LESSON 2 WE ARE CALLED TO BE FREE

Path 6 Freedom and Moral Obligation

Many of the youth of today think of an obligation as a burden. They think it is

what would hinder them from doing the things they want to do. But are obligations really
burdens? Do they curtail our authentic freedom?

Explain briefly your obligation as a :

CONTEXT student.
ICON ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
______________________________

son/daughter.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
______________________________

member of your community.

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
______________________________

Filipino.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
______________________________

Do you do all
these
obligations every day? _____ Why? /Why not?

_____________________________________________________________________

Answer honestly: Do you consider yourself free when you carry out an obligation? _______

Why? /Why not?

_____________________________________________________________________

How would you define a moral obligation?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

ICON –
EXPOSITION

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 SACRED SCRIPTURE: Luke 19: 1-10

... But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my
possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted
anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." And Jesus said
to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too
is a descendant of Abraham...

How did Zacchaeus fulfill his moral obligation in the story?

___________________________________________________________
Did Zacchaeus act freely? _____
Explain.______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Based on the act of Zacchaeus, how would you define a moral obligation?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Jericho was a progressive and important town. It had a great palm forest and
world-famous balsam groves which perfumed the air for miles around. Its gardens of
roses were known far and wide. People called it "The City of Palms."

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 Zacchaeus was a man who had
reached the top of his profession as tax
collector, but he was one of those being
despised by a lot of people in the place. He
was wealthy; but he was not happy.
Inevitably he was lonely, for he had chosen a
way of life that had made him an outcast.
When he heard of Jesus who welcomed tax-
collectors and sinners, he wondered if he
would have any word for him. Despised and
hated by people, Zacchaeus was reaching out
for the love of God. He was determined to see
Jesus and would let nothing stop him. For
him to mingle with the crowd at all was a
courageous thing to do. He could not see
Jesus because he was small in stature. So he
ran on ahead and climbed a favorite wayside
tree.

When Jesus looked up and saw, He

invited himself to Zacchaeus’ dinner. He
announced that He would stay that day at
Draw a similar Zacchaeus house. As a result of Jesus’
picture. presence, Zacchaeus decided to give half of
his goods to the poor; and to use the other
half to make restitution for any fraud of which he had been guilty. His acceptance of Jesus brought
salvation to his entire household. His was a genuine acceptance of Jesus, for it was not a mere
gesture of hospitality, but a real conversion. From a tax-collector and a sinner, he was converted to
someone fulfilling his moral obligations to his fellowmen for he was a wealthy man someone who
would have a hard time detaching himself from his possessions. But Zacchaeus made a big decision
in his life, a decision he made on his own because of the presence of the Lord. This is the effect that
Jesus has on those who accept Him. Jesus inspired him to purify his life of greed and indifference,
and to fulfill his obligation to his brethren and to those whom he may have cheated.

The act of Zacchaeus was voluntary. Jesus did not force him to give back anything he
cheated from the people. But he willingly made the decision to return all that he had acquired
illegally. Like Zacchaeus who acted with his own freewill, we are called to fulfill our moral
obligations. Complying with our moral obligations is our vocation. Christians or non-
Christians, God calls us, but does not compel us. Vatican II is strong on this truth as it says:

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CHURCH TEACHING: Dignitatis Humanae 11

“God calls men to serve Him in spirit and in truth. Consequently they are bound to
Him in conscience, but not coerced.”

To illustrate further how freedom and moral obligation are related, this example may
help. The Eighth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,”
obliges us to guard the truth at all times. This obligation is a moral force; it is not coercion or
compulsion. Striving to live according to this commandment leads us to authentic freedom, not
just as “guideline”, but as commandments. They guide by commanding, that is by declaring a
moral obligation to act according to the commandments. All commandments foster freedom by
“commanding, not guiding.” To distinguish these two words in relation to moral obligation,
commandments oblige, guidelines do not oblige. The commandments instruct us that no one
has the right to murder, rape, steal, and lie. These acts are abuses against authentic freedom. If
we freely choose to act against authentic moral obligation we commit sin, which injures the
freedom of both the doer as well as others in the community. If one chooses to tell a lie about
someone else, the person lying violates his dignity and also would hurt the person one lied
about, including the people who hear the lie because they are deprived of the truth.

Many try to avoid their moral obligations because they want to have absolute
freedom, doing whatever they want. Teenagers would put all the burden of housekeeping on
parents and helpers. Couples point their finger at each other regarding who is supposed to take
care of their children. For some parents, they feel life is more convenient if they are freed from
any obligation. But the truth is that freedom without moral obligation, leads us to serious
abuses; such as killing, rape, lying, stealing, etc. We have to understand that, as persons, we
are related to others of our community and that these relations with others limit the exercise of
our freedom. Persons who do not fully understand such limitations make believe they can use
their freedom to do anything they want. By falling into this error, they are dangerous to
everyone else in the community. For example, am I free to murder? The answer based on an
erroneous understanding of freedom is: Yes, I can freely choose to murder. I do have the
power to choose to murder. If I did not have such power, there would be NO murders at all,
and NO need for the Fifth Commandment, “You shall not kill.” But the truth is “NO, I am
not free to murder; since we are morally obliged NOT TO KILL. Rather, we are morally
obliged to protect and safeguard not only our lives but also the lives of others.” Thus,
freedom and obligation are always together. They do not contradict each other. Authentic
moral obligation helps us to be more free by directing us and our neighbors against abuses of
freedom, e.g. murder, stealing, lying etc.

