For those of us who keep the discipline of the daily office (Morning and Evening Prayer), we commenced this morning with St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
It’s not always the most gracious of the epistles, but it’s definitely filled with passion! In this letter, perhaps stronger than in some of his others, St. Paul makes it plain that Christians do not have to follow the law, the Torah (including circumcision) to be faithful. He’s upset because some of the early Christian leaders, especially in Galatia, were saying the opposite: that adherence to the law was a prerequisite to follow Jesus.
We know that St. Paul experienced his own liberation. We can too. The endless rat-race of constantly evaluating ourselves, “am I okay?” can be replaced with a spirit of acceptance and affirmation. In our culture it's especially hard not to concentrate on having “the perfect life,” whatever that is, and that leads to a concern about whether people approve of us. St. Paul knew this struggle, and he had come out on the other side. So, there's hope for us!
A central gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is unqualified, unadulterated acceptance. Paul preached this, and so do we. For the 60% of Episcopalians who have found our church as adults, Galatians reflects a kind of liberation...especially for those who have come from fundamentalist backgrounds where legalism and perfection were emphasized.
Among the many gifts of Jesus Christ is freedom from anxiety about whether we’re accepted and loved. The answer, always, is “YES!” You are accepted, loved, and freed.
