NOTES for Gal 5:22-6:2; Luk 6:17-23
In today's apostolic reading Paul offers us a striking interpretation of sacred history. He says that the promise to Abraham anticipated the coming of Christ, while the Law, which appeared four hundred and thirty years later, was a special form of help for unruly humanity, so that we would not perish for want of support before our encounter with Christ.
The Law in itself, as an impersonal norm, does not enable us to encounter Christ; it is needed so that “along the way” to that encounter we do not turn aside. In the same way, a photograph of someone we love helps us during a separation not to forget that beloved face, but the photograph itself is not what brings us to the actual meeting.