The Holy Apostle and Brother of the Lord in the Flesh James
Galatians 1:11-19; Matthew 13:54-58
Abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read Galatians 1:11-19
This is an apocalyptic epistle. We are lead to believe sometimes that “apocalyptic” refers to the end times. In the biblical sense, “apocalypse” means literally “to unveil.” This is the sense of the revelation of the Gospel that Paul means today. The gospel is revealed, Literally, “unveiled” to him not by men, but by Christ himself. Christ shows to him the fullness of the law. Paul himself was zealous for the law but failed to grasp its full meaning. What a gift he receives from Christ. Have we ever been so excited about something and committed to an idea, a relationship, etc. only to realize it’s sham? This revelation, not from men, straighten out Paul’s bad ideas about God, which had bloody consequences.
The second revelation here is unique. Paul tells us that he was chosen as an apostle “from his mother’s womb.” Right after that, he tells us that he was made worthy of another revelation: “to reveal Christ, in me.” Most bible translations smooth over the strange “in me.” How do you reveal something “in” someone? Seems like Paul made a mistake. Yet, these strange locutions were the source of contemplation for the Fathers, Jerome and Chrysostom each have different ways to understand in me. For Jerome, it shows that there exists something like a “natural knowledge of God.” This means that we have a natural capacity to know the Lord. Chrysostom says the phrase “in me” means that he wasn’t just given information, but imparted a gift of grace in his soul.
To have Christ revealed “in me” is best understood from the preceding line. Paul was chosen from his mother’s womb. The revelation in him is something like being with Child. Paul’s preaching bears Christ forth for the world, much like the Platytera icon over so many of our altars—the mother of God with outstretched, presenting Christ in her womb for the life of the world. The revelation we receive through prayer, the assiduous study of scripture, the celebration of the sacraments and the liturgy, the deliberate belonging to a Christian community forms Christ in us. It uproots our bad ideas about God and lets true ideas settle in.