Today, we skip to the end of
chapter three of Galatians. Throughout
chapter 3, Paul makes a complicated legal argument that he actually explains more
fully in Romans 7-8 (which, remember has not been written yet). The gist of the argument is summarized in the
passage above. Our faith is Christ marks
our membership in Christ’s family, not our observance of any law. There is no basis for a hierarchy of any kind
in this family, for we have all received the same status as Christ before
God. No Jew above Gentile, no free man
above slave, and no men above women – we all have the same “righteous” status
with God. Paul simply used three common
divisions in the Galatian churches to make his point, but it’s important to
realize, he really means that there is no possible issue on which we can
establish a “pecking order.” If he were
writing to churches in America today, he might use different examples. He might say, “in Christ there is no clergy
or laypersons, no male or female (we still haven’t gotten that right), no gay
or straight, no white, black, or Hispanic” – one upmanship has NO PLACE in
God’s family.
It’s impossible to overestimate how
revolutionary this argument is in 55 AD.
In first-century Judaism, it was simply understood that Jews were better
than Gentiles, men were better than women, and free men (I do emphasize “men”
here) were better than slaves. Let push pause right there for a moment – what are
our current assumptions about the kinds of people that are better than other
kinds? Imagine that Paul used those
examples and you and I would be feeling the discomfort that the Galatians did
when they read this.
That’s why Paul makes the complicated legal
argument because he needs some rock-solid evidence that what he is saying is in
fact what God had in mind going all the way back to Abraham. While there is evidence that at least some of
Paul’s audience took this idea and began to put it in practice, it’s also safe
to say that those who practiced this radical vision of God’s community were in
the minority. Sadly, that’s still true
not quite two-thousand years later.
But if God can wait from the time
of Abraham to the time of Paul to see such a small advancement of this radical
vision. It is obvious that our patient God is “playing the long game.” God’s expectation, nevertheless, is that we
would continue to live into this radically egalitarian arrangement of the
Christian global family. It is the
expectation of God that every kind of “ism” will disappear in the Church. It should be our expectation too. As we
affirmed yesterday, this improvement program is primarily the work of the Holy
Spirit of God. We can’t make God’s
vision a reality by our own effort; only God can do that. But if we truly expect that God is moving in
that direction, why wouldn’t we move in that direction as well?
I see signs of hope that we
are. The majority of Methodist seminary
students now are women. Even some
leaders in the Southern Baptist Church are beginning to question its ban on
women clergy. Churches who are led by
laypeople are on the rise. Systemic
racism in church structures is beginning to be dismantled. Christian nationalism is being exposed for
ugly perversion of true Christianity that it is. Xenophobia is being called out in churches
where it never was before. Every day,
there seems to be another clergyman that falls off a pedestal where he never
belonged in the first place. These are
just some examples. It’s a messy process
to be sure, but God is using it all to forge the community that Paul is trying
to describe here in Galatians. The
invitation for us is to get on board.
Questions: Being brutally honest with yourself, are there
people you would rather not have as equal members of your family in
Christ?
Prayer: God, we make
the painful confession that we still have prejudices in the crevices of our
hearts that we can’t seem to remove on our own.
We admit this and we look forward to the day when you will remove
them. Make us and mold us as you
wish. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for leaders in positions uniquely positioned to facilitate needed reforms of the
Church (Bishops, denominational executives, etc).
Song: Help Us Accept
Each Other - Doug Smith
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