But this post isn't about Paul, so I'll move on.
Gal 1:1-5 ESV
[1] Paul, an apostle--not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- [2] and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: [3] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [4] who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, [5] to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul introduces himself. Check. Paul comments on Jesus Christ and God the Father. Check. Paul greets the churches. Check.
So we have ourselves the opening of a Pauline Epistle.
Let's look more closely. I love that Paul specifies that he is an apostle through Jesus Christ--not from men. In fact, as we will see throughout the rest of the chapter, Paul is deeply concerned about differentiating between man's gospel and God's gospel, man's approval and God's approval, so it makes sense that he acknowledges that his calling is not man's calling but God's calling. He knows how men and their man-made messages have been leading the churches of Galatia astray (more on that later) and so he wants to set himself apart from them by establishing himself as one who proclaims unadulterated truth. But he doesn't dwell on this for now, he states it and moves on--and so will I.
Paul then addresses the churches of Galatia with a prayer of blessing. Grace and peace to you from God. Amen. He prays that God will extend grace and peace to them. Paul knows that he is about to chatise them for a good six chapters, but first he stops to pray a blessing on them. He knows the way that this fragile humanity works. He knows that when beating is not accompanied by blessing then it only serves to destroy. And he isn't interested in pure demolition--even though he may have to tear the building down to it's foundation, he's really interested in building. He's trying to do it with the same tenderness that Jesus displayed on many an occasion.
Remember when the Pharisees brought the woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus demanding that she be stoned? Jesus told them that whoever was without sin could cast the first stone. And then he doodled in the dirt. When everyone had wandered their own ways (in disgust, no doubt), Jesus looked up and blessed her--He said "Neither do I condemn you." Great! She's good to go! WooHoo! What a blessing! Not quite. Because He then says, "Go and sin no more." In that one sentence, He says so much. He acknowledges her wrongdoing. He sets her free from her past. And He commands her to sin no more. But the blessing made the beating bearable. Because she wasn't condemned to death, she had the opportunity to change her life. Can you imagine the weight of what Jesus said? I mean, He gave her grace and truth in the same breath. He wiped her past away and yet made her come face-to-face with it at the same time.
And that's kind of what Paul is doing at the beginning of Galatians. He is praying a blessing over them before he begins to make them confront their humanity. (Interesting note: he sandwiches the "negative" between two "positives"--one blessing in the greeting and one in the closing. I had a professor in college who taught that this was the way that, if we should have to say something "negative" to someone, we should give critique: sandwiched between two positive comments.) It is far easier to take criticism/chatisement from someone who you know cares for you than from someone who merely claims that they do. Paul is so deeply attached to the churches to whom he writes that it affects him physically (see Gal. 6:17) and this is his attempt to let them see that--he just wants them to know the passion with which he is writing this letter.
I've had two different types of leaders in my life. Both have, on occasion, needed to reprimand me. I am only going to dwell on one and let you imagine the other. This leader is my mentor. He has never asked to mentor me, and I have never asked to be his mentor. It just happened. I have never felt so cared for by a spiritual leader than I have by my Mentor. Whenever we talk, regardless of what complaining I do, or what frustrations I cause him, he always takes time to bless me. I had never thought about blessing others before he began blessing me. But it was so perpendicular to what I was used to that I immediately took notice of it when he prayed a blessing over me. Now, there have been many times when he needed to reprimand me--he even came close to yelling at me once. But I am constantly so aware of how much he cares about me that I don't mind the chastising. You see, when he was growing up, he was never blessed. In fact, it was quite near the opposite. And he had a hard time growing spiritually because of this. He never wanted that to be the case for anyone else--if he could help it. And I must say, he's doing a pretty swell job. He's grasped the godliness in tearing down and in building up. Because of that I have been affected in ways that I cannot fully understand--and for that, I am grateful.
So what about you? When you need to be corrected, is it accompanied with a blessing? Do you salt your critiques with blessings?
Just trying to get it right,
Hermeneutical Dan
