Galatians 3:23-29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

What does it mean to you that we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian?

Does that feel true for you? Does that feel real?

For me this is one of Paul's most important writings. It captures me every time I begin to fret about "us" and "them" or "who's in" and "who's out."

Or even fret for myself that God is mad at me.

Or that I'm not doing or being as I ought.

In this time of waiting, we are able to begin to practice living into this idea of there being no more human made distinctions. We can begin to practice the idea of being one.

These days it might feel like we are as far from free and being one as we can possibly be.

We are imprisoned still by differences and polarities and genders and racism and just plain needing to be right rather than united.

We are slaves still in so many ways to those things that separate and divide us not just from each other, but from God as well.

And yet, at the same time, we are clothed in Christ. Free from those same divisions that out of fear we still cling to.

And so we wait. We wait for a time when those distinctions are no longer of use to us. But as we wait and and we hope, we also learn to begin to live into that true freedom that is offered to us. That freedom that unites us as one.  We practice it until its truth is revealed in its fullness to us.

Come Lord Jesus and help us to see the reality of your freedom and unity in your name. Amen.