How is it that you turn back again…

As I was reading this morning, I ran across this passage in Galatians 4

⁹But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? ¹⁰You observe days and months and seasons and years. ¹¹I fear for you…

Leading up to this place in the letter, Paul had addressed the Galatians on matters of the Law. Particularly, he had made mention of how it is no longer to be lived by nor given heed to. They (and the rest of the ecclesia) is to live by faith through Christ. He gives an imperative stating “not to rebuild that which [you] have once destroyed” (namely: law).

It seems to me that Paul’s great concern (not only addressed in the epistle to the Galatians) is regarding Faith juxtaposed with Law. Continually he urges not to follow (or live by) the Law, but to live by faith. In my pondering of law and what it is, I have come to the conclusion that not only was law understood as those rules listed on a couple stone tablets and parchment, but also the rituals and rites under which so many of the Jews (and Gentiles I will argue) were enslaved. Galatians 4:10 gives evidence here. They were observing days, months, seasons, and years.

I was thinking as I was reading: we are still involved in the same trappings as the Galatians (and others) were1900 years ago. We still observe holy days and seasons (i.e. Lent, Easter, and Christmas). In some ways I wonder, have we not created these as another law unto ourselves as others were to the Galatians? Are these days and seasons necessary for faith? Or have they become a part of a religious system that has only created new obligations for us to be aware of?

Valentine’s…

I typically do not enjoy Valentine’s Day.  I mean, I always enjoy the time with the one I am with (which has happened to be the love of my life the last 5 years), but it is not a day that I look forward to like Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It just doesn’t have the same quality in my opinion.  I suppose I am one of the cynics out there that think it is purely a marketing conspiracy.  Well, what can I say.

However, this year has been different.  I still did not look forward to the holiday with any anticipation, but I did think much more about my wife and my great love for her.  I really have been blessed lately in my thinking of her and our marriage.  All I can hope for is that it continues to flourish and that I could be continually cognizant of the greatness and mystery of it.

Wishing the same to all you lovers out there.

a BIG test, and all the other stuff…

So, it has been a really long time since I have posted – 3 months now.  It doesn’t seem that long, but the calendar doesn’t lie.  I am a bit disappointed in myself because I really would like to be a regular blogger.  It makes me stop and think about what is going on in my life and in my thoughts.  For instance, the last post was one that I was actually really interested in writing more about, but time got away from me and nothing else was written.  Maybe it will be rekindled on a later date.

Where have I been?  Starting just before the Thanksgiving holiday of 2007, my schedule became ridiculously tight.  I sing in a choir here in Dallas and we sang Beethoven’s 9th for a week straight.  It was really grand and I enjoyed every minute of it.  If anyone is reading this and enjoys classical music, I recommend you download the Boston Pops version from iTunes.  After Thanksgiving, our Christmas concert season began.  The choir had 11 concerts in a 15 day period.  I sang in 7.  For the Christmas holiday, my wife and I enjoyed a trip to New Orleans with my family.  It was a nice and needed vacation from work.  During all of this time, I was still working a full-time job which required me to often times hop into a tuxedo at work before leaving to go to a concert.  It was quite a tough stint.

One of the biggest reasons I have not blogged as of late is because of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  If I received free time during the evenings or days, I tried to occupy myself in study for the GRE.   In fact, I should be studying vocabulary words as I type (but, alas, I am not).  I am intending to apply to graduate school for matriculation in Fall 2009.  Where? we do not know.   In what? religious studies (specialization in Early Christian history).

Maybe there will be more posts to come.