(Thirteenth Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on June 28, 1998 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Galatians 5: 1, 13-26.)

"Slavery and freedom."

Which of the following statements are true?

1.) You can live in a free country like ours and still be a slave.

2.) Some of the biggest advocates of freedom today are actually the biggest promoters of slavery.

3.) Slavery as an institution in our country ended with the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution in 1865; slavery as a condition still exists.

4.) You can live in a foreign nation as a slave and still be free.

The answer is: They’re all true!

St. Paul makes that clear by what he tells us in today’s second reading from Galatians, chapter 5.

Consider, first of all, statement #1: You can live in a free country like ours and still be a slave. That’s true, because, as St. Peter tells us in one of his letters, "you are a slave of whatever overcomes you." (2 Peter 2: 19) That is to say, you are a slave of whatever evil emotions or attitudes dominate your life. And so it shouldn’t surprise us that in our modern world, where we’re encouraged to "do our own thing" and "write our own rules," this kind of slavery is very common. Just think of how often this line is uttered by supposedly free people in our society: "I couldn’t control myself."--"I couldn’t control myself and stop gambling." "I couldn’t stop drinking alcohol." "I couldn’t stop reading pornography and fornicating." "I couldn’t control my anger on the highway so I ran the other guy off the road." And on and on the litany goes. St. Paul says in today’s second reading, "Remember that you have been called to live in freedom, but NOT a freedom that gives free reign to the flesh." Why not? Because giving "free reign to the flesh" doesn’t make you free--it makes you a slave (a slave to your passions: anger, lust, greed, etc.).

This should help us to see the truth of statement #2: Some of the biggest advocates of freedom today are actually the biggest promoters of slavery. The A.C.L.U., the Hollywood crowd that controls the media: people like this actively promote every kind of vile behavior imaginable--AND THEY DO IT IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of artistic expression. But in reality these individuals are promoting attitudes and laws which are enslaving millions in our nation and throughout the world (because, lest we forget, the rest of the western world does tend to follow the United States--for better or for worse.)

This means that statement #3 is also true: even though the thirteenth amendment did away with the institution of slavery in our country, the condition of slavery is, unfortunately, alive and thriving.

The type of freedom that Paul is talking about here in Galatians 5 is, of course, an INTERNAL freedom, not a political freedom. Which is why statement #4 is also true: As ironic as it may sound: a person living in another country as a slave is actually a free man--if he’s allowing Jesus Christ and not his sinful passions to rule his life! As Paul says here, "If you live in accordance with the Spirit, you will not yield to the cravings of the flesh."

So how do we live in accordance with the Spirit and find true freedom? We live in accordance with the Spirit by prayer and the worthy reception of the sacraments; we live in accordance with the Spirit by using common sense and avoiding the near occasion of sin (because the more we give into a particular sin, the more control that sin will have over us); we live in accordance with the Spirit by forming good friendships with people who will help us to live for God; and we live in accordance with the Spirit by getting good counsel when we need it--but only from people who have Catholic, Christian morals and values.