Saturday before the Nativity of Christ. Holy Martyr Juliana of Nicomedia (284-305).
Nativity Fast.
Galatians 3:8-12. Luke 13:18-29.
Read Galatians 3:8-12
In our epistle today, St. Paul reassures us through his letter to the Galatians that we are children of God through faith and not through the Law. Do Christians need to fulfill the Covenantal and ritual observances of the Law of Moses (ie. Circumcision) and the later ritual developments or not? This is the question which St. Paul must address for the early Christians he is evangelizing and forming. In response, St. Paul shows that faith is in fact older than the Law, and that we are included in the covenantal promises of God through the faith that Abraham shows even before the Law is given. Abraham’s righteousness is not in keeping the Law, but in his Faith.
However, even Abraham need to grow in his faith. Despite his wife Sarah being of advanced years and childless to this point in their marriage, he agrees to follow the Lord. Although he hedges his bets by attempting to raise up offspring for himself through his concubine Haggar, he does offer back to God his son Issac, the fulfillment of the promise, when he is asked to.
How do we grow in this type of faith? The best way is to act like you have faith already. This type of “faking it till you make it” makes it easier to grow in authentic faith. As you are acting faithfully you will find you’ve responded to the Lord’s invitation and you’ll realize you wind up acting faithfully without even considering it!