If so, what would it take to leave those shackles behind and walk in freedom?

Further reading: John 8:34-36

He is the Messiah indeed,

King of the universe,

who gives us back life by

breaking our chains.

“OH! WHAT A GREAT MYSTERY” (“AH! QUEL GRAND MYSTÈRE”), FRENCH CAROL