June 1, 2025 - Being Clothed in Christ Erases Hierarchies

Pastor Steve preached today. The Creator congregation congratulated him on the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination. There was a celebratory feeling that the congregation had, even as the Gospel starts with Paul voicing his frustration with the Galatians.

The apostle Paul does not hold back his words, “You foolish Galatians!” he begins. It grabs our attention as it should. Paul is frustrated, not because the Galatians are evil or lost, but because they are turning away from the radical grace they once believed in and replacing it with bondage, the Spirit with law, and faith with works. They’ve forgotten the heart of the gospel.

In Christ, we are justified by faith, not by what we do, but by who God is. Not by where we come from, but by who claims us. Not by what separates us, but by what unites us.

Paul calls out a dangerous trend: the Galatians are returning to a religion of rules. They perform as if righteousness can be earned by observing the law. Paul says, “Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?”

In other words, Paul is clear, this gift isn't earned but received. This is a crucial reminder for us, too. In a world driven by performance, merit, and achievement, the gospel offers a radical alternative: You are already enough in Christ. We don’t earn God’s love or prove our worth. Instead, we discover it has already been given.

Before faith came, Paul says, “we were imprisoned and guarded under the law.” That might sound harsh, but Paul is speaking about a spiritual reality: living under the law is like being locked in a mindset where we’re always falling short.

Now we come to one of the most powerful passages in all of Scripture:

“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.”

This is not just beautiful, it’s revolutionary.

Paul is not erasing our identities. He’s erasing the hierarchies we’ve built around them. He’s not saying we cease to be different. He’s saying our differences no longer divide us.  In a world still marked by racism, sexism, classism, and exclusion of LGBTQ+ people from some churches, these words are a divine disruption. They call the Church not just to preach unity but to embody it.

When we are clothed in Christ, we don’t all become the same; we all become sacred. Beloved and Equal.

Galatians 3 is not just about ancient arguments over circumcision and Jewish law. It’s about every system, every theology, every boundary that seeks to keep some people “in” and others “out.” 

And Paul says here: in Christ, the gates are wide open.

There is a story in the Hasidic tradition about the beloved Rabbi Zusya. As he lay on his deathbed, his students gathered around him and found him weeping. They were surprised and said "Rabbi, why are you so afraid? You have lived a life of wisdom and kindness. Surely you have no reason to fear meeting God.".

Zusya replied, “I am not afraid that God will ask me, ‘Why were you not Moses?’ I am afraid God will ask me, 'Why were you not Zusya?'"

This teaching holds a mirror to the spiritual task we all share: to become who we truly are.