Love Thy Neighbor (Galatians 5:7-15)

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In MT 22:38, 39, Jesus says in reference the Saducees asking him the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord, God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

How do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Well, first we need to know how to love ourselves. We do that in most regards daily by taking care of our needs in feeding ourselves, clothing ourselves, taking care of our hygiene. We go for a walk if we need space and time to think. We buy ourselves a special treat sometimes to make us fee good, or pamper ourselves in some way.

How can we use these same things to show love to someone else? A “neighbor” is not just our neighbor in property, but also anyone who needs our help. We can certainly help others meet basic needs by supporting can food or coat drives at local schools or churches, or bring to a local food pantry or homeless shelter. But we can go beyond that. Offer to babysit for free if you know someone who is a single parent that works a lot (or even two parents that work a lot because I know it happens) and might need a chance to run errands kids-free. Bring food to a family who just had a baby or just had a loss. Offer to visit (if even on the front porch 6’ apart) an elderly person who lives alone. And bring something to share with them as a treat. Or use money you have set aside to buy a spa gift card for a mom who needs time to feel pampered.

If we have children, teach them to love their neighbor as well. Talk to them about noticing who looks alone at recess and try to talk with those kids. Older kids can look and see if younger kids are standing alone and maybe go ask them about their day. Not to point that they are alone, just make conversation. We never know how such a simple act can change someone’s day.

Faith and Love (Galatians 5:1-6)

Galatians 5:4   You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

It is easy to think that the only way to fall from grace is to commit a moral sin. But when we sin and truly repent, we are actually falling into grace. Falling from grace can happen when people try to believe that they are saved by their conduct, that it is through things they did according to the law in which they earned grace. This shows that they didn't truly believe Jesus's resurrection saved them, so they separated themselves from Christ in their hearts. 

It is only through God we receive righteousness. So if we sin, and we will, turning to God and repenting because we are truly sorry is how we are in his graces.  If we bind ourselves to earthly works or conducts prescribed in the old testament, we are only allowing him half of our heart. God wants our whole heart. We are called to wait and receive God's grace through our faith. Our faith teaches us to turn to God whole heartedly. Our faith works through love. Jesus walked with his cross all the way to Golgotha, falling but getting up each time, to show us his unconditional love for us. He was nailed on a cross for our sins. He hung there for three hours before his final breath. His faith in God's plans to release us from our sins through his suffering is love. 

Lord, I pray that my faith stands strong against this world. I pray that your light is seen in all corners of the world. I pray that your word is loud enough for the nay-sayers to hear. I pray to live according to your word, through faith, loving Jesus and sharing his love.

We are Free (Galatians 4:21-31)

Galatians 4:31 Therefore, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman.

Paul explained the hidden meaning of the story of Abraham and his two sons, and how it related to the covenants God had made. Abraham had two sons, one from Hagar the slave, and the other from Sarah, the free woman. Ishmael was born from the flesh, in that he was born because of the lack of faith in God. Sarah didn't believe she would be able to conceive a son for Abraham, and instead of having faith in God's promises, she convinced Abraham to have a son with her servant, Hagar. The people living by the old law were living in the flesh, because they didn't have faith in God's gift of Jesus for our sins. They still believed they had to acquire forgivness and grace by trying to live by standards God had given hundreds of years before.  They believed they were spiritual because they obeyed them, and judged others on the basis of these standards. 

Issac, son of Sarah and Abraham, was born of the spirit, because it was through God's promise that he was born. Through a miracle of God, one that he had promised, Sarah conceived in her old age and had Issac. When we live according to faith, God's promise of forgivness and salvation awaits us. Because Jesus's death and resurrection, we are children of the free woman. We are no longer held by slavery of the old law. 

It is truly wonderful to not be held by shackles, to know that through our faith we are free. We aren't being held accountable by a strict black and white rule book that is impossible to live up to. Our faith is what we are accountable for. Jesus saved us. He broke the chains of our sins. We are free.

Lord, thank you for loving me so much to send your only son to break my chains. Thank you for your grace and mercy, even though I make mistakes. Thank you for setting me free. 

Obligations vs Faith (Galatians 4:8-20)

Galatians 4:8-9 At a time when you did not know God, you became slaves to things that by nature are not gods; but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and destitute elemental powers? Do you want to be slaves to them all over again?

