I think this word sends a chill through the mind and heart of all of us. We think of a person’s life being threatened; raising the money for the ransom and if the money is given will the person be set free? Also the victim quite often is the innocent one, who has no connection with the ones responsible and really is the sacrificial lamb.
The word ransom is spoken of in the Sacred Scriptures and I find it a very powerful word and it says a lot to me. Mary and Joseph were required by the Jews law to dedicate their first born to the Lord. So they offer Jesus to the Lord but then ransom him back by offering two small pigeons.
So Jesus was well aware of this law and this idea of ransom. As he grew in wisdom he realised that people were captured and not free of sin. Therefore, to carry out his Father’s Will and bring everyone back to Him someday, then this could only happen if people were free, therefore free from the grip of sin.
So Jesus draws on what is familiar to his listeners, like in the law, the dedication at birth, but to make sure he doesn’t lose us he has to make it a perfect situation.
But the extraordinary thing here is that he not only volunteers himself as the innocent victim but also puts up the ransom. He is able to do this because he is free from sin. We are the ones who are caught in the gip of sin with no way out to return to the Father.
Yet Christ takes our place as the victim and also pays the price – we do nothing! He set us free from the grip of sin. So when a ransom story has a happy ending the person has been set free, free to return to family and living.
And this is why I think this word ransom is so powerful because it makes me realise that, “I will be always forever grateful to Christ for setting me free.”
Fr Michael Morley
