It can be easy to miss St. Paul’s juxtaposition of fear and divine adoption in today’s first reading. While often a lot of attention is paid to the opposition of “living according to the flesh” and living “by the Spirit” earlier in this passage, it is striking that we are told that being adopted children of God means not being afraid. In fact, Paul goes so far as to describe fear as a kind of slavery, a form of unfreedom that binds those trapped by it. In other words, you cannot be a child of God and succumb to fear, which is the enemy of Christian discipleship.
While less pronounced, fear also haunts today’s Gospel. Those religious leaders who assume the right to adjudicate divine ordinances and prohibitions about what is or is not permissible on the Sabbath, who may or may not be aided, and how one ought to live their life, seem to be very afraid. Perhaps they are afraid of losing influence over their congregants. Perhaps they are afraid of Jesus’ legitimate power and authority. Perhaps they are afraid that they are not really in control and never have been.
Whatever is at the root of their fear, Paul’s admonition is clear: let go of the fear that holds you back from loving as God loves and being generous as God is generous. May we move beyond fear to divine generosity, too.
