John 8:31-42 Everyone who commits sin is a slave

Stratum, Nepal, Modern Day Slavery Photograph by Lisa Kristine (b. 1965), Photographed in 2016, Giclee print, © Lisa Kristine Photography

Gospel Reading

To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said: ‘If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples, you will learn the truth and the truth will make you free.’ They answered, ‘We are descended from Abraham and we have never been the slaves of anyone; what do you mean, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, everyone who commits sin is a slave. Now the slave’s place in the house is not assured, but the son’s place is assured. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descended from Abraham; but in spite of that you want to kill me because nothing I say has penetrated into you. What I, for my part, speak of is what I have seen with my Father; but you, you put into action the lessons learnt from your father.’ They repeated, ‘Our father is Abraham.’ Jesus said to them: ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do as Abraham did. As it is, you want to kill me when I tell you the truth as I have learnt it from God; that is not what Abraham did. What you are doing is what your father does.’ ‘We were not born of prostitution,’ they went on ‘we have one father: God.’ Jesus answered: ‘If God were your father, you would love me, since I have come here from God; yes, I have come from him; not that I came because I chose, no, I was sent, and by him.’

Reflection on the photograph

We all want to be free, in the fullest sense of the word. If the opposite of freedom is bondage and slavery, no one wants that. To a certain extent, we are all enslaved to some bad habits or to sin. If some of these bad habits bring us temporary pleasure or make us feel good, we can even love our slavery, not wanting to give it up. Faith however sheds clarity and shows what slavery is. Sin is bondage, making us unfree. We are chained to the things of earth, and so cannot fly towards the things of heaven. Our photograph is by Lisa Kristine, an international humanitarian photographer. In many of her photographs she highlights the issues of modern-day slavery. There are currently 27 million people enslaved or in forced labour. That's more than double the number of people trafficked during the entire Transatlantic Slave Trade. In our photograph we see people, probably entire families, working in bonded labour. These people don't have a choice. Often they become enslaved through loans they take on. Slaveholders, the only people in these poorer countries who have money to lend, trick the borrowers into slavery through illegal, exorbitant interest rates that are impossible to repay. Children inherit the massive debt from their parents, and thus start working from a very young age too. A vicious cycle, vicious indeed. Whilst the slavery to sin and the slavery in our artwork are different, underlying them both is the same human desire: that everyone, including us, be liberated from any slavery and so be free. Through grace, we hold it in our own hands to break away from the bondage of sin, but it is otherwise for the people depicted in our photograph, who are powerless to break free from their enforced modern slavery…. We pray today for those who are being trafficked and forcibly put to work. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

by Father Patrick van der Vorst