It is not about food: The Unity in Christ
October 9, 2024 - Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14
In today’s excerpts from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, two issues threatened the early Christian community: circumcision and dietary laws. At first glance, these might seem like antiquated concerns, but they strike at the heart of a deeper question that remains relevant: What does it mean to truly belong to the people of God?
John Dominic Crossan, in his book In Search of Paul, places these problems within a broader biblical context. He asks: When God finally ends evil, injustice, and violence, what will He do with the pagans and the conquering empires that have caused so much suffering? Will He exterminate them, as suggested in the Book of Revelation (see Rev. 14:9-11, 20), or will He convert them, as prophesied in Isaiah 25:6-8? If God is going to convert all nations, should they be circumcised to attend the feast prepared by God? And what kind of food will God serve at that feast?
In Jerusalem, the apostles resolved the issue of circumcision: Gentiles were not required to undergo it. After all, they were not converting to Judaism but embracing faith in the God of the Bible through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, in Antioch, the issue arose about the food a Christian community should share while worshiping together. Sharing a meal is deeply symbolic—it represents fellowship, unity, and acceptance. So what message was being sent when Peter, who had previously eaten with Gentile believers, suddenly withdrew and only ate with Jewish Christians when others from Jerusalem arrived?
Paul saw this behavior as a betrayal of the Gospel itself. For him, the issue was not really about food or circumcision; it was about the very nature of the community that Christ was building—a community where all are one in Him, regardless of cultural or religious background. In Christ, what matters is not what we eat but that we live out the truth of the Gospel, which calls us to unity and love above all else. While we may not be debating circumcision or kosher laws today, we often find ourselves wrestling with other issues that undermine our unity.
We can learn much from Paul’s passionate defense of the Gospel. First, we are reminded that the Kingdom of God is not about external observances, but about "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). Second, Paul challenges us to examine our own behavior. Are there ways in which we, like Peter, act differently around different people? Do we inadvertently create divisions in the body of Christ through our actions or attitudes? Finally, we are reminded that our ultimate allegiance is to Christ and His Gospel, which calls us to love and unity.
In a world that often divides people into “us” and “them,” the Church is called to be a place where those divisions are healed, and where the love of Christ is the measure of our community. May we always remember that it is not about what we eat or what rituals we observe, but about how we embody the love and grace of Christ in all we do.