TAIZÉ

Commented Bible Passages

 
These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.

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2010

November

Galatians 5:13-25: Christian Freedom
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. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, 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. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:13-25)

The Letter to the Galatians has been called the Magna Carta of Christian freedom. The passages on freedom in fact hold our attention. We must also imagine the force that these passages could have in societies conditioned by slavery, where a desire for liberty was felt everywhere.

The very incomplete information we have about the crisis that prompted the writing of this letter does not enable us to draw any firm conclusions about the errors the Apostle is dealing with. What is certain is that the Galatians, all converts from paganism (they never practiced the Law of Moses) were confused by preachers who advocated the adoption of that Law and the practice of circumcision in order to become true Christians. The desire to “do more,” to follow a law fixing specific behavior in order to calm anxiety or soothe worries (freedom is frightening) could make them vulnerable to the arguments of Paul’s opponents.

What should the behavior of Christians in the world be? Should there not be a law to clarify it? This question was even more pressing since these Christians were aware that, even though they were baptized and living a new life, a complicity with what could keep them far from the Gospel still existed in them. That is what Paul called the "flesh".

St. Paul wanted to address these concerns, and he sums up the core of his response in three verses. “Follow the guidance of the Spirit and you will no longer do what the flesh desires.” “If you are led by the Spirit, you are no longer subject to the Law.” “If we live by the Spirit, let us also follow the guidance of the Spirit.”

It is as if Paul wanted to say: of course the freedom that we have been given does not exclude an inner struggle. We must wage this struggle with confident trust, because we must never underestimate what the Spirit is able to produce in our lives: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...” Christians are not subject to the Law, they do not practice it, but they fulfill it by loving.

Love. That is the reality, far from all narcissism, which is at the heart of freedom.

- Is our freedom sometimes a source of worry? Why?

- "Follow the guidance of the Spirit." What does that mean?



Other bible meditations:

Last updated: 1 March 2024