I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain....
Before the American Civil War, when Northern orators, preachers, and politicians raged against the chattel slavery that persisted in the American south, southerners replied that the factories of the north were filled with "wage slaves," some as young as four or five. There is nothing new or old about slavery; it seems to accompany capitalism like Norwegian rats. Human trafficking persists today in the United States despite our enlightened laws. Slavery in various forms will persist as long as human sin.
In today's gospel, we have heard Jesus call us friends and insist that we are not his slaves, "because a slave does not know what his master is doing." Clearly, His freedom does not mean being subject to arbitrary impulses, hunches, or feelings. To be fully human is to exercise self-discipline in the service of some principle or goal.
Jesus knew his purpose, and that was to save us from fear, ignorance, sickness, sin, and death. He intends to restore us to our place before God's throne. His friends are those who are invested in the same cause and incorporated into his identity. We are bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, and blood of his blood. Everyone who belongs to Him takes up his mission.
And that begins with our own freedom. "For freedom Christ set you free!" Saint Paul practically shouted at the Galatians, "...so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery."
We often hear the American claim of liberty. I remember a Veteran who told me that, although he felt very safe as he walked German city streets late at night, admired their industry, and enjoyed their clean streets and litter-free parks, "they are not as free as Americans." What he meant was they cannot purchase or carry firearms like we do.
But when I address an American congregation with "The Lord be with you," I notice how many people cannot or do not reply, "And with your spirit." Many do not sing even the most familiar songs like Amazing Grace and Tantum Ergo. They were probably told they cannot sing and should not try; and they believe it. Nor can they clap their hands to the music, much less sway or dance with the rhythm. Many in any American congregation are mute, despite their claim of freedom.
Freedom is not doing what you want to do and not doing what you don't want to do. It is sharing with the Lord in the work of universal freedom from fear, ignorance, sickness, sin, and death. It is doing as he does, picking up one's cross, and following Him with the same freedom, willing generosity, and joy that he demonstrated in ancient Palestine.
Freedom is demanding and costly for Jesus and for us. But at its core it is joyful even under the most difficult circumstances. We know that; our experience has proven it.
