Let Us Not Grow Weary in Well-Doing - Week 10

Galatians 6


Note: The study related to these questions may be found at Catholic Exchange. Please go to their site for the complete material concerning this study. Below are my thoughts on the questions presented for the given study (Please see disclaimer at bottom).

Loving Guidance

Read Gal. 6:1-10

In vss. 1-3, Paul addresses the what if question directly. These verses have truly profound meaning for Catholic teaching on justification. We will do well to think carefully about them.

1. What does the phrase overtaken in any trespass suggest about the relationship between a Christian believer and sin in his life?
(a) That a Christian believer is not free from the effects and temptations of sin, but instead has the capacity, if he/she chooses, to overcome these effects and temptations.

2. If a man sins, is it a private, personal issue that affects only God and himself?
(a) No, sin not only is an offense to God, but is a burden to the Church

3. What does the word restore suggest to you?
(a) This suggestions the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

4. How is this restoration to be handled? Why?
(a) Gently. (b) Because we are spiritual

5. Why do you think Paul speaks of bearing one another's burden in regard to restoring a sinner?
(a) Because a sin against God is something that we, as the Body of Christ, should all try to bring the sinner back into God's grace. This is done by the whole Church praying for and by the priests absolving the sinner.

In answering these questions, you should have been able to observe in this passage evidence of the seed that blossomed into the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation in the Church today. It is worth reading directly from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on this subject. Read paragraphs 1446-1448.

The sacrament of forgiveness
1446 Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace."47
1447 Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably. During the first centuries the reconciliation of Christians who had committed particularly grave sins after their Baptism (for example, idolatry, murder, or adultery) was tied to a very rigorous discipline, according to which penitents had to do public penance for their sins, often for years, before receiving reconciliation. To this "order of penitents" (which concerned only certain grave sins), one was only rarely admitted and in certain regions only once in a lifetime. During the seventh century Irish missionaries, inspired by the Eastern monastic tradition, took to continental Europe the "private" practice of penance, which does not require public and prolonged completion of penitential works before reconciliation with the Church. From that time on, the sacrament has been performed in secret between penitent and priest. This new practice envisioned the possibility of repetition and so opened the way to a regular frequenting of this sacrament. It allowed the forgiveness of grave sins and venial sins to be integrated into one sacramental celebration. In its main lines this is the form of penance that the Church has practiced down to our day.
1448 Beneath the changes in discipline and celebration that this sacrament has undergone over the centuries, the same fundamental structure is to be discerned. It comprises two equally essential elements: on the one hand, the acts of the man who undergoes conversion through the action of the Holy Spirit: namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction; on the other, God's action through the intervention of the Church. The Church, who through the bishop and his priests forgives sins in the name of Jesus Christ and determines the manner of satisfaction, also prays for the sinner and does penance with him. Thus the sinner is healed and re-established in ecclesial communion.
 6. Why is bearing another's burden a fulfillment of the law of Christ (vss. 2-3)?
(a) Because we are called to server one another and to lover our brother as our self.

7. What deception is a person susceptible to in the context of these verses (vss. 3-4)?
(a) One can be deceived into thinking that he is above the need for God's forgiveness.

8. Look at what Paul says in vs. 5. Is he contradicting what he just said in vs. 2? What does he mean?
(a) No. (b) He means that we should not try to alleviate ourselves by placing our burdens on someone else.

9. In the Christian community, what responsibility do those who are taught have towards their teachers (vs. 6)?
(a) To share all good things with their teacher.

10. In vss. 7-8, Paul gives a clear warning: Do not be deceived; God is not mocked. Why do you suppose Paul is worried about the possibility that the Galatians might be deceived into mocking God?
(a) Because if they turn their back on the grace God has provided through the sacrifice of Christ, then they will mock God and His gift.

11. In these same verses, what two ways of life does Paul contrast? Where else in his letter has he spoken like this? Read also Rom. 2:6-11.
(a) The life of the flesh and the life of the Spirit. (b) Paul also contrasted the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-26. Also in Romans:
6: For he will render to every man according to his works: 7: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8: but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 9: There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10: but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11: For God shows no partiality. (Rom 2:6-11, RSV)


12. Look at vs. 9. What is the threat Paul anticipates to the work of sowing to the Spirit, mentioned in vs. 8?
(a) Paul anticipates that we might grow weary and lost heart.

