I skipped over a section of Paul's talk of himself and his initial visit to the Galatians
Text: Galatians 4:
Tell me, you who desire to be subjet to the law, will you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman , was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written. "Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children burst into song and shout, you who endure no birthpangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numberous than the children of the one who is married. Now you, my friends, are children of the promise like Isaac.
I stopped short of completing this allegory and I will pick it up on Monday. One reason is that I think it is quite difficult to relate to the term slavery. And yet, we can become, more quickly than we would like to admit, slaves to the way things are around us. Slaves to the whole domain of "If...Then..." - as though our actions could make a difference in regard to our acceptance before God or make us a more worthy person(period). Yesterday I was talking to someone about the impact of the powers within our lives. Our upbringing, our economic status, our intellect, our place in society - all have some pull on us. In fact, we can even become enslaved to them because they seem to "give us life." In my conversation, I wondered why it is that we find it almost impossible to let the promise of our God to be the power that leads us and rules over us. Easier said than done. And yet, how does the promise and God's blessing shape us in our world. There was a good "Ziggy" cartoon this a.m. Ziggy is ready to go into a soup kitchen that has a sign that reads "volunteers wanted." Ziggy is saying to us, "It's important to count your blessings, but it's more important to make them count. We are children of the promise....make it count.
Connection: What can this promise do for us today and what difference can it make in the world around us? The Holy Spirit promises to lead us into this promised life...for we would often follow other powers. Our prayer may be to call on this SPirit to guide our living within the promise.
O God of promise and hope, be our guide and be our teacher. Grant us a full measure of your Spirit that we may be free to live within the power of your gracious reign. Amen
Tell me, you who desire to be subjet to the law, will you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman , was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written. "Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children burst into song and shout, you who endure no birthpangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numberous than the children of the one who is married. Now you, my friends, are children of the promise like Isaac.
I stopped short of completing this allegory and I will pick it up on Monday. One reason is that I think it is quite difficult to relate to the term slavery. And yet, we can become, more quickly than we would like to admit, slaves to the way things are around us. Slaves to the whole domain of "If...Then..." - as though our actions could make a difference in regard to our acceptance before God or make us a more worthy person(period). Yesterday I was talking to someone about the impact of the powers within our lives. Our upbringing, our economic status, our intellect, our place in society - all have some pull on us. In fact, we can even become enslaved to them because they seem to "give us life." In my conversation, I wondered why it is that we find it almost impossible to let the promise of our God to be the power that leads us and rules over us. Easier said than done. And yet, how does the promise and God's blessing shape us in our world. There was a good "Ziggy" cartoon this a.m. Ziggy is ready to go into a soup kitchen that has a sign that reads "volunteers wanted." Ziggy is saying to us, "It's important to count your blessings, but it's more important to make them count. We are children of the promise....make it count.
Connection: What can this promise do for us today and what difference can it make in the world around us? The Holy Spirit promises to lead us into this promised life...for we would often follow other powers. Our prayer may be to call on this SPirit to guide our living within the promise.
O God of promise and hope, be our guide and be our teacher. Grant us a full measure of your Spirit that we may be free to live within the power of your gracious reign. Amen
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