The Freedom Factor!

Saturday, December 20, 2025

Is 7:10-14; Lk 1:26-38

In today’s Gospel, Mary’s fiat reveals her understanding of freedom. 

The Annunciation narrative is a testament to the fact that, though Mary had the freedom to opt out of God’s plan of salvation, she willingly entered into it to cooperate with God. Thus, her courage reflects her understanding of freedom.

1. Mary understands freedom not as ‘freedom from’ but as ‘freedom to.’ Oftentimes, we understand freedom as having no constraints. However, Mary’s understanding of freedom is based on the right set of constraints for responding to God. Theologian Tim Keller puts it thus: ‘Real freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions as finding the right ones.’

2. Mary perceives the instrumental value of freedom. Mary knows that when freedom becomes an end in itself, it is not often helpful. For her, the end or object of freedom is God. This is why she instrumentalizes her freedom to cooperate with God’s will. The ability to freely cooperate with God’s plan gives her a sense of purpose and direction in life. 

3. Mary utilizes her freedom to choose a life with commitments. Such an instrumental value of freedom shapes her perception that life means to commit to something. Though she was a young and ordinary village girl, her ‘yes’ to God lands her in a life of commitments and obligations. However, Mary accepts everything as a sweet compulsion, not an open option. 

When considering Mary’s understanding of freedom, we are reminded of what psychologists call the ‘Paradox of Privilege.’ 

When we are rich, we tend to chase temporary pleasures that alienate us from others. Big houses with big yards only separate us from people and make us feel lonely. But in crisis, we are compelled to stay together in ways that actually meet our deepest needs. For instance, a 2007 study found that Liberians, even amid their existential crises, felt a greater sense of meaning and purpose than the majority of the Dutch, who did not feel the same, even though life was not sweeter for Liberians than for their Dutch counterparts.

Mary never suffered from the paradox of privilege. Her ‘yes’ reveals her readiness to cooperate with God’s will. 

Let us pray that we may make right use of our freedom for God. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar