Te Deum Laudamus
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance; govern and uphold them now and always. Day by day we bless you; we praise your Name forever. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin; have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. Lord, show us your love and mercy, for we have put our trust in you. In you, Lord is our hope; let us never be put to shame.
(Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019)
Galatians 5:13-15 NRSV
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
It was truly ironic that these Christians, who were seduced by a message of law-keeping, should fall into behavior that blatantly contradicted their faith. Their emphasis on the flesh—literally, through circumcision, but more importantly, through their dependence on their own effort—led them indeed to perform the works of the flesh in another sense. Our efforts to please God in our own strength result only in sinful behavior.[1]
Marius Victorinus
The whole work of the law is fulfilled by this one command: love. For one who loves another neither murders nor commits adultery nor steals . . . But we ought to understand by “neighbor” every human being and then constantly view Christ as our neighbor.[2]
O God and Father of all,
Whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men, women, and children everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019)
I Then Shall Live
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Moisés Silva, “Galatians,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1219.
[2] Ancient Christian Devotional Year C (InterVarsity Press, 2009, p. 159)
