Galatians 5:1, 13-25 (NRSV)
Read Galatians 5:1, 13-25 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 5For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Verse 13For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. Verse 14For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Verse 15If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Verse 16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. Verse 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. Verse 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Verse 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, Verse 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, Verse 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Verse 22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, Verse 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Verse 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Verse 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Devotion
Christ has set us free for freedom itself, the writer of Galatians says. It is distressing that sometimes in claiming our own freedom we are willing to violate the freedom of others. For our security and freedom, for the sake of our own rightness, we attempt to take by force what we have not been given.
Sometimes we claim our freedoms without regard for the command that comes in verse 13. We talk a lot about "agreeing to disagree" without acknowledging the humility that is needed. Merely giving lip-service is not enough.
How wonderful it would be if we presented to the world the true picture of the Church: not in complete agreement, but united around Word and Sacrament, rejoicing in the freedom of forgiveness and celebrating our love for one another? How if our spirits dance at the wonder that it is not agreement that holds us together but diversity that challenges and inspires us?
Prayer
Dear God, make us your people, as filled with wonder at our differences as at our unity. Let us rejoice in the freedom you’ve given and bind us into one body through our one baptism. In the name of our one Lord. Amen.