FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-19)
This year we have witnessed the peculiarity of five feast
Sundays during the month of June. There was no Sunday “in ordinary time” when
we would have heard readings from the Letter to the Galatians. This work of
Saint Paul is notable for its defense of justification by faith and for Paul's
testimony of the events on the road to Damascus and at the council of the apostles
in Jerusalem. It has also deprived us of hearing Paul's extraordinary
profession of faith: “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”
(2:20). Only today do we hear from this magnificent epistle.
The reading comes from the end of the letter. Paul has taken
the pen into his own hand to give a summary of the main themes of the letter.
Before we look at these themes, it would be helpful to explain their context.
Galatia was a province of Rome. It included the cities of
Pisidia and Phrygia where Paul and Barnabas preached as recorded in the Acts of
the Apostles. The letter was prompted by accusations that Paul did not preach
the need to be circumcised. In it, Paul defends his position that circumcision
is not only unnecessary but counterproductive. It would hold those who
submitted to it responsible for fulfilling the entire Mosaic Law.
We can name three themes found in today's reading that are
basic to Paul's writings. First, Paul indicates the centrality of the cross in
his theology. He says, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ…” He goes on to say that by this cross "...the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world." This means that he is dead to the attractions
of the world. Power, money, pleasure, or
prestige no longer interest him in the least. Neither will he serve these entities
by indicating that they are important in the end.
Then Paul gives the reason why he rejects the world. Faith
and Baptism have made him "a new creation." Together with all the
other baptized, he was renewed in the grace of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of
the new creation is different from the fruit of the world. For them (and for
us), the Holy Spirit has produced love, joy, and peace. Being a "new
creation" is not simply a new way of thinking but living a new reality.
One can think of an orphan from the most primitive part of the Amazon being
adopted by the nuns of a monastery. She is now living the "new
creation" to please God with the promise of being in His presence for
eternity.
Finally, Paul asks "let no one make troubles for me."
He is referring to the Law governing external matters of the body such as
circumcision and diet. Paul declares himself free from these obligations,
although his freedom is not a license to do whatever he pleases. Rather,
Christian freedom is a paradox. It is becoming a slave of Christ. For this
reason, Paul adds: “I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” By being slaves of Christ, Christians can act according
to the deepest desires of their hearts. These are to love what is good, learn
what is true, and see what is beautiful.
In short, we can say that Paul has experienced the Kingdom
of God. This kingdom is the same reality that Jesus in today’s Gospel sends his
disciples to preach throughout the world.
