Freedom to Serve Others

 October 20, 2024

Jesus offers us a freedom that at first seems like a strange freedom:  The freedom to serve others.

We are inclined to think of freedom differently, as the ability to do what we want, when we want to, because we want to.  Yet, precisely if we’ve swum in those moral waters, the “do what you want” waters, we realize that freedom is not freedom and is not life.  We are hungry for a different kind of freedom.

This freedom is the freedom Christ gives – the freedom to love and serve others.

To reflect on this freedom, we look at the life of the Apostle John.  He had many chapters in his life – chapters of arrogance, chapters of grief, chapters of rivalry.  Yet he writes a book whose chapters are about humility, resurrection and fellowship.  What happened to him?  He followed Jesus, who was not simply his teacher, but his ransom, who set him free to serve others.

(Note, in the middle ages, people would often symbolize John with an eagle, for his Gospel “soared” above the others.  John certainly had insight and talent, but it would need to be set free, free from his own agenda, his grief and his rivalry.  This striking image was found on Flickr; the artist, Lawrence OP, as beautiful photos of church art.)