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The frigid winter air danced across the Boston Harbor as thousands cheered from the bridge above. Some onlookers were dressed in colonial costumes, complete with fake wigs and real passion, while kids excitedly oohed and aahed as they watched the events from their history textbooks take place before their eyes. The crowd collectively exclaimed “Huzzah!” every time a crate of tea leaves was broken open on the ship below, its contents dumped dramatically into the harbor. All the Americans present at the 250th anniversary reenactment of the Boston Tea Party were gathered to celebrate one thing: freedom.
As I stood among the thousands cheering for this moment in American history, I couldn’t help but wonder, What would our faith look like if the freedom we have through Christ was celebrated in this way?
Speaking to Christ in freedom
Long before I moved to Boston, my spiritual director brought my attention to a part of the Mass that I had previously overlooked: the mystery of faith. This is the moment where we first speak to Jesus after the consecration, but I had only ever known of it as another response to memorize and echo during Mass. I knew the words but knew not of their significance.
After I repeated one of the responses to the mystery of faith, “Save us, Savior of the world, for by Your Cross and Resurrection, You have set us free,” my spiritual director asked me a question that has lingered in my mind ever since: Are you living in that freedom?
In our sin-ridden world, we often forget that the freedom we have through Christ is one that no one can take from us. We are no longer bound by the chains of sin and death, for this freedom has already been won — not by tossing tea into a harbor or fighting a revolutionary war — but by the Cross and Resurrection. This is the greatest victory known to man, the greatest gift we could ever receive, so why do we take it for granted?
As fireworks erupted over the scene on the Boston Harbor, they also flared in my heart. There is no greater freedom than that which is found through Jesus Christ. Like a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party, it’s important to celebrate this freedom often so we remember that we have it; the battle has already been won. The real question is, Are we living in this freedom?
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This is part of the series called “The Human Being Fully Alive” found here.
