Freedom in Christ: The Incarnation and Liberation

Collect

O God, who sent your Only Begotten Son into this world to free the human race from its ancient enslavement, bestow on those who devoutly await him the grace of your compassion from on high, that we may attain the prize of true freedom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

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Our Salvation is Anchored in Jesus Christ

Today’s Mass Collect is a profound synthesis of the Incarnation's salvific purpose and the eschatological hope embedded in our Christian faith.

Firstly, the Collect acknowledges the historical and existential reality of human enslavement to sin. Original sin is not merely a moral failing, but a hereditary defect that impairs human nature itself. Praise be to God that Jesus came to heal us from concupiscence—the inclination to sin.

In sending His Only Begotten Son, the Incarnation of Jesus is not just a mere visitation of the divine among the human; it is a pivotal event where God intimately unites Himself with human nature, thereby elevating and sanctifying it. Grace heals us and is the elevating force in our human nature.

The phrase "to free the human race from its ancient enslavement" echoes the patristic theme of Christ as the new Adam. Early Church Fathers like Irenaeus saw in Christ's obedience a reversal of Adam's disobedience, thereby liberating humanity from the bondage of sin (cf. Romans 5:19). This liberation is not just from sin's guilt but also from its power, as Christ enables humans to partake in divine life (2 Peter 1:4).

[…] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.

2 Peter 1:4

The exhortation to earnestly anticipate Christ's arrival emphasizes the active nature of Christian hope—this hope involves actively awaiting the realization of God's promises, not merely a passive expectation.

In particular, I love the use of the phrase "true freedom" in the Collect. It is a reminder that true freedom is not merely the absence of constraints but the ability to achieve the good for which we are created. Thus, in Christ, we find not only liberation from sin but also the grace to pursue our ultimate end, which is union with God.

The Collect’s conclusion “Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever” is a doxological affirmation of the Trinity, central to our Christian faith. When we read this Collect it should remind us of the Nicene Creed that we say in the Holy Mass.

On this day, may we enter into a deeper contemplation of Christ’s redemptive act and live in the freedom of God’s children (cf. Galatians 4:4-7). From the Fall to the Incarnation, we should live in the hope of Jesus Christ and his merciful gift of love.

But when the time had fully 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 through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.

Galatians 4:4-7

Mass Offertory Prayer

May the sacrifice of our worship, Lord, we pray, be offered to you unceasingly, to complete what was begun in sacred mystery and powerfully accomplish for us your saving work. Through Christ our Lord.