FRIDAY, TWENTY SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Gal 3:7-14; Ps 111:1-6; Lk 11:15-26

The fulfilment of the Promise made to Abraham

After rebuking the Galatians for abandoning the gift God gave them due to their faith in Jesus Christ to seek another form of justification through obedience to the Law, Paul explains how their attempt to please God through the Law is doomed to fail. His line of argument is that they abandoned what God gave them free based on the faith they professed in Jesus Christ to seek the same thing through a means that would never yield any meaningful result. He returned to Abraham their father, who found favour with God. He showed that Abraham’s righteousness and subsequent blessing were not based on obedience to the Law, but rather on his faith in God’s word spoken to him. “Don’t you see that it is those who rely on faith who are the sons of Abraham? Scripture foresaw that God was going to use faith to justify the pagans, and proclaimed the Good News long ago when Abraham was told: In you all the pagans will be blessed. Those therefore who rely on faith receive the same blessing as Abraham, the man of faith.” Abraham was of Pagan descent, and his faith in God made him a recipient of God’s blessing, which was mainly communion with him. The same blessing given to Abraham would also come to any pagan who believes in God. The blessing was supposed to remain with his progenies if they continued in the faith of their father, Abraham. Circumcision was to help the transmission of faith down his bloodline.

The second line of argument is to make it clear to the Galatians and us that the purpose of the Law was not to make people holy or pleasing to God. For one to be found pleasing to God by obedience to the Law, such a person must keep every aspect of the Law, which is possible only through possessing the Spirit of God. But this has not been granted to anyone because of our original sin. Hence, the Law cannot make anyone righteous or holy but demonstrates how sinful and weak we are without the grace of God. “On the other hand, those who rely on the keeping of the Law are under a curse, since scripture says: Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in observing everything prescribed in the book of the Law.” The Law was given to prepare us to hope in Jesus Christ for our salvation. The Law provided the means for our slavery to sin and evil. The purpose was for all to yearn for the freedom that only God can give, which he promised Abraham. The Law demonstrated to us the need we have for Jesus Christ our Lord. “This was done so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might include the pagans, and so that through faith we might receive the promised Spirit.”

The Galatians were deceived by demonic agents to drop what they already had through their faith in Jesus Christ, only to start seeking it again by keeping the Law, which is an impossible route to take. This deception is exactly what demons do to us; they trade the truth of faith for lies from hell. The gospel shows us that Jesus Christ saves us from the curse of the Law. He sets us free from the slavery of evil through sin. Those who do not believe in the salvific work of Jesus Christ are mistaken about his power over demons. Our Lord explains to those who slander him by saying he was casting out demons with the power of a prince of demons. Jesus made it clear that evil can only be cast out or defeated with the power of God and faith in God’s word. Faith brings us to share in the blessing of Abraham, namely, communion with God through the reception of his Spirit. Our sharing in the Spirit of God drives away demonic spirit from us. “But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you.” By believing in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for our salvation, we gain entrance into the kingdom of God, which is communion with God. We must continue in our faith in Christ and not allow the demons to deceive us into abandoning what we believe, for that will be the return of the demonic spirits in our lives.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to believe as Abraham, in your word that became flesh for our salvation, that persevering in the one faith of the Church as the Bride of Christ, we may come to the fullness of communion with you in heaven.  

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