DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Galatians 2:6-10
(9/11)
Epistle for Friday of the Fourteenth Week after Pentecost
Favoritism and Grace: Galatians 2:6-10, especially vs.
6: “...God shows personal
favoritism to no man....” This portion of verse 6 employs a classic Scriptural idiom
rich in imagery and wisdom.
Literally, the expression reads, “God does not receive the face of
a man.” Recall, from the days
of the Patriarchs, the Divine appearance to Abraham at the oak of Mamre - the Visitation of the Three Angels used by Rublev in his famous icon as a type of the Holy Trinity
(Gen. 18:1-33). When Abraham saw
the three men before him, the account states that “...he ran from the
tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground...” (Gen. 18:2).
This was the practice: the great personage - lord or king -
took hold of the prostrate one and lifted up (received) the face of the
prostrated. In this manner, the
mighty and powerful showed favor to subordinates - expressed their goodwill to
those with their faces at their feet.
The superior reached out a hand and lifted up the person abased before
them.
But before God, all men of every rank approach the
“...God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,
[Who] shows no partiality [looks without favoritism on the face], nor takes a
bribe. He administers justice for
the...alien, the fatherless, and the widow...” (Deut. 10:17,18).
“...there is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11). Scripture expects this standard of every
human ruler and judge. They are
sternly warned: “It is not good to admire the person of the ungodly, nor
is it holy to pervert righteousness in judgment” (Prov. 18:5). This is the culture of God’s
People. Hence it was said to the
Lord Jesus, “'Teacher...You say and teach rightly, and You
do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth...” (Lk. 20:21).
In the present passage,
In fact, those “...who seemed to be something”
were none other than James the Brother of the Lord, Peter, and John (vs.
9). They welcomed Paul’s work
among the Gentiles (vs. 9). True
Apostolic leaders always favor persons, work, or ministries where there is
clear evidence of the grace of God (vss. 8,9), nor should this inclination to
follow proof of grace be taken as favoritism, but as respect for the hand and
energies of God at work in men’s souls and hearts.
As said above, Orthodoxy rejects all teaching that suggests
that God gives His grace capriciously.
When God “lifts up a man’s face” to favor him, it is
because He knows the man’s heart, his contrition, and his openness. When we love God, He knows. He is aware. As our love for God
grows more and more unbridled by our needs and sins, as Saint Diodochos says, “...we feel divine longing well up
within us from the depths of our heart.” Saint John Cassian
confirms the same: “The thief who received the kingdom of heaven, though
not as a reward of virtue, is a true witness to the fact that salvation is ours
through the grace and mercy of God.”
God’s grace or favor toward us always is known or
experienced as personal encounter.
Bishop Kallistos Ware insists that
“...grace is not just a ‘gift’ of God, not just an object
which God bestows on men, but a direct manifestation of the living God Himself,
a personal confrontation between creature and Creator....When we say that the
Saints have been transformed or deified by the grace of God, what we
mean is that they have a direct experience of God Himself. They know God....” Blessed is the penitent whose face is
lifted up by the hand of God!
May I ever remember Thy grace and live not unto myself, but
unto Thee O good Master.
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