Consider these stanzas from the opening section of Walt Whitman’s Song of the Open Road:
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
…
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)
Whitman imagines freedom not as escape, but as movement—toward others, toward possibility, toward life in all its weight and wonder. I find such a notion especially pertinent in our current social and political moment.
What a Freedom Ilya Repin
This also can be said of God’s economy of redemption. Jesus’ resurrection doesn’t rescue us from the world. It plants us deeper in it, alive in a new way. Paul puts it this way: “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor 5:17) and “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4) This new life isn’t about punching a ticket to heaven. It’s a new way of being human now.
Theologian Sarah Coakley reminds us not to underestimate the depth of this transformation: “Resurrection is not mere resuscitation; it is the irruption of a new ontological horizon, one that demands our transformation even as it discloses divine vulnerability.”
Resurrection demands our ongoing transformation into life in the Spirit, “and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor 3:17) “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:1)
In his typical provocative fashion, Robert Farrar Capon comments:
“The blame game was over before it started. It really was. All Jesus did was announce that truth and tell you it would make you free. It was admittedly a dangerous thing to do. You are a menace. But he did it; and therefore, menace or not, here you stand: uncondemned, forever, now. What are you going to do with your freedom?”
That’s the question resurrection puts before us.
What are you going to do with your freedom?
Both freedom from and freedom to.
Freedom from condemnation.
Freedom from endless comparison.
Freedom from how sin has held us captive, individually and collectively.
Freedom from the need to live by the status quo.
Freedom to walk by the Spirit, to love freely, to live fully.
Freedom to insist on hope even in the darkest times.
Freedom to get in “good trouble” and take faithful risks because in the end what is there to fear?
Freedom to participate in God’s ongoing work of love, mercy, and justice for all.
The question is NOT: what are you going to do for Jesus after all He’s done for you? Nor, how are you going to live in a way that proves you’re worthy to be a follower of Christ? No. There is no transaction; there is only grace.
What are you going to do with your freedom?
Will we live in God’s freedom to love?
To walk into the world unshackled and alive?
To proclaim and enact God’s truth, beauty, goodness, and justice without fear?
To tell the truth, even when it costs?
To practice forgiveness like it’s oxygen?
To tear down the walls that pretend to keep us safe?
To live like death isn’t in charge anymore?
Christ is risen. You are free.
Discussion Questions:
- How does this good news impact your life right now? What are the implications for your congregation and community?
- What are some ways to ensure Jesus’ resurrection isn’t just an abstract doctrine to be affirmed but a way of life to be lived? What does this look like?
- What are some aspects of walking in the newness of life you want to more deeply explore?
- What is your congregation going to do with freedom?
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