We're all in this together...

Today's texts: Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66:1-8; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20.



Last week’s scripture reading (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) compared the church to a body, saying that we are one body with many parts. No part is more valuable than the others and each part has a role to play to benefit the whole body. In this week’s epistle (Galatians 6:1-16), Paul speaks practically about what life as the body of Christ looks like, summed up like this: we are all in this together, so let’s help each other through.

In the 1 Corinthians passage Paul says that if one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers and if one part is honoured the whole body rejoices. Similarly in Galatians, when Paul says that we reap what we sow, he’s not talking only about personal consequences for individual actions, but consequences for the whole body. We are each part of something much bigger than ourselves, and our individual life choices affect the whole body, for good or ill. The life of the Christian is not about “me” but about “us”.

So Paul instructs us to gently and humbly restore someone in our midst who is caught in a sin, remembering that some day we might similarly be caught and in need of restoration. He tells us to carry each other’s burdens and to do good to all people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. In short: we need help each other along in the way of Christ for the sake of our health as individuals and as a body.

Next week's readings: Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 25:1-9; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37.