Out of Slavery

At the Easter Vigil, one of the essential readings is the dramatic account of the Hebrews crossing dryshod through the Red Sea with the waters as walls to their left and right. Images of Cecile B. DeMilles' TEN COMMANDMENTS always come to my mind as I see Moses stretch his staff over the surging waters and watch them obediently part to allow those once in bondage in Egypt, slaves of Pharaoh, to march to freedom. Even more dramatic, however, is the fulfillment of this event is the passage from the slavery of sin to the new life in Jesus we experience in our passage through the waters of baptism. We have been led out of slavery by the death and resurrection of Jesus; we have every power and grace we need to cut the chains that we allow through negligence or choice, to keep us in slavery, such as feeling sorry for ourselves, feeling resentment at the success of others, feeling jealous when the spotlight is not on us, feeling the need to step on others in word and deed in order to move up the ladder or call attention to ourselves. It's not always the "big" addictions, the capital sins, or egregious attachments that bind us down, but these "little things "that appear harmless at first, but left unbridled, blind us and eventually paralyze us into patterns that separate us more and more from one another and from God. We spend a lifetime playing Houdini, trying to escape from them on our own, when freedom comes only when we allow the graces unleashed by Jesus' death and resurrection to lead us out of slavery. By acknowledging our sinfullness, our powerlessness, and our NEED for the Redeemer's saving grace. we let God, not ourselves, unbind the chains.
Bro. Rene