Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare)
Scripture: Romans 13:11-14; 14:1-4
Nutshell
Oops!
There’s an old Lee Greenwood song that goes: “I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today. ‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away. And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free”
Freedom is a hallmark of our modern American identity.
Ugh!
When we think of freedom, we think of it as unrestricted decision making. We’re free to do as we wish. Yet, here we are as Orthodox Christians on the edge of Great Lent: a period that tells us there are things we can’t do (eating meat, wine, dairy, and oil), and other things we have to do (giving alms and increased prayer).
If Christ freed us from the Law, why does it seem that our freedoms are taken away by being Christian?
Aha!
Part of the problem is how we define freedom. Our current definition isn’t true freedom—not really. Christ shows us that true freedom isn’t doing what we want; rather, it’s becoming who we were created to be.
Whee!
For us, as Christians, our goal, our end, is to be united with the living God—a process we call theosis. Only by achieving this can we reach our full potential and be truly satisfied. Through theosis, we are able to finally come to rest where we’re truly home.
Yeah!
The spiritual disciplines (almsgiving, prayer, and fasting) are the guides that lead us to true freedom. Each one, in one way or another, makes us just a bit more like Christ, and we’re closer to our union with God and enjoying our homecoming.
Full Text
Oops!
When I was a teenager in high school, I had rules that I had to live by: I had to make my bed every morning; I had do my chores; if I went out, I had to be back at a certain time; I couldn’t eat whenever I wanted because we had set times for family meals; and, when we did eat, I had to eat at the table with everyone else, not in front of the television.
At the time, these rules felt restrictive. And, I’m not the only teenager to have felt this way. When a teenager complains to their parents, it’s almost a requirement for the parents to respond, “As long as you’re living under my roof, you live by my rules.”
What teenagers long for is: freedom.
But, liberty isn’t just for teenagers. It’s a cornerstone of our American culture. In the Declaration of Independence, which is, in many ways, our founding document, Thomas Jefferson wrote,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
There’s even an old Lee Greenwood song that goes:
“I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today. ‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away. And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free”
Without a doubt, freedom is a hallmark of our modern American identity.
Ugh!
When we think of freedom, we think of it as unrestricted decision making. We’re free to do as we wish. Free from all constraints.
And yet, here we are as Orthodox Christians on the edge of Great Lent: a period in which the Church tells us there are things we can’t do (such as eating meat, wine, dairy, and oil), and other things we have to do (such as giving alms and increased prayer).
Isn’t this contrary to what St. Paul tells us today?
“One man believes in eating all things, while one who is weak eats vegetables. Let not the one who eats hold the one who does not eat in disdain, and let not the one who does not eat judge the one who does eat. Who are you to judge another’s house-servant?”
If Christ freed us from the Law, why does it seem like our freedoms are being taken away by the rules of the Church? Is the Church advocating for legalism? After all, we can still be “saved” whether we fast or don’t fast.
Aha!
Part of the problem is how we define “freedom.” With all due respect to Thomas Jefferson and our Founding Fathers, our current definition isn’t true freedom—not really.
When one understands freedom as “no constraints,” it’s easy for us to start living our lives with a do-it-ourselves philosophy. It destroys all morality in favor of a what-ever-makes-us-happy attitude, and, thus, we end up crushing others as we climb to the top. We become the center of our own universes; and that makes us our own god … to be honest, it makes us a false idol.
What I’m trying to say is that our American idea of liberty, and the way we think about it, is actually a delusion. It sounds nice. But it doesn’t actually exist, nor can it.
But, that doesn’t matter. Christ shows us that true freedom does exist, but it isn’t doing what we want; rather, it’s becoming who we were meant to be. It’s fulling our true nature.
Whee!
As Christians, our goal, our end, is to be united with the living God—a process we call theosis. Only by achieving this can we reach our full potential and be truly happy.
Think about it. God doesn’t create haphazardly. He’d didn’t create humanity wondering what would become of us. That’d be crazy!
Imagine if you were a woodworker, and you decided to create a chair without a plan or an end in mind. How well do you think that chair would turn out?
Instead, you would plan for your chair to have a seat, a back, and four legs. You would plan that its purpose was for sitting. And, so, as you construct this chair, you would keep this end in mind. And, when you finish, this chair would be “free;” that is, it can finally be what it was meant to be: a sitting device.
It’s the same for us. God created us with the idea that our purpose is to find our home in him—to be untied with him. Put another way, we were created in the image of God with the intention of growing into the likeness of God.
It’s through theosis that we’re able to be free, to be who we truly were meant to be. This is what true liberty looks like.
Yeah!
If this is true freedom, then whatever separates us from our end is actually bondage. This is where the spiritual disciplines—almsgiving, prayer, and fasting—come in.
You see, each of the spiritual disciplines is meant to direct us away from that which enslaves us, and, instead, point us towards union with God.
When we give alms, we learn to overcome our greed of money or other material things. By sharing our wealth with our church community through stewardship, by giving to charities that help others, or by donating items at a thrift store, we learn to use what we have to love our neighbor. We give of ourselves as Christ gave of himself for us.
When we pray, we enter into dialogue with God. We learn to listen to what he says through scripture, the Church, and the liturgical services. By listening, our lives are directed down the right path. And, as we learn to listen to God, we also learn to listen to others. And by listening to others, we become a better neighbor.
And, finally, fasting teaches us discipline. By conquering our stomach, we learn the skills we need to conquer the other passions in our lives. We are no longer enslaved to them. Only when we’re freed from the whims of our passions, can we freely say “yes” to Christ.
As you see, the spiritual disciplines are the guides that lead us to true freedom. Each one, in one way or another, makes us just a bit more like Christ—closer to our union with God. We’re closer to becoming who we were meant to be.
Amen.