May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule – peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body. Galatians 6:14-17
Those whom Jesus chose to be his apostles and those who followed him during his life and afterwards were simple folks. None of the greats of his time became his disciple, neither from the world of politics, nor from the world of the Jewish religion, nor from the intellectuals of the time; none became followers of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were sympathizers, but it was not until after Jesus’ death that they gave their lives to the cause.
Just as the charismatic St. Francis of Assisi needed a systematic and organized Friar Elias, the happened with Jesus of Nazareth. Someone was needed to systematize, to interpret in the light of Judaism and the world of that time the meaning of Jesus' coming, for Israel and for the whole world.
St. Paul was a contemporary of Jesus, but he did not live with Him or know Him personally like the twelve apostles and many other disciples. However, he was the first great theologian that the Church had; he was the one who was best able to interpret and find the meaning of the historical facts that the other apostles experienced, preparing Christianity and endowing it with a theology so that it could enter into dialogue with the Greco-Roman world.
I Boast of the Cross of Christ
The cross as an object or symbol does not carry the meaning it did 2,000 years ago as it does today. Today it is the symbol of Christianity, which is why we see it on the steeple of every Church; it is also a symbol of health in pharmacies, and of salvation and relief in the Red Cross.
At the time of Christ, for Jews, Greeks, and Romans alike, it was an instrument of torture, an object of ignominy, scorn, and shame. After the Roman victory over the rebellious slaves led by the gladiator Spartacus in 71 BC, the Romans crucified 6,000 rebels along the 200 km of the Appian Way, between Rome and Capua. The worst that could be said about a person is that he had died on a cross. In terms of reputation for the victim and his family, it is the modern-day equivalent of dying from AIDS.
The World is Crucified to Me and I to the World
The reason why St. Paul boast of the cross is not primarily because both the cross and suffering are a means to salvation, but rather, in this context, because it was the cross of Christ that made all things clear. In the judgment of Christ, it was the powers of this world who were truly judged, and in the cross of Christ, it was this world with its values that was truly crucified.
It is in this sense that the apostle says, the world is crucified to me and I to the world. In the resurrection of the Crucified One, it was proven that the world with its powers, hatreds, divisions and strife that led to Christ’s condemnation and death, is unjust and is itself judged, condemned and crucified. Saint Paul also died to that world, because he now obeys another power and is governed by other values.
Neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision
Circumcision was the physical mark that distinguished Jews from non-Jews. Saint. Paul says that this is worthless, serves no purpose, does not lead to salvation and is no guarantee of anything. The same can be said of uncircumcision.
It was St. Paul who rescued Christianity from the heavy burden and heritage of Judaism. Only he, a convert from strict Jewish observance, was able to cut the umbilical cord and emancipate Christianity from Jewish tutelage once and for all.
For Paul, the previous world, with its racist, blue-blooded or sexist discriminations and classifications, ceased to make any sense after Christ.
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28.
With a single sentence, Paul interprets very well what the world of human relationships should be like after Christ. Any discrimination based on race, social position or status, culture or sex no longer makes any sense. Dignity and respect are due to all human beings because all are brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of the same Heavenly Father.
Peace and Mercy for God's New Israel
With Christ’s resurrection, a new creation is inaugurated; a new way of seeing and living life. This new way of living life also forms a new people of Israel which is the mystical body of Christ, the Church in which we are all invited to participate:
For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we too are his offspring.” Acts 17:28
I Carry the Marks of Christ Branded on My Body
A new flock, a new mark to distinguish those who are and are not of Christ; the physical mark that replaces circumcision: the five wounds of Christ that he, seated at the right hand of the Father, wears as historical proof of his incarnation, death and resurrection.
Some saints, who most identified with Christ, like Francis of Assisi, were marked with the five wounds of Christ; those very same wounds, imprinted in our national flag, have always been the pride of Portuguese people. These are marks that remain like a tattoo and always remind us of how much God loved us to the point of giving his life for us.
Conclusion – Jesus preached, performed miracles, healed, and went around the world doing good. Paul, not part of the Twelve, was the one who best interpreted the life of Jesus and its meaning for humanity.
Fr. Jorge Amaro, IMC
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