In verse six he writes, “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.” Paul is exhorting the Galatians to take care of their Gospel teachers financially as part of their responsibility to the household of faith. At this beginning of this passage in verse six, Paul emphasizes that our commitment to the community begins with a commitment to provide for those who teach the Gospel. “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Our faith will take shape in the way we treat the community of faith as well as those beyond the community of faith. Verse 10 highlights the center of his point. We are called to live out both aspects of responsibility. At the same time, we are growing up in a body of relations with other people. Each of us is growing up into Christ and His call to us.
And yet, this does not mean that we lose sight of our own responsibility before God.
We are bound up with others in a series of relations. We seek to restore those who fall but we also seek to be responsible for our own walk of faith. Paul holds this community commitment in tension with our personal responsibility. We are not carrying their sin on us as Jesus did, but we are seeking to help restore those who have fallen or walked away to communion with God and with the body. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Just as Christ bore our sins on the cross, we bear one another’s burdens. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. In today’s passage, he starts out by focusing on our responsibility to gently restore those caught in transgression. Throughout Paul’s letter, he focuses on a variety of ways we support and care for one another.
In Galatians Six, our passage begins by highlighting our responsibility to one another. Today we’ll pause over this Galatians passage. It is the end of a longer argument in Galatians about faith expressing itself through love. Our second lesson focuses upon life within the community. Yet, the Good News of Jesus Christ will spread, communities of faith will be planted, and a people who bear witness to the love of God will grow. In Acts, disciples will be stoned, beheaded, beaten, imprisoned, and despised. Disciples are to love those who persecute them. This anticipates the call of the disciples in Acts to preach and live the Gospel in a world that is often unwelcoming. Jesus says that He is sending them out as sheep among wolves. Our Gospel reading looks outward to world beyond the community. In our readings today, we see two aspects of embodied faith. Truth telling for us is not simply speech or protest, it must be lived in ways that bear witness to our Lord. As disciples, we are invited into this pattern of image bearing. In beholding Jesus, we behold the Father. Jesus lives the truth of His Father in word and deed. We know from the Gospels that truth is a person. In light of the recent Supreme Court decision in regard to Roe vs Wade he said, “As Christians embrace the truth of human life, we must also embrace the cost of this truth, and make sure we are the ones to pay it.” In this sense, we must respond to the responsibility before us to translate our defense of unborn children into ways of caring for both the children and the mothers.Īs Fr Isaac said, “We must seek policy and structures in society that support women, children and families of all shapes and sizes but most importantly, right now, we must weep with those who weep, cheer with those who cheer, and help those who need help.” Our faith must be embodied. Last week, Father Isaac offered a challenge. Doug Floyd Jesus by Howard Finster For many people on the right and the left, truth has become a weapon that damages and destroys others.