Galatians 1:1-12, Luke 7:1-10
Background for New Testament: His Letter to the Galatians is Paul’s most passionate contribution to the Bible. The issue dealt with is probably the most important problem for the 1st Century Church: Do followers of Christ have to follow the Law of Moses or not? For Paul there is no question—Christ alone matters. His passion is obvious. While we will be reading excerpts from this letter for the next month, it is worth reading the whole letter because the Lectionary leaves out the juicy parts—all the insults and curses! Galatians also presents biographical details about Paul we would not otherwise have. The theology he presents in this letter he will later develop more completely in his Letter to the Romans.
Thoughts to ponder:
Paul has no doubts as to the truth of his message—this is where he stands! What experiences have you had of standing firm for a particular belief or position? What was the cost? What made it worthwhile? How certain do you need to be to take a stand?
As the Letter goes on, we will read more about Paul’s understanding of the Gospel. At this point, however, how would you define the “Grace of Christ”? Could you describe an experience of it?
Background for the Gospel story: The centurion was a Roman officer and definitely not a Jew. He may have been what was called a “God-fearer,” meaning he accepted the Jewish understanding of one God, but (for a variety of reasons) was not able to convert to Judaism. The Gospel Paul defends to the Galatians would probably have been appealing to him!
Thoughts:
Given his analogy about giving orders, what would you say the centurion believes about Jesus? The centurion does not seem to be a follower of Jesus. Why, then, is his faith acceptable to Jesus?
We often hear that people are attracted to Jesus, but not to the church or to Christians. What do you think Christians should be doing today to authentically demonstrate Christ? Should we worry about being offensive?