Narrative Lectionary Program Year – Living by Faith
Galatians 1.13-17; 2.11-21
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Furthering the Power of God’s Story – Narrative Lectionary Commentary
by Rev. Dr. Clint Schnekloth
From this part of Galatians we gain a remarkable peek into the autobiographical narrative of Paul the apostle. Here’s the most salient quote: “I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.”
Now, this account differs from the account of Paul’s conversion recorded in Acts. Chapter 9 of Acts records that after his conversion “Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.”
A lot depends here on emphasis. Clearly, the author of Acts has interest in Paul being mission-aligned with the Jerusalem church, whereas Paul has interest in illustrating his separation from that church, especially the corrupting influences he is fighting in his Galatians letter.
So which is it? And does it matter? I’ve thought about this a lot over the years, because it is one of the most obvious examples in Scripture of Scripture contradicting itself.
I’ve come to the conclusion the tension between Acts and Galatians is far more interesting as it stands than if we attempt to harmonize it.
In almost every ecumenical conversation I’ve been a part of, or our denomination has been a part of, you essentially end up with three sides or interpretations of the ecumenical agreement.
1) There’s the agreement itself, the document or text that states what has been agreed to.
2) There’s the perspective of one party, which says they agree with the statement, while also hoping to maintain what they see as salutary and worth retaining in their own tradition.
3) There’s the perspective of the other party, which also says they agree with the statement, while also hoping to maintain what they see as salutary and worth retaining in their own tradition.
I’m fine with all of that. Phenomenologically we can all work from the agreement itself. That’s enough for me. And we can also recognize there are some problems with all agreements, especially because they sometimes erase important places of irresolution or continuing disagreement.
In chapter 2 of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he shares the story of that continuing disagreement. Here we get a sense of both how refined Paul’s understanding is (not everyone gets it) and yet how crucial it is (everyone needs to get it).
The issue: it’s not just the matter at hand, it’s also the players. This is Paul contradicting Peter, and even Barnabas to a degree, the very son of encouragement who had helped Paul gain entry into conversation with the Jerusalem church itself. There isn’t just perspective here, there is also politics.
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Opportunities To Do Good, Craig Koester
Rhetorical Identification in Paul’s Autobiographical Narrative, Paul Koptak
The Ego and “I”, Scot McKnight
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““My neighbor is every person, especially those who need my help, as Christ explained in the tenth chapter of Luke. Even if a person has done me some wrong, or has hurt me in any way, he is still a human being with flesh and blood. As long as a person remains a human being, so long is he to be an object of our love.” ”
A Good Read
Paul and the Politics of Difference: A Contextual Study of the Jewish-Gentile Difference in Galatians and Romans
By Jae Won Lee
Paul lies at the core of the constant debate about the opposition between Christianity and Judaism in biblical interpretation and public discourse as well. The so-called new perspective on Paul has not offered a significant break from the formidable paradigm of Christian universalism vs. Jewish particularism in Pauline scholarship. This book seeks to liberate Paul from the Western logic of identity and its dominant understanding of difference, which tend to identify Pauline Christianity as its ally. Drawing attention to the currency of discourses on difference in contemporary theories as well as in biblical studies, the author critically examines the hermeneutical relevance of a contextual and relational understanding of difference and applies it to interpret the dynamics of Jew-Gentile difference reflected particularly in meal practices (Galatians 2:1-21 and Romans 14:1--15:13) of early Christian communities. This book argues that by deconstructing the hierarchy of social relations underlying the Jew-Gentile difference in different community situations, Paul promotes a politics of difference, which affirms a preferential option for the socially "weak" that is, solidarity with the weak. Paul's politics of difference is invoked as a liberative potential for the vision of egalitarian justice in the face of contemporary globalism's proliferation of differences.
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Free Dramatic Reading For This Text (NRSV)
Reader: Paul 1, Paul 2
Paul 1: You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.
Paul 2: But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
Paul 1: But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Paul 2: We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.
Paul 1: But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
Paul 2: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.