Homily for Sunday- June 27, 2010

In 1775, Patrick Henry, the American Patriot, said: “Give me liberty or give me death.” He was pleading for Virginia to join the other twelve colonies in their struggle to be free from English rule. But his words have taken on a far wider meaning than that one historical event. They express one of the deepest longings of the human heart. All people want to be free.
We see this desire in little children resisting restraint. They cry and complain when their mothers require them to go to bed at a certain hour. They want to make that decision for themselves. We see it in teenagers who can hardly wait to get a driver’s license. They want the freedom of mobility which that document will afford.
In personal and social life, the basic struggle of human nature can be interpreted as efforts to be free. We applaud that. As followers of Christ, we cannot do otherwise. Jesus was a free man. He grew up in a religion that imposed strict restraints on human behavior. But He refused to be bound by petty rules. He lived in a nation that was under the heel of Roman authority. But He was not intimidated by magistrates or soldiers. He pursued his own course with all the freedom of a bird in flight.
That, however, is not the full story of Jesus. In today’s Gospel, we read that He firmly resolve to proceed toward Jerusalem. That was a strange decision. He knew what was waiting for Him there. He had already told His disciples that He would be put to death. Why did He go, when He was free not to go? The answer is that Jesus was bound by loyalty that compelled His final journey to Jerusalem. That is the full story of His life – liberty and loyalty.
He had both. And so must anyone who would truly be free. Liberty does not stand along, he has a twin sister whose name is loyalty. They were born together. They live together. And we can feel deep pity for the person or the nation who tries to get one without the other. Liberty demands loyalty. And much of the world’s agony can be graced back to the neglect of this truth.
We face it in our personal conduct. All of us resent and resist moral restraint. Yet we want to be free to do as we please. That is part of our nature, just like a child who rebels against being put to bed. But we soon discover that freedom, by itself alone, is a myth. It simply will not work. Look at the drug addict. He demands the right to do as he pleases. Those silly medical warnings and legal prohibitions would not restrict his freedom. But now he is no longer free. Drugs have taken control of his life. Our hearts go out to someone like that. He/she is not a bad person. They are examples of liberty without loyalty.
I dare say most of us in this room are drug free. But this has little or nothing to do with the law. We would not use them if they were legal. And it certainly does not mean that we are morally superior. Our reason for not doing drugs is primarily a matter of our loyalties. We have some people who are depending on us. And we do not want to let them down. We have children and grandchildren who look to us as role models. And we do not want to give them that kind of example. Like the drug addict, we insist on our freedom. We will not be slaves by petty prohibitions. But our liberty is guarded and guided by our loyalties.
Saint Augustine laid down a great principle, he said: “Love God, and do as you please.” That is Christianity at its center. Love God, dedicate yourself to the highest and best. And having done that, do as you please. This was the way St. Paul lived. He broke through more social barriers than any of us ever will.
St. Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Remember that you have been called to live in freedom. Only do not use your freedom as a license to selfishness, but serve one another in love.” That is what Jesus did. It was the reason he went to Jerusalem knowing the cross awaited Him there.
This same principle applies to our democratic form of government. Too often, we think of the rights it guarantees and the privileges it bestows. Too seldom, we think of the devotion it requires. Political freedom is more than a privilege and a right. It is a great responsibility. As in personal life, so it is in public life. Liberty taken by itself along, is an illusion. No democracy can survive and thrive without the loyalty of its citizens – not their blind loyalty but their intelligent loyalty. Let us remember the words of young John Kennedy and take them to heart: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This is what it takes to build and maintain a democratic form of government.
Finally, think of this principle as it applies to our personal happiness. Happiness is not the most important thing in the world. I know that. But it is important. All of us want to be happy. But some of us have the mistaken notion that liberty alone can make us that way. Just turn us loose and let us run free, with no restraints and obligations. Then we would be happy. That is a sad illusion. You have heard the expression, “a man without a country”. It stands for the person who belongs to nothing or nobody. And it has always been a symbol of wretchedness. Unbridled and undisciplined freedom must surely be the saddest life in all the world. It is our loyalties that make life rich and meaningful.
Here is a woman with a child. She belongs to that child. She is not free. Day and night, she is tied to that child with bonds stronger than steel. Then something happens and the child dies. Now she is free. She can come and go as she pleases. No cry in the night disturbs her sleep. No childish needs demand her attention. But now this woman is heartbroken over her new-found freedom. This liberty is the heaviest burden she has ever borne. If we could give back her child, she would be the happiest woman in all the world.
Do you think that Jesus would have been happy without His strong sense of obligation? No way. Not even He could do that. We human beings are more complex than we know. We want to be free. But the only freedom worth having is the freedom to give ourselves to the people and causes we love. Liberty demands loyalty. Without it you know the consequences! Just look around you and see the mess that nations and people have made of their lives.