In today’s first reading we hear that while a people may not listen to a prophet’s words they will know a prophet by the way they image God among them. In the second reading St. Paul illustrates to us that when he is weak God makes him strong by the fact that Paul is open to God’s grace; with God nothing is impossible: In the Gospel today, we learn that it is a lack of faith on the people’s part that becomes the obstacle to God’s power being manifested for them. It is only by God’s grace that we can be completely free—freedom is not achieved by how we mere mortals do whatever they want when they want. But true freedom is becoming Christ-like in this world they proclaim the image and likeness of God in the words we use, the things that they do for others, and the way in which we align our very lives to the Will of God, that’s what makes us free. Thus we come to learn that “freedom” is not comprised of having what we want today, but rather attaining the highest virtue and value of being human, imitating Christ in ways of compassion, hope and love to those around us.

But by our human nature, from before the time of the Old Testament right up until the current age, we are a rebellious lot. Perhaps we get a little education and think we know everything—even more than Christ knows; we see our manipulation of the economy and think we as a nation have great power, only to have a bubble burst because of our selfishness; science, which is wonderful and offers us many solutions to horrific problems can led us to thinking we are “mini gods” capable of being and doing all that we need—only to realize later that just because we “can” do it doesn’t mean we “should” do it. Arrogance and power take root within us and lead us away from the God who created us.

But when we realize these missteps, we can turn back and trust in God’s plan for us that He will make us truly free, and then we can hear St. Catherine of Siena’s wonderful quote: When you become what Christ meant you to be, you will set the world ablaze, thus be truly free to be what God desires and wants of us. In this freedom we are truly free to be the image and likeness of God.

What more could one ask for—now and forever? As we contemplate the meaning of freedom on this national Independence Day—from our freedom to move about from place to place without permission papers or the freedom to speak our minds and practice our faith not only in the Church but in the secular world, then Freedom will not be bound-in by a date like 1776 but rather will be an endless and glorious and joyous reign, for it will enable us to see the Face of God.

Happy Fourth of July!