Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Galatians 1:13-24; Luke 10 38-42)
In writing to the Galatians St. Paul is aware of the need to
explain himself. He knows that they know
how he persecuted the Church. However,
Paul thinks that they do not know why and how he came to preach Christ
crucified and risen from the dead. So he
eagerly informs them that he received a calling directly from God much like the
prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
But Paul assures his readers that he is not a totally free
agent. He went to Jerusalem to meet
Peter who, presumably, informed him about Jesus. He is also accountable to God to preach the
truth about His Son.
Not only the faith of his converts but also our own faith
rests on the value of Paul’s doctrine.
He has become the most important interpreter of God’s design in Jesus. Without his letters we would be hard pressed
to explain the ignominious death of Jesus on the cross and the glorious destiny
his resurrection has given us.
