The Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 8), June 29, 2025

A word of encouragement:

Most of our congregations have heard the gospel stories preached again and again over the years. While the good news is always fresh, the good news is found throughout Scripture. If you (like me) tend toward the gospels, why not try to dip into the good news found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians?

Background and Historical Setting

Paul probably wrote the letter to the church in Galatia from Antioch (in Syria) after his first journey and before the Jerusalem Council, probably around 48 CE. During his first missionary journey, Paul had established churches in the southern region of the Roman province of Galatia, including cities like Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13-14). After hearing that these churches were being influenced by teachers insisting on adherence to the Mosaic Law (especially circumcision and adherence to Jewish food prohibitions), Paul wrote Galatians to correct this and reaffirm the gospel of justification by faith alone.

Galatia was a Roman province in modern central Turkey, known for its diverse cultural and ethnic makeup. By Paul’s time, Galatia included both the ethnic Galatian heartland in the north and important southern cities—such as Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, all of which had become Romanized and were part of the Roman provincial system. The region was governed according to Roman law and administration, but local customs and languages persisted. The population was a mix of indigenous Anatolians, Celts, Greeks, Romans, and Jews, making it a crossroads of cultures and religions.

Economically, Galatia was primarily agrarian, with towns serving as centers for trade and administration. The region was prosperous enough to attract Roman interest and investment, but many people still lived in rural villages. Religiously, Galatia was pluralistic. Temples to Greek and Roman gods, local deities, and the imperial cult coexisted with a significant Jewish minority, especially in the southern cities. The Jewish communities were influential and maintained synagogues, which became key starting points for Paul’s missionary activity.

The early church was rapidly becoming multiethnic, with Gentiles joining what had begun as a Jewish movement. This created tension over identity, belonging, and religious practice. There was no consensus yet on how Jewish law applied to Gentile believers. The very early church was wrestling with foundational questions: Who belongs? What does it mean to be part of God’s family? What is the basis of salvation? What does one have to do in order to be a part of the church (ekklesia).

Paul’s tone toward the Galatians in this letter is one of disapproval. This letter skips his customary thanksgivings and quickly moves to admonishment and pronouncing a curse (anathema) on anyone preaching contrary to Paul’s view. He calls them foolish (3:1), writes that he is “perplexed about you,” (4:20) in regard to their move toward Jewish law and practice. In chapter 5, Paul warns that accepting circumcision means being “alienated from Christ,” and in 5:12 he uses strong hyperbole, saying he wishes those who preach a different doctrine (often called the Judaizers) and attempt to lead them astray would “go the whole way and emasculate themselves.” This strong language reflects his deep concern and frustration over the Galatians’ departure from the gospel he had preached to them, and their willingness to accept teachings that required Gentile believers to adopt Jewish law and customs.

As he wraps up his letter to the church he planted, he takes on the view among some early believers that males must be circumcised in order to follow Jesus. Paul strongly disagrees with this assertion. The section we do not read for today (Gal. 5:2-12) refutes this teaching and argues that as the children of God, we are free from the need to adhere to Jewish rituals like circumcision. Gentiles in particular act contrary to the will of God if they undergo circumcision, because they would then be required to obey the entire law, and as converts, (according to Paul) they simply cannot be righteous under the law. They have already missed major milestones required by the law (like circumcision on the eighth day after birth) and cannot be reckoned as righteous under the law. Instead, Paul argues, we are made righteous by faith working through love.

There are a few translation ‘issues’ to be aware of:

Galatians 5:1 – “Burdened” (ἐνέχω, enechō). The verb ἐνέχεσθε (enechō) can mean “be burdened” (NIV), “entangled” (ESV), or “submit again” (KJV). Literally, it means “hold in” or “be seized by,” suggesting active entanglement rather than passive burdening.

Galatians 5:13 – “Called to Freedom” (ἐπ’ ἐλευθερίᾳ, ep’ eleutheria). The preposition ἐπί (epi) can mean “for” (purpose) or “based on” (foundation). Some translations (e.g., NIV) imply freedom is the goal, but other translations emphasize freedom as the basis for ethical living. Clarifying whether freedom is the starting point or the destination may be important for your message to your congregation. Literally, this reads: “For freedom Christ has freed us; stand firm, then, and do not again be seized by a yoke of slavery.”

Salvation is Freedom to be a New Creation

In 5:1,13-25, Paul draws together his theological argument about Christian freedom with ethical imperatives, creating a bridge between doctrine and practice. Our passage for today is structured around two antitheses: (1) freedom in Christ versus slavery to the Law/flesh, and (2) the “works of the flesh” versus the “fruit of the Spirit.”

Freedom/Slavery

Paul’s declares, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (ἐλευθερίᾳ ἡμᾶς Χριστὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν), framing freedom as liberation from the “yoke of slavery” (ζυγῷ δουλείας). Here Paul uses a metaphor for the Mosaic Law’s inability to justify (cf. Acts 15:10). This freedom is not autonomy but a transfer of allegiance to Jesus and the emerging Christian community, resisting both legalism and license. Keep in mind that it might be helpful to explain the word “yoke.”  Some of our parishioners hear the word “yolk.” A yoke, is a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals, usually oxen or horses, and attached to a plow or cart that they pull. In biblical times, it symbolized burden, servitude, or submission to authority.

