Luke 4:18 Homily Notes
-- aixmalotois... literally, "held captive by the spear"
-- St. John Chrysostom: "The word captivity has many meanings. There is a good captivity, which St. Paul speaks of when he says, "Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2Cor 10:5). There is a bad captivity also, of which it is said, "leading captive silly women laden with sins" (2Tim 3:6) There is a captivity present to the senses, that is by our bodily enemies, but the worst captivity is that of the mind of which he here speaks. First sin exercises the worst of all tyrannies, commanding to do evil, and destroying them that obey it. From this prison of the soul Christ sets us free."
-- St. John Chrysostom could have mentioned -- as an example of the bad type of captivity -- the following words from St. Paul...Rom 7:23: But I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.
-- Jesus Christ intends to set us free for the Father. But freedom must be understood correctly. In moral theology sometimes you hear the phrase "freedom of indifference" as a way of naming the incorrect understanding of freedom. It is called "of indifference", because it is indifferent to our human nature. That is the understanding of freedom that seems to be most prevalent in our society today. People think that there need not be any type of restraint on our behavior, because any type of behavior can be entered into without negative ramifications. The Catholic Church has always understood, however, that moral action transforms human nature either for the good or for the bad. This understanding of freedom can be called "freedom of quality" or "freedom of nature"... i.e., freedom that takes into account all the qualities of the human person, human nature, body/soul composition of the human person, a full understanding of humanity. True freedom will choose only that which builds up the human person. Sin by definition destroys the human person... the greater the sin, the worse the destruction of the person doing the sinning.
-- I just returned from the March for life in Washington DC, (some words about all the youth who went from our parish...). At the March there is quite a prominent, vocal group of women (and men) who tell their stories from past abortions. They are trying to make it known far and wide that abortion actually damages the human person... of course it murders the child in his mother's womb. But the unique message they have to offer is that the woman who obtains an abortion is severely hurt. Somebody who holds the "freedom of indifference" will not admit that harm is wreaked upon fathers and mothers who abort. The woman and men telling their stories are using the "freedom of nature" concept in reverse: "See how wounded I am from my abortion! Realize that abortion is a terrible sin, because it is evident that it so destroyed my life!" Jesus wants to make us free in every aspect of our being.
-- He wants to help us choose good action, which will result in us being more alive... holier, more loving, more divine (to use some pretty bold language). But this requires us to become slaves of Jesus Christ. Enter into the good captivity that St. John Chrysostom speaks about. Bring into captivity every thought for Jesus Christ. Become a captive of the Holy Spirit. Live the anointing that Jesus Christ speaks about when he says, "the Spirit of the Lord has anointed me"... (all kinds of vocational implications here). If it was upon Him, then it will be upon us who have become alive in Him!
-- Jesus Christ is here -- body, blood, soul, divinity -- after the words of consecration... to make this more fully prisoners of his love... and therefore to make us free.
