|
Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany
January 24, 2025
Feast of Florence Li Tim-Oi
Reading: Galatians 3:23-29
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
Paul is struggling to address a deep misconception that seems to have captured the attention of the new community in Galatia. Some seem to believe that they have received the Spirit because of the law and not by faith. They seem to have given the law a centrality to faith that is highly questionable. It might be highly desirable to construct a life of “faith” that depends upon following rules. It seems to tempt one to “keep score” in terms of one’s behavior that is shaped to follow - or not - the rules. I imagine that this point of view persists today. Sadly, it means one has missed the larger and more compelling assurance of life, that is, what God has done in Christ: to raise Jesus from the dead. By placing their future and faith in their ability to follow the law, the Galatians have become misguided. Paul’s strong criticism in this letter—seemingly aimed at the law—is not directed to the law itself, but at his opponents who have placed the observance of the law as central to faith.
Paul structures his story so that it is presented in two forms - first there is God’s promise and order that is fulfilled. Differently put, there is the one telling of the story from the promise to Abraham up to the fulfillment in the Messiah. Paul also tells the story from the point of the perceived disruption between Moses and the Torah on the one hand and the Messiah on the other. Something new has occurred: a fresh divine act has broken into the trap into which Israel has been forced because of the Torah. This period of time in which life seems unrelieved has at last come to an end with the dawning of a new age on an unprepared and surprised world.
The Torah kept a firm hand on the Jewish people as it prevented them from drifting away from divine purposes (as their history and prophecies told them they were prone to do,) The Torah proved to be a babysitter but not a tutor whose role was to provide teaching. With the coming of faithfulness, the people have matured. And the long, frustrating and tedious period has finally come to an end caused by a new event. The family has come of age, and found new members, “for you are all children of God, through faith in the Messiah.” This faith is a badge that demonstrates that you are in the Messiah. It is through baptism that this is accomplished. It is this that has the effect of diminishing the influence or meaning of categories - Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. Paul does not expect, nor should we, that all ethnic, social and gender related categories cease to have meaning. Paul has redefined election through the Messiah. In Christ, something extraordinary has happened, there is neither Jew nor Greek. In Christ, the distinctions of being a Jew or a Gentile are reframed. They can be one in ChrisIt. This has always been so in Christ, specifically in what God has done through Christ. Thanks be to God.
For the Human Family
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in the bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
| 
