The Letter to the Galatians is an exceptional New Testament document. It was written by Paul at a time of great anguish, because a fervent community that the Apostle had worked hard to establish and to which he remained closely attached, found itself being misled by Judaizers. These had come from the People of Israel and had accepted faith in Christ Jesus, but had not abandoned the observance of the Law, Jewish traditions and circumcision as indispensable conditions of salvation. For them, it is the Law that saves, not Christ. They considered him a marginal agent in the economy of salvation.
For the first time, the Letter to the Galatians addressed this new and very delicate situation, which was a matter of life or death for the nascent Church. The Judaizers forced Paul to reflect on an essential issue: Do we have to become Jews to be Christians? The Apostle gradually came to a sharpened awareness that culminates in Chapter 3 of the Letter. This will be fundamental to the Gospel proclamation: “All of you who were baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ.”
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© Union of Catholic Asian News
2023