Paul is asking the people why they are sticking tight to the old law that Jesus freed them from. They were following the old law before Paul had told them of Jesus, and they seemed to be following faith, but they have slipped back into believing that following the old law gives them grace from God for their sins. But as we have read before, those who continued to follow the old law were always doomed to failure, because no one upheld the laws perfectly. And God sent us Jesus so that we no longer had to follow the old laws. We no longer are held to specific days of worship, or sacrifices, or staying away from certain foods. We are no longer held by such strict rules in order to obtain good graces, because Jesus took all of our sins with him. 

It is through faith alone that we are saved. If we choose to follow God's word and do merciful acts for others, we must do them with free will and unconditionally; without being rewarded or even telling people. It is through faith that we serve others, it is through faith that we put others before ourselves. Because through faith, we know that God sees our heart. He sees our true intentions. Don't go to church on Christmas and Easter because you feel obligated to, or because you want others to see you. Go to church because you want to thank God what you have been given. Go often because you have so much to be grateful for. God because your faith reminds you that you need Him. Church is not an obligation. It was given to us by Jesus and through our faith we thank him. 

We don't have faith in the building itself, just like we don't have faith in the specific works we do. Our faith is in Jesus, and through our faith, maybe others can see Him and come to know him. Our faith is bigger than any building, bigger than any religion. Faith comes in all shapes and sizes, and can't be stuffed into a specific box. Everyone shows faith differently, and we must remember to never think "oh they aren't showing God's works there," or "God can't possibly be present there," just because it isn't ours. God is bigger than what our mind can image. 

He redeemed me (Galatians 4:1-7)

Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law so that we might receive adoption. 

When the fullness of time had come

God’s timing is not our timing. He could have had Jesus come at any time before or any time after. For those who were struggling, waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, the time was long. But for God, it was just the right time. Just like today, we may be praying and praying and praying for something, and get frustrated when we don’t see fruition. It’s not time yet. Many times, the conversion of heart doesn’t happen until the person is old. Because that was the right time. God always knows when the right time is, and that is not something for us to understand or try to rush.

God sent his son…to ransom those under the law

Another version uses the word “redeem” for “ransom.” He gained possession of us in exchange for his death. He obtained the release of us as prisoner by making the paying demanded (blood of the lamb). Our Lord Jesus Christ was born as a baby to grow up and die on a cross so he could purchase our slave debt of sin. 

How amazing. We have been set free by the love of our God. The reason we were slaves was our own selfishness and greed, trying to be better than, always seeking the created instead of the creator. But God still loved us. He still loves us. No matter our sin. No matter our baggage. The enemy will do everything he can do, but God can do more. Let God fight for you, friend. Let him adopt you into his family. 

One Bread, One Body (Galatians 3:15-29)

Galatians 3:26, 28 For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

There is a song sometimes song during Communion at the Catholic Mass, called “One Bread, One Body.” It speaks to this verse. Our faith connects us to all Christians. There is no discrimination on race, gender, social ranking. We are all one body of God. We need to strive to keep unity in our Church, and stop allowing discrimination to separate us. We need to stop allowing worldly views and flesh desires take us away from our focus. God calls us all to follow his Word as he gave it. He calls us to remain faithful to his Word in spite of the world trying to change it. We all share in  body of Christ, that he gave for us.

One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the Earth
We are one body in this one Lord

Gentile or Jew
Servant or free
Woman or man
No more

One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the Earth
We are one body in this one Lord

Many the gifts, many the works
One in the Lord
Of all

One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we, though many, throughout the Earth
We are one body in this one Lord
We are one body in this one Lord

Michael Talbot 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OshpSD0z1ts

I welcome you to watch the video above. It is the song and Jesus breaking bread with the disciplines at the last supper. 

Show me Your Heart (Galatians 3:10-14)

Galatians 3:10 For all who depend on works of the ,as are under a curse; for it is written, “cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law.”

Paul is explaining that those who insisted people must follow the law to obtain grace from God are cursed, because no one follows the old law correctly and perfectly. And the old law stated that any fault of the law made the one who faulted cursed. There were ways for those who faulted to be redeemed; through sin or guilt offerings (by animal sacrifices). But the big thing was that the law they kept trying to push required that ALL of its provisions be followed. Not just pick and choose what you wanted to follow. These leaders at this time overlooked small transgressions, and Paul did not. 

As we have read in Galatians several times, it is through faith alone that we are saved. God calls us to follow his word. Jesus told us to tend to his sheep. All of the things we do should be to honor God, and not ourselves. By raising a flag, or turning on a neon sign every time we do something Jesus asked us to do, it shows our hearts are removed from God. In Matthew 6, we are told by Jesus not to blow a trumpet when we give alms, but to do so in secret. We are told not to pray loudly on street corners for all to hear, but instead go into our inner room and pray to God in secret. We are told when we fast, to not let ourselves look gloomy nor be negligent in our hygiene. Our Father will see what is hidden and repay us. 

