eating anything august 19

August 19, 2020

Good afternoon,

" When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, ' You are Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, that , you  force the Gentiles to follow Jewish customs. ' "       Galatians 2:14

Peter ( Cephas in the passage above ) and Paul are the early leaders of the church. Peter is the saint for the Catholic Church, and Paul is for the Eastern Orthodox Church. There are icons ( religious paintings ) in both traditions that have the two saints embracing one another. A peace has come to both of these differing histories and cultures.

But here in Galatians, Paul is angry with Peter. Peter had seen that vision about eating anything ( good for pork farmers ). This large blanket came down in his dream , and the invitation was for Peter to be able to eat all foods. This was difficult for Peter to come to terms with his faith. Now, Peter is making the new Gentile believers live out the Law with all of its dietary requirements. Paul calls Peter a hypocrite. He demands something he himself no longer does in his faith journey. Peter also wants to make circumcision a requirement in becoming a Christian.

The truth of the Gospel is that everyone is invited in, and they do not have to do certain things. This was hard for Paul to live out as well because he was a Pharisee ( a religious leader ). He grew up in a strict environment and household. We have to have rules, but what rules do we make, and what do we enforce ? Waterloo Region has mandated the wearing of masks in buildings/businesses but they are not going to enforce it. Is that a good rule or is it hypocrisy ? Being part of the community is hard. We have many different ideas, and we have to listen hard to one another.

Prayer

Oh Lord,

We want to remain faithful

To your call on our lives.

Speak to us, and we will listen.

Show us the way, and we will walk with you.

Amen.

Fred

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church