The first reading of today’s liturgy, from Galatians,
lingers on the difficult and controversial question of the early Church: Christians to keep or not to keep the Mosaic Law.
A good number of converts from Judaism were promoting this
practice. Paul countered it, explaining
that either Christ alone saves or he does not.
The only law to be practiced is “faith working through love.”
Why the tendency to want the Mosaic observance? Perhaps full conversion to Christ was too
overwhelming for sincere Jews who had given their religious lives—like Paul—to
keeping the Law. It is hard to break old
and trustworthy habits. Perhaps, too,
under the pressure of persecution, Jewish converts to Christianity were tempted
to think that they made a mistake. How
could Christ mean such misfortune for them?
The insistence on the Law on the part of these new, nervous
converts tempted them to “hedge their bets on Christ,” providing a kind of
religious insurance “on the side”—the Mosaic Law—to assure the salvation they
were hoping for. While this might have
been understandable in the circumstances, it was a “separation from Christ,”
according to Paul, and a falling from grace.
Are we really any different from those struggling Christians
at the beginning? We profess Christ but
all of us have been tempted at times to “hedge our bets” on him. We are looking for the fullness of life and
fear we shall not have it. So, we may
keep a little “on the side” to assure ourselves. For some of us, it might be investment or
prestige or legacy. For others, it might
be longevity or accomplishment or even some dabbling in other religious faiths. But we are confronted with the same article
of faith as those early disciples:
either Christ alone saves or he does not. Otherwise, what is the meaning of “Seek first
the Kingdom of God and all things will be given you beside”?
Each time we are at the Eucharistic Table, we proclaim God’s
salvation in Christ through his death and resurrection. In communion with Christ, we dedicate
ourselves to following this path sacrificially together. Eucharist is always a purification of the
tendency to “hedge our bets” and avoid
falling from New Testament grace.
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