When Elise and I were engaged and preparing for our wedding, one of the things we had to decide was what the format would be for the service. We made the decision to try to have both a priest and a rabbi perform the ceremony. We also decided to have it in the same facility where the reception was going to be. I now know that the wedding ceremony should be in a church, in the presence of the holy sacrament. I did not know this at the time.
We had a parish in Troy, Pennsylvania we were attending regularly and a synagogue in nearby Elmira, New York that we belonged to as well. Both the pastor of the church and the rabbi of the synagogue knew us pretty well. When we told them about our engagement they told us that we needed to go through classes before the wedding so that I could be more familiar with Judaism and Elise had some lessons in Catholicism. As part of the lessons with the Rabbi, he wanted to look over the music we were planning. He was obviously a little concerned that we would choose some modern day popular song with little relevance to the Jewish faith. The thought of playing “Tainted Love” during the ceremonial breaking of glasses I think kept him awake at night. He was relieved when he read the lyrics to the song we chose…”One Bread, One Body”. The refrain is from I Corinthians:
I Corinthians 10:16-17: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ: The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread”
But the first verse is directly from today’s first reading:
“For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
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.” (Galatians 3: 27-28)
Nothing could be more perfect. Our relationship and marriage was, and still is, One Bread and One Body. One Lord of all. Neither Jew or Greek (Gentile). We were becoming one in our faith. Needless to say, the Rabbi was very OK with our choice.
A little background from the first reading. The Christian community in Galatia that Paul founded was drifting away from the foundation Paul laid in the teachings of Christ. There was a movement back towards the law. The Mosaic teachings from the Torah…the first 5 books of the bible. In a sense they were telling new converts that, in order to be Christian, they had to first become Jewish. And that included every nip and tuck (if you get my drift) that comes along with it. Needless to say, there were some crossing of legs in the male applicants. Eventually the apostles declared that they were not bound to Jewish law in order to become followers of Christ. But before this decree, Paul had to have a serious conversation with this new community.
Bottom line was that The Law, as instituted by God through Moses, was not meant to be permanent. It was temporary. A placeholder if you will. The Israelites were wandering in the desert after 400 years of captivity in Egypt. They had not really practiced their faith during this time. They were children of Abraham, who worshipped the one true God through faith. Not some complex legal system. God made him a promise and they each had held up their end of the bargain. But this was all a distant memory for the Jews under Pharaoh. So when free and wandering, they were like children in terms of their knowledge of God. They needed direction. They needed discipline. And God gave them this direction with a network of 613 laws they governed their every action. From how they ate, slept, worshipped, married, business dealings…everything.
But God had a plan for them. God would be sending them a savior. Someone who would come to show them God. Literally. Teach them how to write the law on their hearts. How to let faith in God replace the works that were required with the law. The law could not save when sin was committed. It could only punish when its precepts were not adhered to. Faith, however, depended on free will, repentance and, most of all, mercy. Radical and inclusive to ALL. No division into categories of people. Slave versus Free, Male versus Female, Jew versus Greek. Liberal versus Conservative. We are all one in the new Kingdom.
So imagine Paul’s dismay when the Galatians turned their back on Christ’s teachings to go back to the law. It would be like wanting to return to the security of training wheels after having a Corvette. Like, “What” “Really”!? Are you nuts?! But we all sometimes want to revert to childhood ways when faced with uncertainty. We become nostalgic for the old days as a means of escaping from the challenges of adulthood. The story of the road to Emmaus is predicated on two disciples who are lost and dismayed at the death of Jesus. So they leave the challenges of Jerusalem to return to the familiar environment of the small town of Emmaus. Until Jesus finds them and steers them back on the right road.
And this is what the Galatians are doing. This new fangled religion has some difficulties that they did not anticipate. I am sure they were being threatened with death for their beliefs. And there was likely much uncertainty as to how the day to day functioning of the faith would go. WHERE do they worship. WHEN do they worship? HOW do they worship? They likely recalled the security of Judaism. They knew what they were expected to do for all aspects of their lives. It was written in the law. No need to think or step out in faith. But Paul put them back on the right road as well. To focus on the teachings of Christ and not on the minutia of the law.
As a matter of fact, Paul gets SO frustrated with them that he actually calls them the “Stupid Galatians!” I am guessing any pastor who resorts to this language from the pulpit to his congregation would probably get a visit from his Bishop. So may we not drive our priests to this level of concern for our spiritual well-being and remember Jesus’ sacrifice to pay the price for the sins that the law could not forgive. After all, Jesus told us that His word is like a two edged sword dividing bone from marrow…not a one edged knife dividing…well…you know.