13. In vs. 10, Paul urges the Galatians to do good to all men. Earlier he has said not to grow weary in well-doing. If this kind of doing good is necessary to reap the harvest of eternal life, what light does this passage shed on the traditional way Catholics speak of salvation coming through faith and good works ?
(a) This supports the Catholic position of faith and works.

14. Look over again vss. 1-10. They confirm what Paul has said, directly or indirectly, in many parts of this epistle. That is, the grace of new life in Christ that comes through faith and baptism can actually be weakened and lost through sin. But do these verses give us any reason to be terrified by that fact? Do they deliver us up to despair over our falling into sin after baptism? How would you describe the tone of this part of Paul's letter?
(a) No, on the contrary they provide hope. (b) Once again no. (c) The tone is one of hope in the mercy of God.

A Final Exhortation

Read Gal. 6:11-End

15. In vs. 11, we have an indication that up to this point, a scribe has been writing the letter as Paul dictated it. This was a very common practice in Paul's day. Now in vs. 11, he seems to have taken the pen in his own hand and written his name in large letters. Why do you think he did that? What do you know about Paul from earlier in this letter that might explain why the letters were so big?
(a) To show the Galatians how personally involved he was with the composition of the letter and also how much he personally cares for them. (b) As alluded to in Galatians 4:12-15, Paul's eyesight may have been failing.

16. What does Paul suspect is the reason the Judaizers are so eager for the Gentiles to be circumcised (vss.12-13)?
(a) That they may receive worldly praise and avoid persecution.

17. In vs. 14, Paul says he will only boast in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. What kind of boasting can one do about the Crucifixion?
(a) One can boast that it is through Christ that we are saved. Also, from the Points to Ponder:
The Cross is the glory of God (6:14). Combining man s most violent, rebellious assault against God with man s most dreaded suffering, God turns the tables on all evil on the Cross. It is the everlasting demonstration that the worst thing that can possibly happen in the world already has, and instead of meaning defeat, it broke the chains of slavery, vanquished God s enemy, and flung open the doors of heaven. Is it any wonder that St. Paul makes the Cross the centerpoint of his life? And is it any wonder that Catholic piety has retained the physical representation of Jesus Christ crucified as the focus of its love and adoration throughout the centuries? As St. Clement of Rome wrote, Let us fix our eyes on Christ s blood and understand how precious it is to His Father, for, poured out for our salvation, it has brought to the whole world the grace of repentance (Ad Cor. 7,4: PG 1,224).


18. Compare 6:15-16 to 5:6. Are they both saying the same thing? Why or why not (Hint: Figure out what this rule means in vs. 16)?
(a) Not exactly. (b) While they use similar phrases, one focuses on "faith working through love" while the other on a "new creation". This new creation is our very being and is left in our care. From the Introduction to this lesson:
When a person receives the great gift of having his sins washed away and the new life of Christ that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is a blessing that he must preserve. Just as Adam needed to preserve the blessedness of the Garden through obedience to God, we need to preserve our divine sonship by behaving as members of the royal family. We must remain true to the family. If we depart from the family code of conduct, which is simply the law of love of God and man, we run the risk of losing our inheritance. The danger is real, but, because of the Spirit s presence in us, we do have the heart to obey.


19. When Paul wishes peace and mercy (vs. 16) to the Israel of God, to whom is he referring?
(a) Paul is referring the Nation of God, in other words, the Church.

20. In vs. 17, why should the marks of Jesus on Paul's body serve to silence his opponents?
(a) Because they bear witness to Paul's willingness to suffer for the gospel he proclaims.

21. Read over vss. 11-18 and think back to the account of Paul's conversion that we read in Acts 9. Picture Paul going from house to house, dragging out the Christians to turn them into the authorities. Recall his fury to stamp out this new movement that claimed Jesus was Israel's Messiah. Remember the answer Jesus gave when Paul asked Him Who He was: I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. What are your reflections?
(a) Paul understands that how we, as members of the Body of Christ, conduct ourselves affects the entire Body. Therefore, he is doing his best to go from church to church to stamp out heresy.

Disclaimer: I do not wish to present myself as an expert in either theology, history, or scriptural interpretation. I am merely someone who is attempting to answer the call of Christ. The ultimate authority and interpreter of scripture is our Holy Catholic Church. If at any point I deviate from the teachings of the Church, please correct me, alfredo@nevarez.net, as this is my shortcoming and in no way meant to be an expression of my views superceding those of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.

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 Alfredo Nevarez
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