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You are all children of God

(Gal 3:26)

        During the long weekend of the Holy Week, I had a chance to read and reflect on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. I should like to share with you my reflections on this important letter of St. Paul in the hope that it will help you gain a deeper insight into the meaning of this epistle and its relevance to our life in the community today.

        Paul’s letter to the Galatians was prompted by the news of the wavering faith of the Christians in Galatia. This was a result of the preaching of Judaizing Christians who argued that in order to be a good Christian one had to be circumcised and observe other prescriptions of the Torah. This was of course contrary to his teachings and Paul wanted to correct the Galatians.

        St. Paul begins his letter with a strong declaration of his apostolic authority: For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal 1:11-12). By stating that the source of his teachings is Christ Himself, Paul wishes to assure the Galatians of the authenticity of his teachings.

        After a brief greeting, Paul proceeds immediately into the body of the letter with a resounding criticism of the Galatians calculated to “shame” them: You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! (Gal 3:1). Paul uses very strong language. He calls them foolish because Paul feels that the Galatians are in danger of deserting their salvation.

        It is quite evident in his letter that St. Paul has specific culprits in mind whom he holds responsible for confusing, troubling and unsettling the minds of the Galatians: There are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ (Gal 1:7). Paul is certain about who are causing the Galatians to abandon the faith that he has shared with them.

        His closing lines are as terse as the opening: For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride (Gal 6:3-4). Here Paul repeats his criticism of the Judaizers who are interested solely in personal satisfaction and in gaining accomplishment about which they might boast.

        Paul ends his letter with a plea to the Galatians not to add any more to his sufferings in the ministry by troubling him: From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body (Gal 6:17). Like a slave who is branded into his flesh with a mark to show to whom he belongs, Paul tells the Galatians that he already carries with him the marks of suffering and the scars of apostolic labor that show that he comes from Christ, and appeals to them not to add any further to his troubles.

        After reading Galatians, the verses that keep coming back into my mind are Gal 3:26 and 4:6-7: For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So that you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

        You may recall that in my talk on What Makes a Christian Marriage Work during the Marriage Enrichment Retreat II, I mentioned two “principles” that should govern our relationship as husbands and wives: the “Ephesians principle” and the “Galatians principle”. The Ephesians principle is derived from Ephesians 5:23-30 and states that the relationship in marriage is like the relationship between Christ and His Church. The Galatians principle is taken from Galatians 3:26 and 4:4-7 and states that husbands and wives are sons and daughters of God and therefore they are brothers and sisters in the Lord.

        Because we live a very intense life together as husbands and wives, disagreements, disappointments and hurts are inevitable. The same thing is true when we live in an active community such as the one we have in Couples for Christ. As we grow rapidly, as new members join us and new leaders emerge, there will be disagreements and disappointments. The Galatians principle applies to the relationship between members of Couples for Christ as it does between husbands and wives. We must inculcate in our minds that our brothers and sisters in the community are also sons and daughters of God worthy of our respect and love.

        We must keep on reminding ourselves that “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts” and therefore we can draw on this to find the humility to ask forgiveness and to forgive. We are no longer slaves of our own passion and pride. We are free! We can call on our Father to continue changing us, to be more loving and less critical, to be more concerned of others rather than ourselves. By our own strength, we will change little, if at all. But by drawing strength from the Father through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit, we can be fully transformed, we can be completely healed, we can be born again.

 My brothers and sisters, I ask you to read St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians and reflect on how it relates to you and your life in our community. You may find that certain verses will come back to you again and again. But I hope that among these verses would be St. Paul’s assurance that indeed we are all children of God and therefore we must love one another as brothers and sisters, heirs to the kingdom, which He promised to all of us.

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