Our actions for God must be done with sincere faith- knowing that God will see our works, and will thank us in heaven. And that must be enough. That is the internal faith we need to have. God sees our hearts and knows our intent. What does your heart say about you?

Lord, I know you see my heart. I pray to live by faith. I don’t need others to see me, but to see you. Let my works be true. Make my heart pure.

By Faith Alone (Galatians 3:1-9

Galatians 3:2-3 I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard? Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?

ESV 3:3 Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 

Paul was reminding the Galatians that they earned the Holy Spirit by believing in Jesus. Not from how well they follows the Torah law. These laws include men not shaving their beards, to wear a pendant with the scripture on their foreheads, to circumcise male children on their 8th day, to do no works on specific days during feasts, to eat kosher, etc. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, he was the greatest sacrifice. He was the lamb, sacrificed for all our sins. His death and resurrection fulfilled all the laws of the Old Testament. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus tell us he did not come to abolish the laws, but to fulfill them. This action of his is how we all earned God’s grace. 

We were not there to see Jesus sacrificed. But through what we have heard, thought we have not seen, we believe. And Jesus told Thomas that those we believe without seeing would be blessed. Through our obedience of God, our faith saves us. To be obedient, we must give away our old life, our life without God. We must walk away from those who talk against God’s teachings. This is the way to receive grace.

Lord, I thank you for giving us your only son to die on a cross for my sins. In his name, my God have mercy on me.

Don’t Forget the Works (Galatians 2:17-21)

Galatians 2:19 But if I am building up those things that I tore down, the. I show myself to be a transgressor. 

Through Jesus’s death, we receive grace for our sins. As Christians we believe that. In the early times, the Jewish people believed you had to live by the Moses Law to receive grace. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus tells us that he came to fulfill the old law, and through his fulfillment, we no longer had to comply with it. The old law included things like sacrifices, males getting circumcised, eating kosher, etc. 

It is easy to get confused on this point when people say that it is not in our good works that we are saved, and we need to only live by faith. This is 100% correct, but the good works in the Bible refers to the old law following. Living by faith requires us to do the work of God by showing his word and living his Word. We are not saved by this, as we know we are saved because of Christ death, but Christ told us to feed his sheep. So we still have to tend to the people who need tending to. And not for rewards or receiving acknowledgement for our deeds. We need to do them from our heart with no self-recognition in mind.

These actions don’t necessarily win us brownie points with God, but I wonder when we get to be in front of Him, and he asks if we tended our sheep, what response would we give? I prayed daily, I went to Mass, I said the Rosary, I accepted Jesus in my heart. “Yes, but did you feed my sheep?” Did I share God’s grace with others? Do I pass along the greatness that he has shown me? I was blessed to be born into a Christian family and know Jesus from the beginning (though yes I had a period where I did not accept him like I should), but am I helping those who did not have that luxury? Am I attending to the poor? Did I feed the hungry? Give water to the thirsty? Clothe the naked? Shelter the homeless? Visit the sick, imprisoned, or captives? Did I help bury the dead?

Jesus’s death on the cross took away all my sins. I still actively seek his forgiveness when I see the walls of sin begin to take form again in my life. And because I know him and his love, and his love is so great, why would I not want to share it with others? 

Hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-16)

Galatians 2:14 …If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?

Paul challenged Cephas and Barnabas for their inconsistency of teaching the Gentiles. When they first arrived, they ate with the non-Jews and began teaching them, but then fell into the Gentiles way of living. Then when influential Jewish leaders arrived, they became fearful and stopped, and acted like they had lived as Jews the whole time. 

If we are not living as God has instructed us, how can we bring others close to Christ? If we are afraid of being seeing helping others who need God, how can we show them God’s way? If we choose to continue to live in sin, how can we tell others about God’s word on morals? If we pretend to be living God’s word outside our home, but inside it, we do the opposite, how does that show God our faith in him? What right do we have to try and convince someone else to live in God’s word if we do not? This is simply hypocrisy. 

Lord, I pray that you continue to break me from the world, so I do not fall into the world. I want to live in your Word, Lord God. It is my honor to put your first in everything I do. 

Be Mindful of Those in Need (Galatians 2:1-10)

Galatians 2:10 Only, we were to be mindful of the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do. 

