Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: "The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God. "Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced.
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, greeted his new born son with a song, which included the hope that,
"...rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days...
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of religion as the first of its four freedoms. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt included "freedom to worship God in his own way, freedom from want and freedom from fear," along with freedom of speech and expression among his four freedoms. The President offered these four as reasons to set aside isolationism and engage the Nazi terror.
But freedom is inherently anxious as it necessarily involves the expectations, wants and demands of other people. Rarely is anyone allowed to do whatever they want and no one much cares.
The free expression of religion, for instance, is often regarded as suspicious in public, if not downright intrusive. Americans might tolerate a cross on your lapel but can be uncomfortable around a turban, yarmulke, abaya, or burka. Most Catholic religious shed their religious habits and veils fifty years ago, wearing them only on ceremonial occasions. When we do go public we like to do it en masse, preferably with thousands of others where we don't hear the muttering about "shoving religion down my throat."
How fascinating then, that the Lord instructed Moses to excuse himself and his Hebrew flock from Egyptian slavery with a religious ceremony in the desert. Pharaoh immediately suspected a ruse. He feared (rightly) that they would not return.
When Muslim employees want to gather in a private place for Rakat, their Christian employers -- who long ago forgot the Angelus -- often get incensed.
Freedom is what we give to one another; it begins with the right "to worship God in his own way."
Some people cannot pray; or they say they cannot, which is the same thing. Just as some people cannot sing, dance, or walk, they cannot pray. In other words, they do not have the freedom to pray. They were not taught and they never learned. In many cases, they regret that loss and envy it among those who practice prayer.
If the saying "Use it or lose it!" is true of freedom, it's all more true of prayer. The one who neglects Sunday worship cannot expect to pray when misfortune strikes. Like King Claudius, he will find
Periodically we must turn away from the pharaohs who demand continual service under pain of.... whatever. We must go into the wilderness and make sacrifice to God, so that he will lead us to the Promised Land.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.