The Higher Way

In his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul calls them to a higher way.  The higher way as Paul spoke of it did not begin with the Jewish law.  According to the Apostle, the law was of value in that it served God's people as a disciplinarian "until Christ came."  (Galatians 3:24).  The law's value is affirmed as we hear Jesus saying in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17).  

As important as the law was to the Jewish people, it was meant to be a light which led the people of God forward until the Light came as flesh among us.  The Incarnation changed everything.  No longer would righteousness be defined by doing; instead, it would defined by a faith response to what God did through His son on the cross.  The law was confined within the constraints of a specific time.  Faith in Christ opened up the doors of eternity. The law divided people into two groups.  There were Jews and there were Gentiles.  There were the people of God and there were the heathens.  

With Christ all the divisions were shattered, "for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith....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."  (Galatians 3:26-28).  When Christ came the exclusivism of the law was replaced by the inclusive faith in Christ that opened the door for everyone regardless of the way old labels had provided for separation.

The Table of the Hypocrites

Simon Peter was Jesus' right hand man.  He is one regarded with super saint status.  Of course, we also know he was a man with one or two flaws.  Like the other disciples, he became more concerned about status instead of serving.  When Jesus needed someone to pray while He went apart to pray, Peter went to sleep.  When Jesus was being tried, Peter was out in the courtyard warming himself in front of a fire and mixing his language with a few expletives to prove he was not one of the disciples of Jesus.   

It might seem to some that Peter had gotten all the kinks worked out on his walk with Jesus on the beach.  On the Day of Pentecost this disciple who had been filled with the blowing wind of the Spirit preached a sermon which converted over three thousand people.  Those who are tempted to think that the baptized in the Spirit Petehad arrived at some super state in his spiritual life only need to read what Paul reported in his letter to the Galatian Christians.  Paul tells a story which tells of a Peter who still struggled with what people thought of him.  "But, when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face...for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But, after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction." (Galatians 2:12). 

Peter ate with the Gentiles until a visiting group of Jewish Christians showed up and then he backed away from the table.  His behavior is, of course, a visual definition of hypocrisy.  Peter, like any hypocrite said he believed one thing, but his actions betrayed him.  He wore two faces, one to please the Gentiles and then another as he tried to please the visitors from Jerusalem.  Whenever we preach one thing and practice another, we end up sitting at the table of the hypocrites with Simon Peter.  It is like sitting on a barb wire fence.  It becomes very uncomfortable.

The Angry Apostle

The letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians show us a "get in your face" kind of guy.  One thing he does not do is mince words.  No one in the room wonders what Paul is saying when he sits down.  He comes at you like a freight train!  From the very beginning, those who read the letter have a feeling that there is something different about what is coming.  There is no long section of blessings in the beginning.  In this way this letter is different from Ephesians, or Philippians, or Colossians.   

It is obvious that he is deeply concerned about the voices within the church which are undermining everything he has done and he is equally disturbed by those who hear those words as gospel truth.  Paul begins the letter by asserting that his authority as a prophet is not suspect.  In verse one he declares that he is "sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." Paul is not boasting or waving credentials in the air; instead, he is declaring that his authority is God given. Immediately, we run into Paul's chastising words, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel."  (Galatians 1:6).  

Such verses are ever present through the letter. "I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted," he wrote.  (Galatians 4:11).   "You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?"  (Galatians 5:7) and "You foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you?" (Galatians 3:1) are two other examples of his anger, but none speaks of his anger as much as Galatians 5:12.  "I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves."  The church of our day could use a few voices like the Apostle Paul.

Crucified With Christ

An image based in Scripture gets very little attention these days.  In Galatians 2:19-20 the Apostle Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives, but it is Christ who lives in me."  This verse is not acceptable for those who preach a comfortable gospel.  It is not for those who will sacrifice anything to make people feel accepted.  It is word which is often watered down to make it more palatable.  It is a word which leaves no margin for compromise.   

The image of crucifixion is, of course, not something people of our generation can visualize through their own experience.  We can read about it.  It is something so horrible and something so incompatible with our understanding of God as a God of love, that it is hardly mentioned in the church today.  Going through any kind of spiritual experience which resembles crucifixion is inconceivable.  Yet, here is Paul speaking of his witness by saying, "I have been crucified with Christ..."  

