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Posts Tagged ‘Galatians’

Faith Expressed Through Love

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I am surprised again how so many weighty discourses in the Epistles come back around to the one foundational element that is the under girding of a believer’s life: love. My faith is nothing if it isn’t reflected through the words and actions of love. And not just the actions or words themselves, but the intent.

Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

I think too many Christians (including me) get caught up in all things “should.” I should be praying more, I should be working with the poor in the inner city, I should be attending church every Sunday, I should be volunteering at the church, I should teach at Vacation Bible School, I should go on a mission trip, I should be tithing and so on and on and on.

The flip side: I should not be watching R rated movies, I should not be cursing, I should not be reading fantasy or horror or literature with bad words in it, I should not be listening to New Age music or Rock and Roll or God forbid–HipHop or Rap, I should not wear a bikini, I should not go out with non-believers, I should not be in debt, I should not buy a 2500 square foot house with 3.5 bathrooms while people are starving in “pick a place,” I should not watch television, and of course, the “should not” list can much longer than the “shoulds.”

Here’s my point. I could do any or all of these things the right way and still miss Jesus. I could follow all the shoulds and the should nots and still be without the peace of Christ. If love is not there binding my heart and soul to the action or inaction, I am kidding myself and the people I serve.

Many of the “shoulds” are important and are examples of how the love of Christ might manifest. And, in the same breath, the “should nots” may be red flags in our lives that our path is being diverted away from a better way. But in an of themselves, they are not the litmus test of my faith.

I want an inner life so rich in Christ that the “should nots” are a non-issue and the “shoulds” are a natural outgrowth of that love, devotion, and relationship with the Spirit within.

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Child of the Free Woman

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Does it matter–our genealogy? our heritage? our family line? In scripture, it’s recorded in many ways as quite significant, from the “begats” in Matthew to the repetitive list of kings and their fathers and their fathers. Am I a child of the promise, a child of the free woman?

Galatians 4:31
Therefore, brothers [and sisters], we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Paul goes into a longish discussion of the “figurative” nature of Hagar (the slave woman) and Sarah (the free), who bore children, one “naturally” and the other as the result of a God-promise and power of the Spirit (a supernatural birth). The slave child (and subsequent generations) is born to a time and place in history, while the implication is that the child (and following generations) is of a “new Jerusalem,” a place out of time.

Despite the fact that Sarah and Abraham are usually considered the “father and mother” of the Jews (who we know followed the law), now the focus is on the next step when the Abrahamic children come into their true inheritance. The long-awaited Messiah was part of the promise, the miracle of Isaac. Christ too was born supernaturally. (Isaac was born from an old woman’s barren womb and Jesus from a very young woman’s virginal womb.)

And just so, because I have accepted that same long-promised Messiah as my Messiah too, I become a child of the free woman, the metaphysical, the kingdom of God. I now have a different genealogy than I did before. This is a truer meaning of “new creation.”

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” [II Corinthians 5:17]

I’m not living in this freedom really. It’s positional only, not internalized. It’s head knowledge, not heart knowledge.

It’s like I’m so close to really understanding the enormity of this truth but not quite. It’s a thought butterfly flitting around my head. I can’t quite grab hold of it. But someday I will. And when I do, I will be changed.

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Become Like Me

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Paul is certainly confident as a prototype for believers: become like me, follow me, imitate me. Paul was a zealot before he met Christ and he was certainly one afterward. I could no more imitate him than I can imitate Christ. Ah, there’s the difference. . .

Galatians 4:12
I plead with you, brothers, become like me, . . .
I Corinthians 4:16
Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
I Corinthians 11:1
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Philippians 3:17
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

To follow Paul is an outside/in method while following Christ is an inside/out endeavor.

Despite the freedoms Paul articulates as a follower of Jesus, having been a Pharisee for many years, he still had a very law-based mentality and world view. He was an administrator, an organizer. He could see how things would work out best. He loved his churches and he loved his people, but he did get frustrated. He was impatient. He continually aimed for perfection (Christ) and condemned himself often (not in a bad way, just as a confession) for missing the mark. He knew he was less than perfect and only Christ within made up the difference. Nonetheless, it was Paul who set up the churches with structure. He was an academic. He laid out the reasons for everything he said. He was a man of logic and reason. I’d say a good portion of our modern day churches have evolved out of the teachings and interpretations of Paul.

But when Jesus calls us to “follow him,” I think he is drawing us to the Kingdom. It is Jesus who consistently lays out the paradoxes of internal following. Everything is the opposite of what we would think: turning the other cheek, loving our enemies, going the extra mile, meekness is victor, weakness is strength and so on.

For Jesus it is not really “become LIKE me,” it’s become ME.

This is much more mysterious. When Jesus taught about “eating his flesh and drinking his blood,” a lot of disciples fled. This entire teaching on Jesus being the “bread of life” terrified most of his followers. [John 6:41-66] They fled because they understood, not because it was beyond them. Every time Jesus spoke bluntly about his intentions, there was an uproar.

With Jesus, what seems impossible is possible; what is lost can be found; what dies can be raised up.

In the face of these kinds of truths, do the outer trappings really matter: Robes or no robes, dunking or sprinkling, wine or grape juice, men or women, buildings or no buildings, and so on.

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” [John 14:20]

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Why Do I Go Back?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2010| 1 Comment »

I do it all the time. I start a diet, lose weight, and then go back to my old eating habits. I order my space and vow to keep it that way, and before I know it, it’s trashed. I judge someone, ask for forgiveness, and judge again. Am I so weak? I am.

