by Pedro A. Moreno, O.P. Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis
False teachings awaken his irate side
A good backdrop to Saint Paul’s letter to the Galatians would be to study the happenings at The Council of Jerusalem, Acts 15, 1-12.
This first council of the Church dealt with a unique problem. The Jews who became part of the community wanted to impose on Christians with no Jewish background many customs, celebrations and practices from Judaism. This included circumcision. Their false claim that salvation demands circumcision was proclaimed passionately.
They didn’t realize they actually were going backwards in their faith to what they considered safe from their past instead of the new path, forward with Christ, which seemed a bit scary to them. Fleeing to the past, “the way things used to be was better,” is a common reaction when challenges and difficulties create stress. While a common response, it isn’t necessarily the best response.
Saint Paul was God’s instrument to yell out “NO!” to those that were obsessed with a false gospel tied to past customs that insisted on circumcision as necessary for salvation. Paul proclaimed this “NO!” in an even more passionate way that, at times, bordered on the extreme.
This is the primary God-inspired theme in the letter to the Galatians that calmed the nerves of many Gentile male converts that just wanted to become disciples of Jesus Christ without shedding any blood.
Raymond Brown in his great tome, “An Introduction to the New Testament,” says the following about the letter to the Galatians:
“In some ways, this has been considered the most Pauline of the Pauline writings, the one in which anger has caused Paul to say what he really thinks. Only parts of II Cor match it in passion; for with the prophetic fervor of an Amos, Paul discards diplomacy in challenging the Galatians.”
The anger and passion of Paul in this letter was born from the sad reality that the false gospel of the Judaizers was convincing many men in Galatia! The lies were energizing the Christian base in Galatia and needed to be refuted with truth, logic and a lot of energy and passion.
Author Scott Hahn gives the following explanation in “The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament,” published by Ignatius Press:
“The success that these Judaizers enjoyed in Galatia forced Paul to respond with a vigorous defense of the Gospel (1:11-2:10) and a sophisticated explanation of how the New Covenant inaugurated by Christ dispenses with the ceremonies of the Old (chs. 3-4). In his view, to add circumcision and other Mosaic requirements to the Gospel is to exchange freedom in Christ for spiritual slavery (2:4; 5:1). Stern warnings thus punctuate this letter as Paul appeals to the Galatians to distance themselves from the Judaizers and to disregard their propaganda.”
Galatians 5, 12 is probably the verse that best shows Paul’s harshest irony and sarcasm to those who wanted to impose circumcision. It is where he says about them that if they are so obsessed with this practice don’t stop there, just go all the way: “Would that those who are upsetting you might also castrate themselves?”
May we thank God for having inspired the Letter to the Galatians and may we imitate Saint Paul in rejecting the many false gospels of today and promoting truth with a lot of passion. Amen.