Welcome to Friday’s Podcast.  Next week James Brown will continue our journey through Galatians.  Our reading today is Galatians 4: 12-20.  Today we’ll look at verse 15:

‘What has happened to all your joy?  I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.’

REFLECTION:

A great joy for me in this lockdown period is our lovely garden.  I’m so grateful!  Not only does it mean the kids can play but it means we get to have a go at growing things which I really enjoy.  I’m not a great gardener – I know how to water – I’m pretty good at that.  I have two grape vines.  One which has produced nothing.  Not even one grape.  And the other one has produced the smallest grapes I have ever seen.  They’re barely edible but I do eat them out of respect the vine.

Every day, sometimes twice or more I check their progress.  I know that sounds a bit obsessive – maybe it is – but when you’re homeschooling it’s a welcome break to have a few minutes to check out progress.

During this lockdown season I’ve been really taking notice of the vines (well, one would if you’re checking 3 times a day) because to get them to grow grapes they have to be pruned.  In fact they need to be trailed – trained – and pruned.  It’s a slow, slow progress.  It seems so counter intuitive to cut them down and trim them back in winter.  And then in the summer keep them trimmed.  Not letting them get too wild or crazy.  Always forcing the growth into the grapes, not the leaves.

One of my reflections on this season, I don’t know about you but it does feel like we’re being pruned.  For example, Plans are getting pruned.  Birthday celebrations pruned.  School and work – all pruned.  A sense of being connected to other people – seeing friends and family all pruned.  The list could go on…

In the NIV version of the Bible translates verse 15 as ‘What has happened to all your joy?’  We’re told later in the book of Galatians by Paul that joy is a fruit – a by product of the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives.  Whenever I’ve met really joyful Christians I have found it such an energising experience.  There’s something really infectious about them – really life giving.  Life giving people often have evidence of the fruits of the spirit – along with encouragement and honour.  We know, Jesus tells us in Luke 6:45 that what comes out of our mouths is what is from the overflow what is stored in our hearts.  So, Joy – coming out of us – is a fruit of God’s internal activity within us.

This is important.  This week we’ve been tracking the apostle Paul deal with a pull among the Galatian believers backwards to a life of religious obedience which is often concerned with the external appearance. Any reading of the gospels tells us that.  In the Galatians’ case circumcision; observing Jewish festivals adopting their customs which we’ve seen Paul tackle head on.

What can this say to us coming up to the end of week 6 in the lockdown?

Let me be honest for a moment.  I know in this lockdown I have been pretty grumpy with my children.  I’m not always sleeping very well – which apparently is a thing for lots of people.  Plus we’re living through a generation-defining moment.  So some of my grumpiness is pretty normal – it’s natural but some of the fears, the anxiety well, I like you have to give that to the Lord through confession and worship.

So it’s really interesting that in verse 17 Paul says ‘Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good…’  Some scholars say that one of the features of the leaders who were leading the Galatians away from Paul’s teaching was that they used flattery.  Smooth words and with great eloquence.

Here’s the thing – the apostle Paul is calling the Galatian church back to the gospel.  They cannot achieve their own salvation.  They cannot earn God’s approval.  He’s not flattering them.