Main news for 17 June 2025

Paul tells us that the matter is by no means the unchangeability of views and convictions, even such fundamental ones as religious convictions. And as an example he gives himself: he was a convinced opponent of Christians and Christianity until he himself met the risen Christ on the Damascus road. Only after that meeting did Paul become what the Galatians knew him as: an apostle of Christ. Yet at the same time Paul, paradoxically, remained himself. But his situation looks paradoxical only at first glance.

The question is what "we ourselves" are. What does it mean to be truly oneself? Where should one look for one's true self? The simplest and fastest way is inwardly to set aside, at least for a time, everything that we call our own, because if we feel something to be ours, then it certainly is not we ourselves. To clear away all the physiological, psychophysical, and psychic layers. Then one can find one's true self. At first it may seem that we do not exist at all, but that is understandable, since we are used to seeing not ourselves, but our reflection in our own thoughts, feelings, and emotional states.

Of course, a human being is not only spirit but also nature. Yet the core of the human person is spiritual, not natural. If we are used to experiencing ourselves as nature, whether external and bodily or inward and psychic, if we are used to identifying ourselves with it, then when we first experience our existence as the life of the spiritual "I," we will most likely feel out of place. But only in this way can we understand who we really are and understand what we can become before God and people. Because here the question of the truth or falsity of our ideas, concepts, views, and most importantly our deeds and the choice we make opens to us in a completely different way.

Here one can turn from a persecutor of Christians into a Christian oneself and yet remain oneself, but only if something happens that touches this depth of the authentic, spiritual "I." So Paul calls the Galatians to remain at that depth, not orienting themselves by the outward, surface manifestations of their own "selves." Not to try to find on the surface what lies at this depth. Then it will become completely clear and obvious to them where the true gospel is and where the imaginary one is. And no external views, habits, or patterns will be able to hinder this recognition.

Gal 1:11-12

NOTES

Speaking about his own spiritual path, Paul does not stress by chance that, while at one time he was a zealous...

Speaking about his own spiritual path, Paul does not stress by chance that, while at one time he was a zealous adherent of Judaism, he later became a witness of Christ, who sent him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (vv. 13-17). Apparently, in this way the apostle was answering possible reproaches that he himself had sharply changed his views on foundational questions of spiritual and religious life. If that is so, why should the Christians of Galatia not do the same, especially since the changes in their worldview were far less radical than those Paul had experienced?

But the apostle immediately notes a fundamentally important point concerning his spiritual path: the absolute sincerity of his search. If at first he was a zealous supporter of Judaism, it was not because he wanted to be "like everyone else," but because he was sincerely convinced that the way he lived and believed was right before God.

It was precisely this sincerity that helped him meet Christ and acquire the Kingdom. But one meeting on the Damascus road was not enough. Now he had to change his life decisively in order to become a witness of Christ. Here too Paul remained true to himself. He did not begin looking for anyone to confirm the truth of his revelation; he simply went to do the work God had entrusted to him (vv. 15-19).

Such sincerity is a pledge both of spiritual sobriety and of freedom from spiritual error. A spiritually sincere person will never look for detours in spiritual life in order to avoid problems, find an easier way to live in the Kingdom, or seek compromises where they are inadmissible. The preachers who distort the gospel, of whom the apostle speaks, were apparently insisting on the strict obligation for all Christians to observe Jewish religious prescriptions. This was caused most of all, no doubt, by the desire to avoid conflict with the Synagogue, which otherwise became inevitable. Clearly, such "spiritual searches" had nothing to do either with spirituality or with a genuine search. They could only distance a person from the Kingdom, as Paul does not grow tired of reminding them.

With honesty and directness worthy of imitation, the apostle Paul in today's reading from the Epistle to the Galatians contrasts what is human and what is gracious in service to God. He says that while trying to serve God according to his own human understanding, he "persecuted the Church... being exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers"...

Once again, Paul reminds us who matters most and who comes first. How often we really do seek people's favor and do things...

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