Slavery to Externals

One

St. Paul

When you read the letters of St. Paul in the Bible, if you pay attention, you will notice that he is always fighting against keeping the rules and rituals of the Mosaic law. I am not talking about the Ten Commandments. What Paul is against is the Mosaic Law that says if you are not circumcised or if you eat bacon or mow the lawn on Saturday you are going to hell. 

Like for example, take this passage from the fifth chapter of Galatians. He says, “Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised that he is bound to observe the entire law.”

Paul is saying, “Look, Jesus freed you from the obligation to follow all the mosaic rules. You don’t have to get circumcised anymore. You don’t have to avoid eating pork. You don’t have to follow all those rules about ritual cleanliness.”

Which makes sense. It must have been nice for the early Christians not to have to worry about all that stuff anymore. But Paul doesn’t say that it’s more convenient to free yourself from these old rules. He says it’s absolutely necessary. He says that if people do insist that they have to keep following these outdated mosaic codes, “Christ will be of no benefit to you.” 

Now that seems pretty strong. Why would St. Paul say it that way? Why does he present Christ as the way of freedom (especially since Christ gives us a lot of difficult commandments) while the old system is the way of slavery?

And the answer is this: the old system is the way of slavery because it is the way of externals and status – and nothing is more enslaving than that.

Two

Our Lord

Jesus Himself often had run-ins with people who thought their salvation and their status was found in rituals. Jesus was also vehement that this was the wrong way to go.

In the Gospel of Luke we read, “A Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools!”

Pretty strong, right? Hard to know what to say after that. Everybody must have munched their hummus pretty quietly at that meal. 

But look, this was the problem with the Pharisees. It’s what led them to miss the Messiah, to forfeit the fulfillment of all the promises. They were worried about externals, “the outside of cup and dish.” And they were worried about status, “they love the places of honor at banquets, and the most important seats in the synagogue” (Mt 23:6).

If you are enslaved to externals and status, it will be hard to conform yourself to Christ. It will be hard for the Savior to liberate you from your bondage.

Three

Slavery to externals/status in the worldly sense

The most obvious kind of slavery to externals and status happens in a worldly context. We all struggle with it, but to the extent that we are enslaved to externals and status, to that extent Christ will profit us nothing, as St. Paul says. So what you should do is figure out the kind of external and status you’re most enslaved to, and then try to get free.

Are you preoccupied with looking good physically? Is that the external you try to build your status on? Then wear something that doesn’t flatter you, don’t put on makeup, don’t spend time each day picking out your outfit. Are you preoccupied with your grades or GPA? Then take a class in something you’re not good at, where you might not get an A, and don’t worry if you don’t. Are you preoccupied with winning in your business or field, money, or the stuff money can buy? Your car, your house? Then invite people over, and don’t clean up before they come. Make sure the next car you buy is totally nondescript. Give the money you were going to spend on an addition to the poor.

Are you preoccupied with your “influence,” with how many people read your posts, watch your videos? Then take a break from social media. Maybe you pride yourself on your cool job, or the company you’ve started, or how many people work for you? Figure out the least impressive way to describe your job, and describe it that way to everyone from now on.

We have to fight the tyranny of externals and status. Christ has unlocked the prison cell, but it’s up to us whether or not we’ll walk out the door or not.

Four

Slavery to externals/status in the religious sense

The Jewish religion of the Pharisees had become a religion of status based on externals. They were the “special” people. They had the “special” genes and they proved their specialness, they proved that they were better than anyone else, by doing a lot of special stuff nobody else did. That became more important to them than love of God and neighbor, pure and simple.

So look, any of us can fall into that. We can get caught up in religious externals, badges of loyalty, status. Do we style ourselves as social activists, who work for the poor and the oppressed, the way Jesus would have wanted? Do we style ourselves traditionalists, who work for reverence in the liturgy, for the unborn, and for sanity regarding sexuality and family life, the way the Church teaches? 

That’s all fine and well, It’s good, actually. But when it becomes about status and tribalism and external tokens of being on the right side, and, most importantly, when it feeds a sense that we are superior to other people not in our group, then it becomes death. Then we become whitewashed tombs, which appear clean on the outside but inside they’re full of rot and dead men’s bones.

Only if you’re really aware of your own deep sinfulness, and only if you have a deep love of neighbor, only then will you be free for life in Christ.

Five

Finding Freedom

Jesus doesn’t offer freedom from a to-do list. That’s not what St. Paul was worried about. Jesus offers freedom from a slavish concern for externals and status. So what is freedom?

Freedom is pursuing the good without worrying about how you look and how you rate. Freedom is self-forgetfulness, and the peace of being able to serve God and neighbor without being distracted by self-image, or about how we compare with others. It’s a blessed freedom and most of us are a long way from it. But tell the Savior that it’s what you want, and He’ll bring you there.

What’s our resolution? GK Chesterton said, “I break all conventions and keep all the commandments.”