Scripture Reading: Galatians 2 (NRSV)
We see the drama accelerate as the story unfolds. Earlier Titus as a Greek (and thus, a Gentile) was not circumcised. Furthermore, he was not compelled in the faith in Jesus Christ to submit to the knife.
And so, we see the controversy within the first twenty-five years of our faith.
In order to be a Christian, do you need to be circumcised?
Certainly if you were originally Jewish, the matter was decided for you prior to your awareness. But if you were an adult Gentile, like Titus, there were some claiming your illegitimacy before God. They would have pressured any men to be circumcised - especially if they wanted to pursue any leadership opportunities.
Paul is struggling against this faction and according to his letter, even Peter (Cephas) is wavering on his commitment to inclusion. This shows us how difficult change would have been. Circumcision was the original sign of the covenant, commanded by God. In fact, in Genesis 17:4, we hear God's direct teaching on the subject:
"Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
How does Paul disregard this obvious teaching?
He has prioritized the faith of Christ as what justifies us before God even over circumcision. This is consistent with the prophetic tradition from Jeremiah 4:4 which reads:
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts, O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will go forth like fire, and burn with no one to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
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| Do you think God ever mistakes us for ducks? |
An outward sign is not as meaningful to God as changed behavior. So Gentiles or Jews could move forward in this faith. But it was enough to make many of the faithful sick. Paul could sympathize in a way because he used to be one of them!
Maybe this is why he gets so worked up - he sees himself in his opponents.
Sometimes we get angry with others because we may feel guilty about the fact that we remember how we used to believe or behave. It may not even be that the act itself was so bad, but because we have moved away from that position, it seems anathema to us.
We may ask them, "Why can't you see like I see now?"
Prayer for the day:
Blessed God, we give thanks that you measure our lives along a continuum rather than a specific moment of weakness. We give thanks for this faith of Christ that justifies us. Yet, we still find ourselves casting a wary eye on others - they may be lacking in some way. Give us patience as we listen to one another. Have patience with us as we grow in maturity. We pray these things in Christ's holy name. Amen.
Photo by Veit via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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