May 29, Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43; Galatians 1:1-12; Luke 7:1-10

Religious pluralism can be difficult. So can diversity within the same tradition. Some people’s firm grounding in their own articulation of faith leads them to reject those who believe otherwise; others are willing to give up on any peculiarity of a tradition in the interest of tolerance. Both approaches make interreligious or ecumenical dialogue difficult, for different reasons.

The first approach blocks dialogue by assuming there is no chance that others hold some truth or goodness in their conviction. This can lead instead to a monologue, in which the other faith functions as a foil. It can also point toward thinking of evangelism and mission in the narrow terms of coercive conversion. The second approach blocks dialogue by assuming that tolerance happens only through focusing on what is common and shared. This reduces each person’s faith to a set of universal values, leading to a sort of subtle reductionist aggression toward both traditions. The challenge, then, is how to be grounded in one’s own faith tradition while also showing respect, love, and cooperation toward others.

In Galatians, Paul is confrontational. He knows what he believes in, and he is addressing a community that he is familiar with—one that has deviated from the teachings and commitments that he sees as central to the gospel. Paul reminds the Galatians that some of their beliefs and practices are not in accord with the gospel of freedom that he has taught them. Paul is engaged here in a process of discerning the truth, and he urges the church to do the same.