It was the question we were to discuss at our tables during the Seder dinner last night at Congregation Beth Ha Tephila.  "What does freedom mean for you at this time of your life?"  It was a rich discussion.

Howard Thurman writes of "A Strange Freedom."  "At the very center personal freedom is a discipline of the of the mind and the emotions."  Freedom is an internal reality.  It is freedom from external pressings and pressures.  It is freedom from external expectations and self-definitions. As well, it is not freedom if it is lived in isolation for isolation is simply one more form of bondage.

Strange freedom; Martin Luther King, Jr. had it on the night of April 3, 1968.  Speaking to those gathered in Memphis, arriving late due to a bomb threat on his flight from Atlanta, he spoke with an internal calm amid the regular threats and attempts on his life.  Listen to his speech that evening.  The first 4/5ths of it follow a classic form of outlined speech; paragraphs of thought building to logical conclusion.  Then, toward the end, he interrupts a sentence: "And they were telling me, (pause) now it doesn't matter now. It really doesn't matter what happens now."

Dr. King has no death wish, quite the contrary.  He has found something beyond that.  He has found a strange freedom.  "I just want to do God's will," he states.  "I may not get there with you; but we as a people will get to the promised land."

This is no passive surrendering man, but one who has walked past fear into a strange freedom.  Listen to the tone in his voice.  It is the voice of Jesus in today's gospel (John 13:21-32). Jesus is not some beaten down, retiring person.  He simply wishes to do what he is being called to do.  Like King he also would love to live a long life; yet he will choose what is the faithful, life seeking path.  He will not retreat into isolation, but will grow in compassion for all, even those who seek to stop him.

As the days of this week grow more dark, may we, with those who have gone before us, keep seeking the faithful, life giving path.  May we find ourselves walking past fear into a strange freedom.

Blessed Holy Week,

Todd Donatelli