THE INNER VOICE OF LOVE

There seems to be a paradox at the heart of Christian life: That we are free only when we serve Christ.

But how can we be both? How is it possible to be 'free servants'?

This of course, depends on the nature of our master, and in our case God is our master.

A lot can be gleaned by our reading from Paul today. He is addressing the confusion and the abuse of freedom that the Galatian community is experiencing. They are (mis)interpreting their new-found freedom in Christ as a license to do whatever they want (since they are redeemed anyways...) Some wishful thinking indeed.

Paul admonishes them by saying: "You were called for freedom, but do not use this as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbour as yourself."

When we serve a God of love, we are called into a relationship of love with the other. But sin blocks this. Usually it's because it places a love-of-self before love-of-other. A dangerous path indeed. Sin is true slavery because it restricts by orienting us towards the finite, passing things of this world. This typically involves turning inward; either gratifying our base desires or serving our own ego.

But to be turned towards our neighbour in love is to be involved in the affairs of the eternal, because we are all children of God, and God cares deeply for each and every one of us.

What determines the path we're on? Whether we are on the path of sin or the path of redemption?

Having previously worked with L'arche, I lived in the community of Fr Henri Nouwen, who wrote a very important book called 'The Inner Voice of Love.' The book was originally a journal he kept through a very profound personal crisis. Throughout this painful time he realized that his inner life was dominated by two voices; one of his father who said "Henri, go out and be something great, make a name for yourself." And the voice of his mother, who encouraged him to always remain close to Jesus. He found himself constantly in the throes of these two voices that he carried with him deep in his psyche his entire life, and in a way they formed who he was.

But I want to suggest that we all have these voices that we carry with us. Sometimes they are the voices of our parents, or perhaps friends, but they can also be harmful voices, voices that urge us to follow the path of vanity, selfishness, or even hatred; just as in our world today people blow themselves up and kill innocent people because they have internalized the voices of their leaders.

It is in this context that I want to introduce our Gospel reading today. At face value, it is often considered harsh. Jesus tells a young man who wishes to follow him that he must come NOW. The young man says he is willing, but that he must first go home to bury his father. Jesus says, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." This is seen as extreme because burial customs were extremely important in the time the Gospels were written, and that this would obviously be a huge insult to his family.

Another man who wishes to simply bid farewell to his family before following Jesus is told, "No one who sets a hand on the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God." This agrarian allusion is lost on most of us today, but what it means is that is that when you were plowing a field, you needed a straight row. By turning around to see what is behind you, you are going to veer slightly off to
the side. Your focus needs to be on the target in front of you.

Now this passage from Luke is often interpreted as hyperbole, which means that Jesus is using striking language to make a point (as when he instructs his followers to cut off their hand if it is causing them to sin). But what Jesus is asking is: Who is ultimately your master? Whose voice takes priority; the voice of family obligation, the voices of social expectations and norms?

It is a call to be aware of which voices have power in your life. Are they liberating or holding you back? Where is the voice of Jesus? Does he have a back seat, or is he your co-pilot? Take this question into prayer regularly.

Our goal is to live an incarnate spirituality, that is, wherever we are, to let the voice of Jesus come alive in our hearts and to let it transform the world around us. By following His voice we become free, as it liberates us from the prison of the self, from our ego and from our preoccupation with the passing, superficial temptations of this world towards something far more beautiful, far more profound, and far more holy.