Today’s scripture: Galatians 2:11-21 (NRSV) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):
I’ve never quite understood Paul’s argument with Cephas in this text. Don’t we all act differently around different people? Elsewhere, Paul even recommends doing just what Cephas does here. In one of his letters to the Corinthians, Paul says not to eat meat around people who think it’s a sin (1 Corinthians 8). And, later in the same book, Paul proudly states, “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Reading Galatians more carefully, Paul isn’t angry with Cephas for following the Old Testament Law while he’s around the Jewish Christians, and ignoring it when he’s around Gentiles. Paul is angry at Cephas for betraying the Gentiles by giving in to the narrow-mindedness of the Jewish Christians who said Gentiles should be excluded. The Jewish Christians had more power within the early Church, and Cephas was ganging up on the weak to gain credibility with the powerful.
Imagine it this way: It’s High School lunch, and Celia is talking to Ginny, one of the nobodies. Then the Mean Girls walk in, and Celia immediately runs over to hang out with them, pretending she doesn’t know Ginny — and certainly wasn’t talking with her. That’s when Paula walks up to Celia and says (loud enough for everyone to hear), “So, Cecilia, you only talk to Ginny when your Real Friends aren’t around? That’s interesting, because three minutes ago, I would have thought Ginny was your real friend.”
Unfortunately, this kind of snubbing isn’t confined to High School. It also didn’t stop with Cephas. In the Church today, I see it most often in the social hour. It’s not quite as overt as Cephas and the Mean Girls, but it still hurts. Someone will sit with a table of newcomers and talk politely with them, until the Pastor or the Music Minister becomes available. Then, “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but I have something important to discuss with them.” Or someone will quietly invite a group of people out to dinner after church, whispering so an unwanted tag-along doesn’t hear.
The message is clear: Some people are more important than others, and — sorry to say — you’re just not one of the important people.
Thought for the day: When have you been like Cephas, choosing the company of the power players over that of the newcomers? God, help us to be more interested in the needs of the weak than the desires of the strong.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.