To be crucified with Christ as Paul speaks of it is an intentional decision.  It is not something to which we come by rambling.  It is a moment of choosing a letting go of what is past so that we can enter fully into what is ahead.  To be crucified with Christ speaks of finality.  There is no going back.  It involves a commitment to go forward into whatever it is that is ahead of us that we cannot see so long as it is according to the will of God.  It is about choosing His will over our will.  It is not an easy way and few really choose it.  To be crucified with Christ is about abandoning all rights to self  and choosing Jesus with no conditions and no reservations.

Jesus Alone

While my seminary experience has faded in the unfolding of decades of living, but there are a few things that became so much a part of who I am that they are impossible to forget.  One class I always remember is a quarter long course on the letter Paul wrote to the church at Galatia.  In addition to the daily lectures our class project was to write our own commentary on the letter which involved reading Galatians in several different translations, extensive commentary research, and word studies.  

Whenever I found myself in a situation of needing to lead a Bible study on short notice, Galatians was my first and natural choice.  While the Bible has relevance for the contemporary church, the letter Paul wrote to the Galatian churches is amazingly relevant.  The primary heresy which afflicted the church was what I have come to speak of as the "Jesus Plus Theology."  There were those in the church who were declaring that while faith in Jesus was a good thing, it was also necessary to submit to the Jewish practice of circumcision.  For the Apostle Paul, it was either the law which was a dead end street, or faith in Christ which provided the abundant life.  

Paul was quite emphatic.  In the fifth chapter we heard him saying, "Listen!  I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you...For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love." (Galatians 5:2, 6).  His anger over false teachers leading the church astray is best heard when he said, "I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves."  (Galatians 5:12)  Even after all these centuries, faith in Jesus is the necessary and primary response for anyone who seeks to walk after Christ.

A Seldom Used Gift

Recently I heard some poetry read that I had previously read.  Read not once, but many times.  As I listened carefully to the verbal rendering, I began to hear things I had not heard during the many readings. It sent me to thinking about the way I have often read the Psalms.  I read them like I read everything else.  I read them silently.  Not a sound is heard except for the turning of pages.  It occurred to me midst the reading of the poetry that reading silently may not be the best way to experience the Psalms of the Old Testament.  

One thing leads to another.  Perhaps, the  prayers I offer to God would be better if they were heard by ears other than His. Maybe there is value in my ears hearing the thoughts of my heart even as He does.  It might also help us when our minds began to wander.  Our quiet time does not have to be quiet.  It can be filled with our voice directing our thoughts to God in a more intentional way.  Somewhere a very long time ago, we were taught to pray by thinking our prayers instead of speaking them.  Maybe a change would be a good thing.  

Another thought which comes to mind as we think our quiet times is interrupting the quiet with singing.  So many times during our devotional moments some hymn or song of faith comes to mind.  Would it be such a serious break with the personal pattern we have established for praying to break out singing a song of praise or a hymn of meditation?  We may not be the best singer, but nowhere is it written that God takes no delight in our attempts to worship Him with our singing?  God has given us a voice and it seems to be one gift that we use the least in our private moments with Him. 

The Singing Dead

Back in the day when my seat in the sanctuary was the pulpit chair, I was the first one to hear the music from the choir as it left the choir loft and headed toward the upper confines of the balcony.  I loved being so close to such good music.  I am not sure if the Minister of Music who directed the choir realized I often sang softly along with the choir during their anthems.  If they did, no one ever chastised me.  I simply could not help myself.  

Even though the pulpit chair is no longer available to me, I am still prone to do a one man sing along either with the choir, or during a piano or organ prelude.  Since I usually sit on the first or second row, I figure soft singing will not bother anyone and so far no one in authority, or who sits beside me has told me to hush!  I indulged myself this past Sunday morning when the pianist was playing an old gospel hymn during the offertory. I had not heard "At the Cross" in such a long time.  "At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away.  It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day."  Maybe it sounds like a little sappy to some, but for me it was like fresh cool water being poured over my soul.   

John Wesley encouraged those who worship the Methodist way to sing.  The preface in the Methodist Hymnal has his seven directions for singing.  Number 4 is "Sing lustily and with good courage.  Beware of singing, as if you were half dead, or half asleep, but lift up your voice with strength."  I love to sing.  I wish I could do it better.  I wish we did more singing in our church and I wish, too, that it did not sometimes sound like the singing dead, singing.