7th Sunday of Luke
Scripture: Galatians 2:16-20
Nutshell
Throughout our lives, we often ask ourselves, “Who am I?” The problem of trying to find ourselves isn’t just a question of our late teens or early adulthood, it’s a question we’re constantly asking ourselves at each step of our life’s journey.
If we fear that if we don’t know who we are, then we won’t know how we fit into the world. We’ll be without a home, without rights, without protection. We’ll be refugees in our own bodies.
So, to find ourselves we often think of ourselves in terms of what we do, what we’ve achieved, or what degrees we’ve earned. This is how the Judeans defined themselves: people who follow the observances of the Law, but in so doing, they excluded others from joining the people of God.
However, as St. Paul tells us, who we are is not what we do, rather it’s about who we trust. When we place our trust in Christ, we find that who we are is a member of God’s family.
When we place our trust in Christ, we take on the identity of Christ, so what is true of him is also true of us. Just as he is a child of God, valued, and loved, so too are we a child of God, valued, and loved. We’re not lost, living without a home or a family.
The evidence of how Christ was is his loving faithfulness, and so it is with us as well; the evidence that we are children of God is our loving faithfulness to our Father in Heaven.
Now that we’ve found ourselves, We are compelled to show others who they are by inviting them also to find a home with Jesus Christ.
Full Text
(1)
There’s a story about Margaret Thatcher, the English Prime Minister, who decided to visit a nursing home. She went from room to room, meeting the residents who lived there. When she entered one particular woman’s room and shook her hand, it appeared that the woman wasn’t aware of whose hand she was shaking. So, the Prime Minister leaned over and asked, “Do you know who I am?”
Without missing a beat, the lady responded, “No, dear, but I should ask the nurse if I were you. She usually knows.”
As endearing as this story is, it contains more truth than we care to acknowledge. We don’t only question our identity when we’re old and forgetful; it’s a lifelong journey. We constantly ask ourselves, “Who am I?”
We ask this question when we’re children, discovering ourselves and the world for the first time; during our teenage years, as we try to find our place within different social groups; when we graduate from high school or college and decide what we want to do with our lives; when we get married and become parents, pondering our new roles as spouses and parents; when our children leave home, and our lives no longer revolve around their schedules; when we retire, wondering who we are without our career defining us, and as we age, when we can no longer perform tasks independently.
The question remains constant throughout our lives: “Who am I?”
(2)
This is a very important question. Understanding who we are helps us discover our place in the world.
In school, I was one of the band nerds, but I was also one of the better players, and I played in the Jazz band. This meant that within the band, I had status. Moreover, since music held high regard in my school, it also gave me status within the school as a whole. I knew where I stood, who my friends were, and how I related to everyone else in the school. In high school, I knew my identity.
It’s the same outside of high school too. We use careers, money, our home’s location, and family names as status symbols – symbols that convey to us and the world who we are.
Why?
Because we fear that if we don’t know our identity, we won’t understand how we fit into the world. We’ll be without a sense of belonging, without rights, and without protection.
We fear that if we don’t understand who we are, we’ll essentially be like refugees within our own bodies.
(3)
Not knowing who we are is a frightening concept, which is why people often fiercely defend their identities.
Furthermore, it’s not limited to our ethnic or national identities; consider the conflicts that arise when sports teams change cities or alter their names—there’s always a struggle. People fear that they’re losing something when identities shift.
This is precisely what’s depicted in today’s epistle reading. St. Paul is engaged in a dispute with St. Peter over identity.
At this particular time, St. Peter has aligned himself with the Judeans, who had maintained a distinct identity dating back to the Hasmonean dynasty.
During that era, the Judeans had revolted against the Greeks and established an independent Israel. To distinguish themselves from the surrounding pagans, they adhered to practices such as circumcision, Sabbath observance, kosher dietary laws, and purity regulations. In scripture, these are referred to as the observances of the Law. No other people practiced these customs. Doing so marked one as a Judean.