He warns against misusing freedom as “an opportunity for the flesh” (ἀφορμὴν τῇ σαρκί). The term σάρξ (flesh) here denotes humanity’s self-centered orientation, contrary to the Spirit (πνεῦμα). Freedom, for Paul, is mostly the freedom to do the work of the Spirit, rather than Freedom from the law (that can lead to the misuse of freedom). This freedom leads to another kind of voluntary slavery to the wellbeing of others, “through love become slaves to one another” (διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις), calling back to Jesus’ ethic of mutual service (cf. Mark 10:43-45). The imperative to “serve one another” subverts Roman social hierarchies, advocating a countercultural community where status distinctions dissolve (cf. Gal 3:28). It might be helpful to remind believers today that the us/them boundaries enforced today run contrary to the Spirit and our command to serve one another.

Flesh/Spirit

Often, this dualism is posed to us today as body (bad) versus Spirit (good). The body gets associated with anything the community and/or those in power consider bad and the Spirit is associated with anything deemed good. This dualism has led to all sorts of abuses, especially for those who are not in power. Women and people of non-European ethnicities have been associated with the body and therefore treated as ‘bad’ (cf. Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women; John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Timothy; Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence; Aquinas, Summa Theologica I.92 and Josiah Priest, Bible Defence of Slavery (1852); J. T. Hendrick, Union and Slavery;  Charles Colcock Jones, The Religious Instruction of the Negroes in the United States—this is a small sample of a shameful list). Although the word σάρξ (sarx) can mean the physical flesh of a body, Paul often uses it in a broader sense to refer to the human condition oriented away from God, like weakness, mortality, or self-centeredness. It is distinct from σῶμα (soma), which means “body” and is generally used by Paul in a more neutral or even positive sense (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:13-20; 12:12-27; 15:35-54; Romans 12:1; 8:10-13). For Paul, the body is not inherently sinful or to be escaped but is integral to the person and the site of God’s redemptive work. The ‘flesh’ on the other hand is that tendency in humanity toward those things that move us away from God’s good designs for creation.

The “works of the flesh” (ἔργα τῆς σαρκός) catalog social and personal vices. Paul lists “enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions” (5:20). These disrupt the κοινωνία (fellowship) of the church, reflecting life and community oriented away from the Spirit. Enmities are deep-seated feelings of hostility, hatred, or active opposition between people or groups. The word describes situations where there is ongoing conflict, resentment, or animosity. More than just a disagreement, enmity is a state where people see each other as enemies and act accordingly.

The “fruit of the Spirit” (καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματος) is singular and suggests a kind of natural transformation, rather than something that must be engineered. The fruit is growth rather than striving. Virtues like ἀγάπη (love) and εἰρήνη (peace) reflect God’s own nature and also fulfill the Law’s demands (5:14; Rom 13:8-10).

Paul uses another metaphor to help believers recognize their new state and their freedom from the law. Believers have “crucified the flesh” (τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν) with Christ. This is a definitive break with an old way of being. In Christ, we have died to our old ways and habits, both Gentile ways that led to false gods and the Jewish way which led to focus on the rules rather than on God. Paul’s command to “walk by the Spirit” (Πνεύματι καὶ στοιχῶμεν) assumes ongoing cooperation with the Spirit’s transformative work.

Possible Sermon Illustration:

When I was a teenager, I got my first job at a local bakery. The manager gave me a thick employee handbook—pages and pages of rules: how to dress, how to greet customers, how to put baked goods in a box or a bag, even how to clock in and out. I was so worried about getting everything right that I spent my first weeks constantly anxious, checking the handbook before every little decision. I was afraid that if I missed a rule, I’d be in trouble or even fired.

But after a few months, something changed. I had learned the heart of the job was serving people, working hard, being honest. My manager trusted me, and I no longer needed to check the handbook every five minutes. I was free to do my job well, not because I was afraid of breaking a rule, but because I understood the purpose behind the rules and wanted to do good work. The rules hadn’t disappeared, but I wasn’t enslaved by them anymore.

I think this is what Paul means when he talks about freedom from the law (Galatians 5:1, 13). The law was like that handbook—good and necessary for a time but never meant to be the final word. In Jesus, we’re set free from living in fear of missing a rule or earning God’s approval by perfect performance. Now, we live by the Spirit, motivated by love, not by anxiety or legalism. We’re free to serve others and honor God, not because we have to, but because we want to, out of gratitude and trust.

So, if you find yourself constantly worried about whether you’re doing enough for God, remember: Jesus has set you free. Don’t go back to living by the handbook, instead live by the Spirit, in the joy and freedom of God’s grace.

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Rev. Dr. Torbitzky received her doctorate from Claremont Graduate University and her Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She serves as Chaplain of Lindenwood University and faculty in the Philosophy and Religion Department. Torbitzky recently co-edited a volume on Open, Relational, and Process preaching and practice, Preaching the Uncontrolling Love of God. She edits the Process and Faith lectionary commentary series.