Set Free for Freedom
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
The liberating message of the Gospels and his own lived experience has shaped the theology of Palestinian Anglican priest Naim Ateek. He writes:
In 1948, I was a boy living in Beisan, a Palestinian town of six thousand people…. Beisan was a mixed town of Muslims and Christians and had a vibrant Christian community that belonged to three churches—Eastern Orthodox, Latin (Roman Catholic), and Anglican. I cherish fond memories of living in my hometown…. It was a beautiful town blessed for its delicious fruits and vegetables. It had freshwater springs flowing from the adjacent mountains irrigating people’s land and gardens. I still remember our garden and the variety of fruit trees my father planted and our family enjoyed.
Our life was turned upside down when the Zionist militias came into Beisan in May 1948 and occupied us…. We were forced out of our homes at gunpoint and were ordered to meet at the center of town. The soldiers divided us into two groups, Muslims and Christians. The Muslims were sent to the country of Jordan, a few miles east of Beisan. The Christians were put on buses and driven to the outskirts of Nazareth, where they were dumped outside the city limits, never to be allowed to return home.
When we arrived in Nazareth, we discovered that hundreds and thousands of Palestinians from the neighboring villages had suffered a similar fate.
Ateek exhorts the church to stand with those who are suffering.
Today the church continues to exist in the midst of a suffering and broken world. Every day there are men, women, and children who face war, famine, discrimination, violence, and poverty. The church has an ambiguous history in responding to these needs. At times the church has shown solidarity with the oppressed, while at other times it has been silent or complicit in their oppression.
For us Christians, the model of Jesus Christ as seen in the Gospels exhorts us to love and care for our brothers and sisters in humanity. What does this care look like? How can we best love those who are marginalized or oppressed? What does it mean to confront and challenge injustice and oppression in both word and deed?
In order to reflect on how we can respond to suffering, it is helpful to consider first the kind of life Jesus offers us:
Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Paul said, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).
The life Christ offers us is life in all its fullness. This fullness is not offered in some distant, far-off future, but in our present circumstances. We are able to enter into the fullness of life because Christ has already achieved our liberation through his death and resurrection. Indeed, Christ is our liberator, and God in Christ wills that we should be free. Therefore, we need to stand firm and must not submit to anything that dehumanizes or enslaves us.
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Sarah Young Jesus Calling
Let Me show you My way for you this day. I guide you continually, so you can relax and enjoy My Presence in the present. Living well is both a discipline and an art. Concentrate on staying close to Me, the divine Artist. Discipline your thoughts to trust Me as I work My ways in your life. Pray about everything; then, leave outcomes up to Me. Do not fear My will, for through it I accomplish what is best for you. Take a deep breath and dive in the depths of absolute trust in Me. Underneath are the everlasting arms!
RELATED SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 5:2-3 (NLT)
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Additional insight regarding Psalm 5:1-3: The secret to a close relationship with God is to pray to him earnestly each morning. In the morning, our minds are more free from problems, and then we can commit the whole day to God. Regular communication helps any friendship and is certainly necessary for a strong relationship with God. We need to communicate with him daily. Do you have a regular time to pray and read God’s word?
Deuteronomy 33:27 (NLT)
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
and his everlasting arms are under you.
He drives out the enemy before you;
he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’
Additional insight regarding Deuteronomy 33:27: Moses’ song declares that God is our refuge, our only true security. How often we entrust our lives to other things – perhaps money, career, a noble cause, or a lifelong dream. But our only true refuge is the eternal God, who always holds out his arms to catch us when the shaky supports that we trust collapse and we fall. No storm can destroy us when we take refuge in him. Those without God, however, must forever be cautious. One mistake may wipe them out. Living for God in this world may look like risky business. But it is the godless who are on shaky ground. Because God is our refuge, we can dare to be bold.
