*Bible study begins Wednesday, February 11, 3:00 – 4:00pm at St. Mary’s Annex.*

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To Live the Great Commandment: Love of God and Love of Neighbor

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Holy Family Catholic Community Spring Bible Study

Holy Family Catholic Community extends an open invitation to all parishioner to join our Faith Enrichment Community in exploring and studying the Holy Scriptures and this time St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. All that is needed is your Bible and a smile. Bible Study classes take place on Wednesdays afternoon from 3.00- 4.00 PM, in the ANNEX building. This will commence on February 11th for six weeks until March 25. Paul wrote this circular letter to churches in the Roman province of Galatia where he had ministered in 53/54 AD. The letter was meant to be read aloud in each congregation, so it is helpful to think of it as a speech rather than simply a letter. A Catholic introduction to studying Galatians centers on its passionate defense of justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by observing the Old Testament Law, a core truth Paul fiercely defends against “Judaizers” trying to impose circumcision and Jewish rituals on Gentile converts. Key themes include Paul’s apostolic authority (from God, not men), true Christian freedom in the Spirit versus bondage to the Law, and living a transformed life of love, contrasting the “works of the flesh” with the “fruit of the Spirit”. It’s a call back to the pure Gospel, emphasizing grace and the new life in Christ. Paul proves that the Galatians received the Holy Spirit not because of their observance of the Law but because of faith; that Abraham was justified by faith before circumcision or the giving of the Law; that the Law was a pedagogue [educator, tutor or teacher] unto Christ and abrogated at His coming. He exhorts the Galatians to abide in that freedom with which Christ made them free.

These Judaizers insisted on the necessity of following certain precepts of the Mosaic Law along with faith in Christ. They were undermining Paul’s authority also, asserting that he had not been trained by Jesus himself, that his gospel did not agree with that of the original and true apostles in Jerusalem, that he had kept from his converts in Galatia the necessity of accepting circumcision and other key obligations of the Jewish law, in order more easily to win them to Christ, and that his gospel was thus not the full and authentic one held by “those of repute” in Jerusalem (Gal 2:2). When Paul learned of the situation, he wrote a defense of his apostolic authority and of the correct understanding of the faith. He set forth the unique importance of Christ and his redemptive sacrifice on the cross, the freedom that Christians enjoy from the old burdens of the law, the total sufficiency of Christ and of faith in Christ as the way to God and to eternal life, and the beauty of the new life of the Spirit. Galatians is thus a summary of basic Pauline theology. Its themes were more fully and less polemically developed in the Letter to the Romans.

The direct and confrontational personality of Paul clearly comes out in Galatians, especially in Chapter 2, when he confronts Peter in Antioch over the “Judaizers.” These Judaizers” felt that Christian converts had to observe the Jewish Law as well as follow the teachings of Christ, and this applied even to Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas raised this issue at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) and had clearly won the day with the argument that Christianity stood on its own and Christians did not need to observe the customs of the Jewish law, such as circumcision and other Mosaic rituals. They were supported by Peter, the leader of the Apostles, with four qualifications added by James, the Bishop of Jerusalem: to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and unlawful marriage. A Letter of the Apostles concluded (Acts 15:29)

Paul begins by establishing his authority as an apostle. He explains from his life story how God called him to be an apostle and gave him the revelation of Jesus (1:16). He consulted with Peter (Cephas) and James in Jerusalem and then proclaimed the gospel for 14 years without seeing the other apostles. When he did see them again, they approved of the message he had been preaching to the Gentiles (cf. Acts 15). But Paul confronted Peter in Antioch because Peter had stopped eating with the Gentiles out of fear of the false Jewish teachers-the “circumcision party.” Paul challenged Peter’s hypocritical behavior. It is significant that Peter and Paul did not have an intellectual or doctrinal dispute, but only an argument about Peter’s actions.

The central theological question of Galatians is justification: How is a person saved. When Paul uses the word “law” he is referring to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, the Law of Moses. So the phrase “works of the law” primarily refers to doing things that the Law of Moses proscribed like circumcision and dietary restrictions. Paul makes it very clear that “a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (2:16). We cannot earn our salvation. Jesus won our salvation by his death on the cross. We obtain this salvation by faith, which is a free gift of God.

Galatians introduces a very helpful piece of spiritual wisdom that we are to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh (5:16-26). When we become Christians, the desires of the sinful nature (the flesh) are supplanted by the desires of the Spirit. The struggle for holiness is the working out of these opposing desires. In these versus Paul contrasts the Fruits of the Spirit versus the works of the Flesh. The nine Fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (5:22-23). Finally in Galatians 6:7, St. Paul emphasizes the importance of good works and constantly acting in love, for one truly reaps what one sows. “We are called to accept salvation through faith in Jesus and to pursue holiness by walking in Spirit and doing good.” Please join in in our bible study! In the final analysis, the bible is given to us a place of dialogue, for us to meet with Him, to hear His voice, and respond to Him. We are called to be friends. He wants us to be increasingly united with him in faith, hope and love so that we can be prepared for an eternity at his right hand. Encountering him through Scripture on a daily basis is one of the secrets to this transforming journey from glory to glory. Fr. John

 

 

 

 

Mission Statement

To live the Great Commandment
Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  And
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22: 37-38