Am I now currying favor with human beings or God?
Or am I seeking to please people?
If I were still trying to please people,
I would not be a slave of Christ.
Or am I seeking to please people?
If I were still trying to please people,
I would not be a slave of Christ.
The Church, it seems, is always in trouble, always has its back to the wall; but we might be in real trouble with God if there ever comes a day when we're not in trouble in this world.
Saint Paul was very upset about what was happening in Galatia and he made his unhappiness very clear. He had to make trouble by demanding that the Galatians return to the Gospel he had shown to them.They had listened to false messengers of the gospel and had turned away from the Faith. If he had to alienate some people in order to win most of them back, he did not hesitate to do so. As he insisted, he was not in the business of pleasing people.
The Apostle’s confidence is admirable. He came to it after suffering many trials. If I were beaten, scourged, jailed and stoned repeatedly I might ask myself, “What am I doing wrong?” I suppose Saint Paul did too. But, in the middle of all these trials, he heard a quiet, cheerful and divinely familiar voice telling him, “Keep up the good work.”
With that reassurance he could face lesser men who dared to preach an alien gospel. He knew theirs was false; he needed only to hear its particulars to dismiss it.
The world is just as rattled and fascinated by phony gospels today as it was in Saint Paul's day. Recently there was a stir in the religion news that someone found a fourth century document with a quotation from Jesus concerning his "wife." The professor said, "This is not the end of the discussion but the beginning." as if she has not read of or heard of The DaVinci Code. But does anyone really give a double-whiff what a shredded fourth century papyrus might say about Jesus? We really do have more important matters to address.
The scriptures remind us continually: "Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus." There will always be waffle-headed experts who entertain the public with bizarre ideas. I knew a doctor who wanted to sell me a handful of magnets as a panacea for whatever ails you!:
...let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
Eyes fixed on Jesus....it's the only way to stay clear headed.
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