Children of Promise
A Homily For The Fourth Sunday In Lent
"TELL me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise."
Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent. It's Mothering Sunday as well, inspired by the words of St. Paul in today's epistle when he writes, "Jerusalem which is above is free; which is the mother of us all." Historically, Christians give thanks to their Mother, the Church, and their earthly mothers, as Christian children would return to their home churches on this Sunday, to the place they were reborn through baptism, and visit their moms as well.
Our identity in Christ as Christians is predominately understood as children: we are children of the Father, the Most High God. Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." St. John will say, "But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God's children." St. Paul writes, "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
We are the cherished children of God, who are embodied by both our Father and our nurturing Mother through the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. As St. Paul eloquently expresses, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." This divine Spirit was graciously bestowed upon us at the moment of belief and baptism. In that Divine and sacred rite, we were elevated from the depths of death to the vibrant fullness of life. Jesus teaches us that we are "born again by water and the Spirit," signifying a beautiful rebirth that connects us deeply to the divine mystery of faith. St. Paul tells the Galatians, "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal 3:25).
This morning, the same Apostle conveys a profound truth: once shackled by the chains of sin and death, we have now been granted breathtaking freedom through the gospel promise of eternal life. We stand as the beloved children of the 'free woman,' liberated from the grasp of the 'bondwoman.' Yet, it is striking how easily we can find ourselves drawn back to the embrace of the bondwoman.
The allurements of this world are so seductive, tempting us to forget the glorious promise that has been bestowed upon us. Our desires, though being sanctified, are misshapen by our imperfection. Though we strive for holiness and want to please God, "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" (Mt 26:41). How quickly we can slip into a life governed by the flesh, walking in its shadows instead of embracing the radiant path of the Spirit.
Like the Galatians addressed by the Apostle Paul, we can return to the flesh. When the scriptures speak of the "flesh," they are ascribing the connotation of an ungodly lifestyle of selfishness and sensual self-gratification. In Romans chapter 8, Paul writes, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit" (Rom 8:5). But what does that mean? What is the difference between walking by the Spirit and walking by the flesh, as we used to do before we were Christians?
Paul first describes this difference as being about where we set our minds. In other words, what do our minds dwell on most intently? Those who are not Christians, who live by the flesh, think only of the things of the flesh. This makes basic sense, but what does it mean? As Paul uses the term here, the flesh refers to the wants and needs driven by the physical body and the spiritual approach of this fallen world. Those who walk by the flesh must focus only on meeting those necessarily selfish wants and needs, day after day, year after year.
Those who live by the Spirit, Christians, set their minds on the things of the Spirit. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit, who comes to live in and with Christians when they trust in Christ. The Spirit of God in us, not surprisingly, is thinking about godly things. Since we are now alive by the Spirit's power, we begin to think about godly things, too—things that reach beyond meeting our basic human wants and needs of the moment. Does this mean Christians never think of things of the flesh or that we never sin? No. Instead, it means our minds are set, pointed elsewhere. Focusing on the flesh, on our sinful, self-serving desires, is not who we are, even when we find ourselves drawn that way.
In today's epistle, Paul tells us that our flesh often opposes the Spirit, much like how Isaac, the child of promise, faced persecution. He writes, "Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But just as the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so it is now." Later in his letter to the Galatians, he elaborates further, stating, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; these are in conflict with each other, preventing you from doing what you want to do" (Gal 5:17). While this struggle becomes particularly evident during seasons like Lent, it truly characterizes the entirety of the Christian journey.
We fall into bondage to sin when we give in to sinful desires and choices, allowing them to control our thoughts and actions, and by neglecting our spiritual needs and closing our ears to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We then become enslaved to unholy passion and return to bondage.
Our Thoughts and Actions. Sin can take root in our hearts and minds, leading us to think and act in harmful and destructive ways. Bondage leads to neglecting our Spiritual Needs. In seeking to satiate the flesh, we neglect to seek God in prayer, seeking after sin instead of spiritual practices: reading the word, worshipping the Lord, and participating in the sacraments of grace. Such neglect leaves us vulnerable to the further influence of sin and becomes a circular spiral into vice.
Bondage manifests itself in many ways. Often, we fall back into the enslavement of former addictions. We return to abusing things and substances. The old compulsions rear their ugly head, and we give way. Sometimes, we become enslaved to our emotions. Anger, resentment, other destructive emotions, and unholy passions assume control of our actions and spoil our relationships. Or we return to unhealthy Relationships which are abusive, manipulative, and ungodly. We find ourselves trapped and without hope of escape.
Bondage compels us to fixate on earthly treasures, drawing our attention to material possessions, social status, and the myriad distractions of the world around us. In our relentless pursuit of our kingdoms, we often forsake the rich spiritual life and the profound union with Christ that truly fulfills our souls. As we chase after fleeting friendships with the world, we risk ignoring the poignant warning issued by St. James: "Don't you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (Js 4:4).
This serves as a sobering reminder of the chains that bind us when we choose to walk following our flesh rather than the Spirit, leading us away from the deeper truths of existence and into a life marked by spiritual enslavement. Such is the child whose mother is the bondwoman. And the bottom line is this: "If you live according to the flesh, you will die (says the apostle), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom 8:13).
So, how do we break free from the flesh and walk in the Spirit? First is the radical reorienting of your identity. "For when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Gal 4:4-7).
You are not born of the flesh but of the Spirit. You are not slaves but free. We are children of the promise, born of the free woman, given the Holy Spirit, who groans with our Spirit. This is your identity. St. John testifies, "To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." Therefore, we are indeed the sons and daughters of God, and our Mother is the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the Mother of us all. Your identity is in Christ, your life is in His body, the Church, and your citizenship is in heaven.
Knowing then who your Father and Mother are, cast yourself upon the promises of the Son, Jesus Christ. "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" asks the Apostle (Rom. 7:24). He answers with confidence, "Jesus Christ our Lord!" Formerly enslaved to sin, we are now slaves of Christ, and He has placed His Spirit within, freeing us from the law of sin and death.
In Him, we can choose righteousness and, by his grace, choose not to sin. Because what we could not and cannot do in the weakness of our flesh, God has done "By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom 8:3). We cannot save our selves from the ravages of the flesh. Still, in Christ, we are more than conquerors.
By His Spirit, grace enables sobriety and wakes us up to the fleshly life in which we are entrapped. The Spirit compels us to turn, repent, and seek help when we groan under the weight of sin. In fact, it is the same Spirit that aids such infirmities. In times of bondage, we don't know how or what to pray for, "but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom 8:26). We see that our hope is the Spirit of Christ within. And we are saved by the hope that God is with us even in our mostly fleshly moments. Again, it is the Spirit that witnesses to our hearts and consciences that we are the children of God.
And beloved, "if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you" (Rom 8:11). But you must desire to walk after the Spirit and put the flesh to death. As Paul promises us, "All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Rom 14). So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. Live in that reality and walk in hope. Amen+
