Subjected to testing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to confront the tension between declaring an orthodox position and being able to recognize our inherent position of being unknowing in the ways of God.

Truth and beauty

Paul explains to the Galatians that he is teaching a message in accord with the Church pillars in Jerusalem, even if the actions of Peter appear to contradict the orthodoxy.

* [2:11–14] The decision reached in Jerusalem (Gal 2:3–7) recognized the freedom of Gentile Christians from the Jewish law. But the problem of table fellowship between Jewish Christians, who possibly still kept kosher food regulations, and Gentile believers was not yet settled. When Cephas first came to the racially mixed community of Jewish and Gentile Christians in Antioch (Gal 2:12), he ate with non-Jews. Pressure from persons arriving later from Jerusalem caused him and Barnabas to draw back. Paul therefore publicly rebuked Peter’s inconsistency toward the gospel (Gal 2:14). Some think that what Paul said on that occasion extends through Gal 2:16, 21

In the Gospel from Luke, one of Jesus many occasions of prayer is to teach us to recognize God as Father.

* [11:1–4] The Matthean form of the “Our Father” occurs in the “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 6:9–15); the shorter Lucan version is presented while Jesus is at prayer (see note on Lk 3:21) and his disciples ask him to teach them to pray just as John taught his disciples to pray. In answer to their question, Jesus presents them with an example of a Christian communal prayer that stresses the fatherhood of God and acknowledges him as the one to whom the Christian disciple owes daily sustenance (Lk 11:3), forgiveness (Lk 11:4), and deliverance from the final trial (Lk 11:4). See also notes on Mt 6:9–13.

George Butterfield comments that Paul traveled to Jerusalem and presented the Good News that he preached to the original apostles so that everyone would "be on the same page." He did not want to be running in vain.

Running is Old Testament language for a prophet, a missionary, an apostle (which means, "one who is sent"). A prophet stands in the council of God, gazes upon the beauty of God, hears his voice, is commissioned to take God's word to the people, and then is sent on his mission. When he is sent, he runs. He is a missionary, an apostle, a runner. Jeremiah refers to false prophets who did not hear the voice of God and wasn't sent by him but ran anyway. In other words, they made up God's word as they went along. Paul is not so arrogant as to think that consulting with the other apostles is somehow a denial of his mission from Jesus. Thus, he meets with them so that they can know for sure that he has been entrusted with the same Gospel that they proclaimed, although their mission was to the Jews and his to the Gentiles. They recognized that the same grace working in them was working in him.

John J Parsons claims that many Christian commentators of the Book of Galatians fail to make certain critical distinctions between the idea of “law” and the idea of “covenant”. He notes the importance of the ongoing meaning of the Torah for Christians today.

Don Schwager quotes Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD) on the privilege and responsibility of calling God Father.

"For the Savior said, 'When you pray, say, 'Our Father.' And another of the holy Evangelists adds, 'who art in heaven' (Matthew 6:9)... He gives his own glory to us. He raises slaves to the dignity of freedom. He crowns the human condition with such honor as surpasses the power of nature. He brings to pass what was spoken of old by the voice of the psalmist: 'I said, you are gods, and all of you children of the Most High' (Psalm 82:6). He rescues us from the measure of slavery, giving us by his grace what we did not possess by nature, and permits us to call God 'Father,' as being admitted to the rank of sons. We received this, together with all our other privileges, from him. One of these privileges is the dignity of freedom, a gift peculiarly befitting those who have been called to be sons. He commands us, therefore, to take boldness and say in our prayers, 'Our Father.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 71)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 comments that St. Paul cites the pillars that support the Church. He uses this term to describe James and Peter and John, leaders who set the course for the Church, provided support and stability, and upheld all the people around them.

Friar Jude Winkler, OFM Conv, sheds light on the decision to release Gentiles from full observance of Jewish legal observances while maintaining a kind of Temple tax. In Matthew is the Our Father of community liturgy and in Luke the prayer Jesus taught. Friar Jude connects the Jewish understanding of the “contagion of sin” to the problem of baptized Gentiles who are not still caught up in their sin.

Stepping back from the details of religious practice, Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares a reflection of Rick Hocker that resonates with the imagery of Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) who describes the soul as a castle with a series of mansions through which we journey.

Let’s consider a drop of water as a metaphor for God’s indwelling presence. Water drops in the atmosphere are created when water vapor condenses on tiny particles of dust. At the center of every water drop is a particle. Similarly, every soul is wrapped around a particle of God, but this particle, although small, is boundless since the infinite God isn’t confined. God is found at your innermost center . . . and beyond.
It’s not just that God dwells inside you, but God is at the center of your spiritual makeup, an integral and enduring part of who you are. God is not added to you, but you are added to God. God is the foundation onto which your soul is built. Everyone you meet is also a God-particle wrapped in a soul.

That God is One resounds from the Shema and is at the core of revelations to Christian mystics. Our openness and patience with the tension between different religious practices recognizes our depth of unknowing.

References

(n.d.). Galatians chapter 2 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/galatians/2
(n.d.). Luke chapter 11 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/11:29
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved October 10, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Do we die to the Torah? Thoughts on Galatians - Hebrew for Christians. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Galatians/galatians.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/