Tower and Town, June 2020

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Clergy Letter: Freedom And Joy

It may sound odd, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, to title a clergy letter ‘Freedom and Joy’. Are those two not precisely the ones of which we are rather short at the moment? Don’t worry, I am by no means denying that this time has been hard for most of us, for a variety of reasons. Some find it hard to cope with the loneliness, whereas others can’t wait to escape their busy household. Some have been furloughed and lost their sense of purpose, whereas others are working tirelessly at the frontline.

No matter in which situation we find ourselves, it has been different from ‘normal’ and most of us don’t like to be out of control. However, I would like to suggest that our freedom and joy cannot be taken away by the current restrictions, nor can they be found by taking back control of our lives. Here, I’d like to say a few more words about freedom; joy will get a little more attention in a book review elsewhere.

A few weeks ago, in one of my classes, we were looking at George Orwell’s famous work ‘1984’ and the pupils started discussing what freedom meant. Their consensus was that we are freer now, despite our restrictions on movement, than in the world sketched in the novel. Our freedom lies in the ability to be who we are, rather than to go where we want. Freedom is not the same as control.

Of course, some may object that to be fully who we are, we need to be able to travel, to see others and to live in community – and I agree. However, maybe the communities to which we belong momentarily are different from those before. Many of us will be spending more time talking to family and friends living far away, and at the same time we may have met neighbours who we had not seen before, offering help or asking to do the shopping.

Life is certainly different at the moment, and we can feel hopelessly out of control. Yet, our freedom remains and these months may even become an opportunity to learn a little bit more what that freedom entails.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Luke 4.17-21

Janneke Blokland