Ordinary Time

Pause

Lift every voice and sing,
till earth and heaven ring,
ring with the harmonies of liberty;
let our rejoicing rise,
high as the listening skies,
let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

James Weldon Johnson in “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (1921)

Listen

Now these are the commandments, the regulations, and the case laws that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you to follow in the land you are entering to possess, so that you will fear the Lord your God by keeping all his regulations and his commandments that I am commanding you—both you and your sons and daughters—all the days of your life and so that you will lengthen your life. Listen to them, Israel! Follow them carefully so that things will go well for you and so that you will continue to multiply exactly as the Lord, your ancestors’ God, promised you, in a land full of milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 6:1-3

Think

The people of Israel were enslaved for generations in Egypt, but God set them free and gave them new ways to live that would help them grow into an independent nation. Their way to liberty was to become a people who revered God and honored one another. For generations they had lived by the decrees of earthly masters, rulers, and empires, but now they were being taught to diligently follow the commandments of an almighty God. The goal of their freedom was to remove their physical and emotional ties to oppressors and systems that interfered with their ability to fully respond to God’s purposes for their lives in a new land.

The Hebrew word fear in the scripture does not mean fright or terror but deep respect. The practice of liberation requires a willing, lifelong commitment that is focused on internalizing God’s righteous rules for living. This is a way of life that frees us to be our true selves, not the false ones we learn to become under conditions where we are not loved or valued.

Kamal Hassan

Pray

God of liberty, it is only through your guidance that we can truly learn to live free. Help me to closely follow your commandments so I may be formed spiritually and relationally according to your will. Amen.

Go

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night

John Lennon/Paul McCartney in “Blackbird” (1968)