You are separated from Christ,
you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of righteousness.
Saint Paul in his Letter to the Galatians explored the same theological principles he developed more fully in his Letter to the Romans. He was especially concerned about the freedom we enjoy in Christ, a freedom which knows little of the Laws of Moses.
When he learned that many of the gentiles he had baptized were attempting to complete their initiation into the Lord by circumcision -- a very painful ordeal -- he was horrified. That was precisely the wrong thing to do, and irreversible! "You are separated from Christ!" he shouts through his Letter.
He knew the Pharisaic interpretation of the Law of Moses; he had lived under it too long, and had tried to impress it on others. It was suffocating, allowing no room for relaxation, enjoyment, or reassurance. It was continually anxious, demanding, shaming, and guilt-inducing. There was no pleasing the Pharisee's God.
When we love and trust someone -- whether they are God, a friend, or a spouse -- we don't need to knock ourselves out anticipating and meeting everything they might want. We don't try to read their minds or know everything they're thinking. We give them space. If they want or need something, they'll ask.
Nor do we suppose they expect us to wait upon them hand and foot. They give us space to think our own thoughts and work out our own plans. Unlike tyranny, there is room in love for being apart and coming together. There is no possessiveness or jealousy to force us together and tear us apart. Love recognizes the otherness of the other and honors it.
Paul had found freedom and deliverance on the road to Damascus, and he knew that he could never turn back. He might not have yet known, but he would soon realize, that Christians could never live like Pharisees, and the split with Judaism was both necessary and inevitable.
The unfortunate Galatians, duped by false disciples of Jesus, were trying too hard to please their implacable god. By the rite of circumcision, they showed they did not trust the Lord; they had no faith.
Informed as they were of Jewish history, Jesus and Paul knew the danger of false prophets and their fate. We have seen plenty of that recently as rogue priests leave obedience to their bishops and superiors to create their own churches of misguided Catholics. Some would tighten religious discipline; others relax it. Both types agree that everyone else is wrong. Their followers and their followers' children might never know the beauty of Communion within the Body of Christ.
But Saint Paul was concerned about the immediate state of those he had baptized. Could they undo the rite of circumcision and return to faith in God?
"For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love."
He would be reassured by their love of the Lord. Although they must repent of their infidelity, of trying to win God's love when it was so freely offered, the path of return remains open and available.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.