Freedom – God's gift to us

Exod 13:17-22; 1 Cor 10:1-13

The human yearning for freedom

The yearning for freedom has been implanted deeply into our life. It is God's gift to us. Therefore freedom is one of the basic aspirations of humanity.

The slaves in Egypt wanted to be free;

• the Karen and Karenni and Mon and Shan and Chin refugees at the Thai-Burma border want to go home and be free;
• the people in the Baxter detention centre want to be free;
• the Naga people in North-east India want to be free from Indian rule.

And there is probably some burden in your life from which you would like to be released. Some thorn in the flesh that you would like to have removed. Some chain that you would like to have broken so that you can breathe again.

So you see, the yearning for freedom can become quite personal.

• People want to be free from bad memories: crippling memories of sexual abuse, memories of an authoritarian father or a cruel mother.
• Some of us have so internalised the performance ethos of our society that we want to be free from the pressure to achieve and perform and keep up with the Jones’.

The Psalmist gathers up this yearning for freedom when he understands salvation as the experience of freedom. He gratefully confesses to God:

You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand has supported me;
your help has made me great.
You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip. (Psalm 18:35f.)

A "wide place", a "broad space", a "safe space" – that is what we want.

The yearning for freedom has been one of the most influential factors in shaping the history of humanity.

The story of freedom

The text that was read to us this morning from the Book of Exodus introduces us to Israel’s yearning and Israel’s journey to freedom. And it describes God as the most important part of that journey.

The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exod 13:21f.)

What a beautiful picture! God is leading and guiding his people as they risk their life into the future of God’s promises.

This experience, that God is a God of freedom, also determined Jesus’ life. He introduced himself and his ministry by reading from the words of the prophet Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." (Luke 4:18f.)

And when the early Christians wanted to speak about their own journey, they related their baptism to the story of freedom. We saw it in the words of the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth: You are baptised into the journey of freedom! But remember: it is a journey! You need to stay with it. The sacraments are no automatic shield from danger. You need to stay with it; in the community of God’s people, with the eyes fixed on Jesus.

And throughout history the journey continued. Indeed, our own movement, the baptist movement that goes back to the Reformation was begun and was sustained by the yearning to be free from the ultimate loyalty to state and to the established religious authorities.

When we meet for the Lord's Supper we recall the journey of freedom and we seek new resources from the God of freedom to continue the journey.

The God for the Journey

The story of freedom has made a tremendous impact on our world. How many revolutions have been born out of the longing for freedom? Freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom from oppression. The French revolution; the Russian revolution; the Cuban revolution; the American revolution.

One problem that they all experienced is contained in this question: is the there a source, a guide, a judge - from outside. Is the journey of freedom a purely human endeavour, or is there someone guiding, feeding, judging the revolution?

It is one of the sad factors of many, of perhaps most revolutions, that the revolutionaries ended up devouring their own children. They failed to recognise someone outside the revolution, someone greater, someone who could provide wells to drink from along the way.

But let us become more personal. How many hours of counselling and psychoanalysis have been spent in the personal exodus from oppression to acceptance and freedom? I do not criticise counselling and psychoanalysis. At the same time, the question remains: in our personal journey, can we expect help from beyond? Can there be grace and forgiveness and power that we cannot produce ourselves, but that is there as a free gift of God?

The Exodus story

The Exodus story of which we read this morning reckons with God. God is described in three ways.

1. Guidance. God will guide the people whose dream for freedom has actually resulted in taking the first steps. That is true for the world’s stage, it is true for the life of a church, and it is true for our personal life.

Life is full of possibilities. If one way does not work, God opens another door. We must chose and decide and walk; and in the process - on the journey! - we shall know the accompanying and empowering grace of God. The "cloud" by day and the "fire" by night!

2. Memory. Then there is the memory. The Holy Spirit keeps the story of freedom alive. But we are human beings, not only with minds, but also with hearts and hands and feelings. Therefore we need tangible symbols to remind us of God’s presence.

And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here."

For us these symbols on the journey of freedom are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In Baptism we celebrate God’s commitment to us and our commitment to God; and then, on the journey, we eat the bread and drink from the cup, feeding on the presence of Jesus to keep us going.

3. God "in front". It is interesting that our text describes God as being "in front" of us. That is quite unusual, but very important for our Christian understanding of God.

Generally we think of God as being "above" us; and then it is always easy and indeed very tempting to use God to validate what we think about down here. So we take our ideas of democracy and family and marriage and government and then expect God to validate them from above.

But if God is "in front" of us, then God impinges upon us, and we who are open to God’s Spirit become restless with the status quo: God wants to draw us away from the status quo into his, into a new future.

Our part in the ongoing journey of freedom

And so we are given a part in the ongoing story of freedom. God does not by-pass us in his activity in the world. With the gift of freedom comes the invitation to claim what is given.

From the exodus story we learn two things about the journey of freedom.

1. Discipline. The first thing is that the journey of freedom implies discipline. I have been on the journey for a long time. Intentionally for over 40 years! And I have met a lot of people. Sometimes, when I drive along the road, or when I lie awake at night, I think about the people who have crossed my paths, who have impressed me, and I wonder what has become of them. The cynic and the radical, always sceptical, but staying with it. The pious and "know it all", but who is now far away, travelling in the opposite direction. The legalist whose understanding of life breaks down when the marriage fails or the children divorce or sickness invades.

There is a discipline to the journey. You can’t run on feelings all your life. You have to make some basic decisions and stick to them whether you feel like it or not.

2. Suffering. And discipline implies the willingness to suffer. No one needs to seek suffering. There is no glory and no virtue in suffering. At the same time, wherever people travel and wherever people travel together, there will be hardship. How much energy and talent is lost in the church, because people are unwilling to get hurt? The closer you get to the fire the more the heat will warm you, but can also hurt you.

Invitation to the journey

May I invite you to the journey of freedom! It may be your very personal journey from darkness to light, from estrangement to grace, from the world to God, from oppression to liberation. Or it may be a journey where you engage yourselves for others who yearn to be free.

Lean into the promise of God:

The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exod 13:21f.)

TL, Canberra, 3 October 2004.