Galatians 4:9
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

What is the draw of the old way? I guess if I were an alcoholic or drug addict, I would be drinking and shooting up again. It’s destructive behavior and yet it’s familiar. It’s crazy-making [Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.] It’s the path of least resistance.

I am the Israelites in the desert who complained about the new way and wanted to go back to Egypt and slavery: they thought that would be better than their current struggle in the present time [Exodus 16:1-3].

Is it forgetfulness or is it mindlessness? Or both? When God brings change into my life, I am so happy and full of energy. I am clear headed and I see the big picture. I am focused. I am motivated. But once I reach a certain plateau in the process, it’s like hitting a wall. There is no movement forward. I lose track of those initial feelings and strength. Oh, I might try to climb the wall for a bit, I might even try to walk around it. But my drive to persevere is sucked away and I am left with my old self for company.

I say mindlessness because it feels like the opposite of mindfulness. It takes mindfulness to stay aware of the Christ Spirit within and without. It takes effort. It is a special type of wakefulness.

When I was in acting school I learned how to walk a tightrope in our circus class. The clue to tightrope walking is maintaining a focus on the end of the rope, the junction point. As soon as I would take my eyes off that point, I would lose my balance. As I tried to do more complicated maneuvers, it became harder and harder to maintain that focus. My little life is not much different.

Put me back on the tightrope today, with Christ ahead, my focal point.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me. (St. Patrick)

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Children of the Culture

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Of the people in my world, few are under the rigors or traditions of Jewish law. Instead, we have allowed ourselves to be directed by the laws of modernity, culture, and the man-made rules and traditions of the institutionalized church.

Galatians 4:1a, 2-3, 4a, 5
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, . . . He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, . . . to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

When John the Baptist and Jesus shook up the Jewish people by announcing the long-awaited Messiah and the fulfillment of the ultimate promises that went back as far as Abraham, people freaked. They understood the implications of a Messiah in their world. They understood the law would be superseded by whatever He brought along. They understood there was an inheritance involved.

We don’t.

By “putting on Christ,” I am no longer just female or American or middle class. I am the seed of Abraham because Christ is the seed. [Gal 3:26-29]

It reminds me of the sad stories of wealthy men and women passing their money, their companies, their knowledge, and all their worldly goods to their descendants but it’s all destroyed or lost. The inheritance was full of promise but it was unrealized.

I feel like a modern day prodigal, wasting away the gifts of the Christ. I am a slave instead to my lifestyle, my debt, and my self-image. I am perpetuating 20th century goals and dreams to my children.

What does it really look like to wear Christ in the world?

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Angels and Mediators

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

From cupids to angels floating over the beds of children, I think our culture has made angels into Tinkerbell. Nothing could be farther from the truth if angels were involved in “putting the law into effect.” These messenger/warriors work directly with God’s anointed on Earth. They are formidable.

Galatians 3:19
What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.

I have a friend who believes she saw an angel in her house while she was in prayerful intercession for her adopted toddler who was being pulled from their family and returned to his bio-father. She said the angel was more male than not, but also gender neutral. The angel was tall and barely fit in her dining room. He stood in what she interpreted as warrior regalia, including a sword. He stood as a though he were a guardian. He stood watch. At the time, she thought the angel was a sign and they would keep their son, but that was not the case. Apparently, there was some other danger in this situation. And although this was one of the most devastating circumstance, she experienced the power of angelic presence.

Apparently, angels do not just appear to anyone. They are God’s worker bees and they have purpose. They are sent. They interact with humans as needed. Angels cannot be prayed to or called upon.

I’m thinking that people who think they have had experiences or manifestations on earth with Christ or the Holy Spirit, may have actually had contact with an angel.

I have never seen an angel. But I have known people who I believe are mediators, who are totally submitted to the spirit of Christ, who have, indeed, been touched by angels.

What about you? Do you have a story?

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Binding Contracts

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This is what a lot of contract lawyers get paid to do: one to make the covenant and another to find enough loopholes to break it. What contracts or promises do we have to today that are truly binding? Partnerships? Marriage? Last Will and Testament? BFF? Pinky swear?

Galatians 3:15
Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case [between God and Abraham].

The covenant promise between God and Abraham happened 430 years before the laws were established through Moses. But we are told, it was still rock solid after all that time. In fact, of the three parts of the covenant (land, blessings & a Messianic descendant), it is the third part that created the expectation or anticipation of a savior.

There are two kinds of covenants: conditional and unconditional. In the conditional covenant, both parties must agree and both must live up to their agreement. If either side breaks the covenant, then it is no longer binding. An unconditional covenant only requires the completion or fulfillment of the covenant by one side. The Abrahamic covenant only required God’s participation. Abraham just had to “show up.”

Once this covenant was completed with the arrival of the Messiah, he entered into yet another binding, unconditional covenant: Grace, which would manifest in eternal salvation (our sins covered by the blood sacrifice of the Christ).

Like Abraham, I just have to show up. I just have to say yes to this covenant. This is the contract of redemption.

But for me, the excitement is not in showing up. It’s taking full advantage of the covenant. It’s participating in the process. It’s being present in the story. It’s having a relationship.

Like a marriage, the wedding ceremony is nice and the symbols of rings, kisses and blessings are edifying and even memorable. But it’s what happens later that really counts.

Unlike a marriage, God is willing to take me back again and again when I fall away or stray. Though I be like Gomer [Book of Hosea], my God is patient, and gracious, and loving. This, then, is the covenant of hope.

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