In our first reading taken from Galatians, Paul faults his listeners for neglecting the Good News he had preached to them - that Salvation does not come through the observance of laws, but rather through the gracious and free gift of God's love manifested in Jesus' self-sacrifice on the cross.

The error of the Galatians is quite understandable-we still don't quite believe the Good News ourselves. We are always tempted to think that we must somehow win our salvation through our own efforts, by doing whatever difficult thing we think will earn us God's love. We can't quite believe that God is really like the God whom Jesus revealed-- a God who stops along the roadside to help an unfortunate outcast, condemned by religious authorities and custom; a Father who forgives his prodigal sons and daughters welcoming them into his home without even a hint of blame for their mistakes; a God who agrees to sit down to eat with the riff-raff, the sinners, the wrong set, without so much as even asking them to shape up as the price of admission to the table. This is not a God we are used to, because God doesn't behave as we do in our relationship to others and ourselves. God doesn't demand anything of us, and we can't earn what God is willing to give away for free.

Why do we persist in thinking that we are in control of the relationship and can earn more of God's love by feats of spiritual acrobatics? We can't!