Galatians 1:11-24 (NRSV)
Read Galatians 1:11-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; Verse 12for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 13You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. Verse 14I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. Verse 15But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased Verse 16to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, Verse 17nor 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. Verse 18Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; Verse 19but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord's brother. Verse 20In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! Verse 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, Verse 22and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; Verse 23they only heard it said, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy." Verse 24And they glorified God because of me.
Devotion
What if Paul, upon receiving the grace of God through Christ Jesus, went immediately to the apostles in Jerusalem? Would they have affirmed him and his new-found faith in Jesus? Or would they have seen Saul the persecutor and dismissed his call to preach? We will never know how the apostles would have responded. But what we do know, thanks to Paul's proclamation to the Gentiles, is Jesus. With the revelation of Christ still ablaze in his sight, Paul went away at once to Arabia. His brazen move to cast aside human approval for the sake of divine imperative was risky. And we Gentiles are the benefactors of this great risk.
How does the church today receive the gifts and passions of those new to the faith? As people set apart and called by the grace of God, how might our faith communities share afresh in the risk of proclaiming the good news?
Prayer
Lest we get bogged down by human sources, call us again, O God, to work out your wondrous ways in the world. Let it be so. Amen.