However, with the death and resurrection of Jesus, a question emerged: did one have to become a Judean and adhere to all these observances of the Law? Or could one be a follower of Jesus without strictly observing these customs?
Many of the Judean-Christians, including St. Peter, argued that everyone must adhere to these observances, especially circumcision, to be a Christian.
Why?
Because this is how the Judeans defined themselves: as people who followed the observances of the Law. However, in doing so, they excluded others from becoming part of the people of God.
This exclusion kept people on the periphery, away from Christ and the salvation offered to people of every nation.
(4)
St. Paul understood this. He recognized how Judean identity was acting as a barrier, preventing people from coming closer to God.
That’s why he opposed St. Peter’s viewpoint, arguing that our identity isn’t defined by what we do—such as circumcision, observing the Sabbath, eating kosher, and adhering to purity laws. Instead, it’s about whom we place our trust in.
He wrote that we understand, “… a human being is justified not by adherence to the Law but by faith in the Anointed One, Jesus. Even we have placed our faith in the Anointed One, Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Him and not by adhering to the Law. For no one will be justified by observing the Law.”
When we put our trust in Christ, we discover that our identity is that of a member of God’s family.
(5)
As St. Paul teaches, when we place our trust in Christ, we assume the identity of Christ, so what is true of Him is also true of us.
Just as He is a child of God, valued and loved, so too are we children of God, valued, and loved. This is who we are. This is our identity.
We are not lost, living without a home or a family.
Diognetus, a Christian living in the 2nd century, expressed it this way:
“Christians are not distinguished from others by their country, language, or attire. They do not inhabit separate cities or speak a different language. There is nothing peculiar about their way of life… They live in their respective native countries but as if they were foreigners. They fulfill their civic responsibilities and bear the same burdens. Every foreign land is their home, and every home country is foreign territory… They exist in the world, but they do not live by the world’s standards. They dwell on earth, but they are citizens of heaven.”
We do not adhere to the observances of the Law, nor do we conform to the ways of the world. And we don’t have to. We need not worry about where we fit in because God has a place for us. We are right where we belong, right here, in church, surrounded by our church family.
Although it may appear that we are out of place in this world, we know that we have an identity—Christian—and a home with Jesus Christ.
(6)
The evidence of who Christ was lies in His loving faithfulness, and the same applies to us; the evidence that we are children of God is that we do not conform to the ways of this world. Instead, we remain faithful to our Father in Heaven.
St. Paul’s example in his letter to the Galatians of how this identity transcends previous identities is that of his companion, Titus.
St. Titus was born a pagan in Crete. When his uncle, the governor of Crete, heard about a great prophet, he sent Titus to the Holy Land to investigate. Titus traveled to the Holy Land and met Christ himself.
Later, he was baptized by St. Paul and became his companion, but he did not undergo circumcision. Paul brought Titus to Jerusalem to discuss the matter, and all the bishops of the Church of Jerusalem, including St. James, the brother of our Lord, and at that time, St. Peter, accepted him as part of the family, a part of Israel. It was Titus’s faithfulness to our Lord that mattered.
When St. Paul was imprisoned in Rome, Titus traveled there to minister to St. Paul’s needs. His love and dedication to Paul demonstrated to the world his allegiance to Christ. It showcased his identity as a Christian and revealed the values that Christians hold as part of their identity. Who Titus was, was an agent of love.
And, upon his death, St. Titus’s face shone as brilliantly as Christ’s face did during the Transfiguration.
(7)
Now that we’ve placed our trust in Christ, we’ve discovered our true selves.
And, having found our own identity, we are compelled to help others uncover their own by inviting them to find a home with Jesus Christ.
Each one of us knows somebody who may be unhappy with themselves or feeling lost in the world. They might be struggling with depression or going through a crisis of some sort.
Extend an invitation to introduce them to Jesus Christ, or better yet, invite them to allow Christ to know them. Inform them that they too are children of God, loved, and that they have a place at the 12 Holy Apostles.
Let them understand that their worth is significant, that they are someone worth knowing, and someone worth saving.
Amen.