Since we are social beings who live in community, our freedom carries with it the
corresponding obligations to consider and respect the freedom of others. Freedom, therefore,
must be exercised responsibly; we must consider the rights and freedom of others. Our moral
obligation towards others guides us to an authentic freedom to do good.

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 ICON –
Morals:
INTEGRATION
Authentic freedom always entails doing what is morally good and
fulfilling one’s moral obligations.

Let us connect our faith by

making a promise to God..
List at least three
obligations you must do as a
son/daughter, student and as
member of the church.

1. son/
daughter

2. student

3. Church
member

Doctrine:
The truth of our human nature is the ground for moral good and obligation and
the authentic exercise of freedom.
Coin a Filipino term, or even in the vernacular a word or phrase
that would speak of moral obligation as a true manifestation of
freedom. Explain your choice of words. 40
 Worship:
Prayer motivates and inspires a response positive to our moral obligations.

Prayerfully sing an excerpt from the song “Pananagutan” and write a short
reflection about it.
Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang.
Walang sinuman ang namamatay para sa sarili lamang.
Tayong lahat ay may pananagutan sa isa’t isa.
Tayong lahat ay tinipon ng Diyos na kapiling Niya.

SUMMARY VOCABULARY
Zacchaeus, moved by the presence of Jesus, Obligation – a duty one
exemplifies the effect of what Jesus can do to those who has to perform.
accept Him. Jesus moved him to transform his life from
Dignitatis Humanae
being greedy and indifferent, to fulfilling his obligations
-Vatican II’s Conciliar
to his brethren and to those whom he had cheated.
Decree on Religious
Freedom
Fulfilling our moral obligations is simply doing
good. It is an exercise of authentic freedom responding to
God’s call to love our neighbor.

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 ICON – ICON –
CHALLENGE SERVANT LEADER

Like Paul, narrate an Filomena Tatlonghari

experience of your personal It was May 1995, the time of a hotly
journey to freedom. contested election; it was also a time of guns and
goons. But death must have been far from the
mind of Filomena Tatlonghari when she hugged
the ballot box close to her to protect it.
A public school teacher and guidance
counselor, Filomena was poll chair of Precinct
40A in an obscure Barangay of Talaga, East
Mabini in Batangas. With two other teachers,
she was to deliver the ballot box to the municipal
hall at 2:00 am. of May 9. Two vehicles stopped
where they were waiting for their ride. A man,
whom a local resident later identified as Alex
Calangi, approached them and tried to take the
ballot box forcibly. Filomena refused to yield the
Draw a similar
ballot box and embraced it more tightly. Then a
picture.
shot rang out. She was hit in the right side.
Calangi then grabbed the ballot box and, with an
unidentified gunman, sped off. Filomena died.
She left behind a husband and three children.
Nothing more has been heard of the
MY ballot box snatcher, except that he was taken
under the custody of the police, nor of the
unidentified gunman.
PERSONAL Those who knew Filomena say that this
heroine, a local girl who lived in a small town by
the sea, chose to stay in town despite many
JOURNEY opportunities that came her way for her to teach
elsewhere. She may have lived an unexceptional
life, but the circumstances of her death truly tell
of an exceptional Filipino.

TO Whatever made her hold on to the ballot

box? What must have been in her mind after she
was hit in her side and while she was fighting
for her life? We can only guess at these; but we
can surely say she was a person who served her
FREEDOM community and her country selflessly.

Source: Malaya, p. 1 (August 27, 2003)

Joji
Pinzon

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 ICON –
LESSON SUMMARY

Inside the box draw a

symbol of a person who
is truly free. Explain
your drawing.

Compare the act of Zacchaeus to that of the Rich Young Man in Matthew
19:16-22.

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Rich Young Man

Zacchaeus

A Final Prayer
John Paul II

I leave you now this prayer: That the Lord Jesus

will reveal Himself to each one of you, that He will
give you the strength to go out and profess that you
are Christian, that He will show you that He alone
can fill your hearts.

Accept His freedom and embrace His truth, and be

messengers of the certainty that you have been truly
liberated through the death and resurrection of the
Lord Jesus. This will be the new experience, the
powerful experience that will generate, through you,
a more just society and a better world. God bless
you and the joy of Jesus be always with you!

Closing Prayer:

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[Lord] Let your Spirit burn! You’re the fire that
melts our frozen hearts. Please help us learn to
dare to love without our usual fear
Of giving everything with nothing in return.
O come and set our spirits free! Give meaning to
the lives we lead.
Show us where to go that we may find the One we
seek.
Where else can we go but only to you who sets us
free?
Excerpt from the song “Let your Spirit” by Noel Cabangon

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