“Know that the Lord is God
It is He that made us, and we are His;
We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture”
(Psalm 100)

This weekend, as our society celebrates Father’s Day, this Sunday’s readings present us with the reality that God is the Father and creator of us all, and they challenge us to examine whether we recognize His authority in our lives and are willing to accept the authentic freedom that He offers us through Christ, His Son.

In the first reading from the Book of Exodus, we are told of the way in which God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. As God leads the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land, He says to them: “Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all peoples.” The people of Israel, God’s children, are invited to know authentic freedom by listening to His Word and living the authentic freedom, for which He created them, and offered them life anew in the Promised Land. In the Old Testament, the Promised Land is where Israel once again is offered the opportunity to live in God’s presence and be the people whom God had created them to be. If they accept this invitation, God tells them that He will make them a priestly people and a holy nation. For us today, the question that we must answer is:  In what ways do we allow ourselves to be enslaved by ignoring God’s Word and not listening to His commands? Through baptism, we too have been invited to live in God’s freedom, and be His holy people. However, this invitation rests upon the premise that we are open to doing His will and not turning away from Him to live in slavery to false gods and ideologies. Continue reading →