The collection for the poor was extremely important in Paul’s works. We are called to use God’s grace he has given us to show his works to others. Even when we think we are struggling, we have been blessed by God. That blessing should motivate us to help others. Think of Jesus’s story in Matthew of the widow who gave her two coins to the temple treasury. She had less than all the others, but she knew she had been blessed and wanted to share her blessing. 

In what ways can I give more of myself and share God’s graces? Do allow myself to think I am too busy to help others? God has given me so much, through the blessings of others. I am reminded of that during this hurricane season being back in the south. I see the destruction that the storms caused and I remember the blessings we received from those around us 16 years ago after Hurricane Rita. And I know that I need to share what I have that God has blessed us with now with those who have lost. 

Lord, I pray I never feel too busy to help others around me. I pray that I am open to your word of being mindful of the poor. Help my heart to always be willing. 

Who am I called to be? (Galatians 1:11-24

Galatians 1:12-13 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

Paul was a zealot, uncompromising in his position of his ancestral Jewish traditions and ideals, and was a persecutor of the church. He swore murderous threats against the disciples of Jesus. Then one day, on the road to Damascus to collect names of men and women belonging to Jesus's way, Paul encountered Jesus. Jesus struck Paul blind and told him to go into the city and await instruction. There, Ananias healed Paul and told him he would gain the Holy Spirit. (Acts 9)

God chose Paul to be an instrument for his Word. Paul, someone known for hunting down followers of Jesus. Paul, a sinner. God chose him to spread his Word. If God could choose a man known as a murder, a sinner, why wouldn't God also want me? It's so easy to think that we aren't good enough for God to want us. But he does! He chose us before we were in our mother's wombs. He created our plan way before we were made. He is calling us to use our gifts for Him. We are enough. You are enough. I am enough. Because Jesus Christ died on a cross for our sins. Through his grace, we are called. 

Who is God calling you to be? Are you going to pick up that call?

Manipulation (Galatians 1:6-10)

Galatians 1:10 Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. 

Paul is speaking to the Galatians who were new converts to Christianity, those who have allowed others to fill their heads with false gospel. These people have turned away so soon from Jesus's grace. They were fooled into believing words from others who claimed to also know Jesus, but were perverting the gospel that Jesus prevented by adding things to Jesus's words. These people were trying to twist the true gospel to better fit their wants and desires, to fit around what they believed to be right. Instead of trying to please God with following what was actually told to them by Jesus, they were trying to please themselves and please other men with their false gospel to gain more followers. 

We are not called to please other men. We are not called to seek favors with humans. We are called to please God. And the only way to do that is to follow the Word he has given us. This requires us to seriously consider who we are listening to, and what is the message. Are they trying to manipulate God's truth to fit their means? Are they bending and twisting the Bible to better fit today's standards? 

Questions to ponder: Am I sharing the truth when I speak of God? Or do I twist his truth for my personal gain? Do I manipulate his Word to make my actions seem right? Am I allowing someone else to manipulate God's word and therefore manipulate me?

Lord, I pray that your Word always be in my heart. I pray that when I speak, I speak your truth. I pray that I seek only to please you, and not man. I pray that you continue to guide me through these difficult times we are in, and fully put my faith and trust in you, and in those you have gifted to help us. Amen

Gifts from Above (Galatians 1:1-5)

 Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle not from human beings nor through a human being but through Jesus Christ and God the Father

Paul addresses his letter to the Galatians by first letting them know that he is an apostle, but he was not given this role by another human, nor another one of the disciples. He was given the role of apostle by Jesus and God, so the words that flow from Paul are indeed from Jesus. His words contain a specific authority, and should be worth more than words given from a man made prophet.

Paul's gift of apostleship from God is a reminder that our gifts also come from God. And we all have different gifts. When we use our gifts, we should truly turn the attention to God, and not take pride in something we couldn't achieve on our own. Nor do we obtain them from another person on this planet. We must also remember, that just as Paul was not always successful in using his apostleship to change hearts, we will not always be successful in our gifts. But that doesn't mean God wasn't there or God didn't care. 

I am humbled when I read about the people God chose to lead His war. These people were sinners, like me. They failed, like me. But God chose them for a reason, just like me. I may not always get it right, and even when I use my gifts right, it may not always have the outcome I was hoping for. But God knows why he put me in the place I am, and I will take comfort in knowing that He is in charge.

Lord, I kneel in prayer today, thanking you for the gifts you have given me. When I falter Lord, thank you for your grace. Thank you for humbling me to remind me that it is only through your power that my gifts will grow and multiply. Thank you for never leaving me alone.