See what  large letters I wrote to you with my hand.

As many as wish to make a good showing in flesh,
they are forcing you to be circumcised
only not be persecuted on account of the cross of Christ. 

For the ‘circumcisers’’ do not keep the Law themselves, 
but they wish you to be circumcised, 
so that they might boast in regard to your flesh. 

But may boasting never be mine except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
by which the world has been crucified to me,
and me to  the world. 

For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything
– but new creation!

And as many who keep this rule
peace upon them and mercy
even upon the Israel of God.

From now on let no-one cause me trouble.
For I bear the marks of Jesus in my body. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit, brothers and sisters,
Amen. 

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Sisters and brothers 
and if a person falls into some wrongdoing,
you all who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.
paying attention to yourself lest you are tempted as well.

Bear one another’s burdens
and in this way you will all fulfil the law of Christ. 

For if anyone thinks they are something but are not,
they are deceiving themselves.
But let each one examine their work
and then they will  have a reason to ‘boast’ only in themselves
and not in another.

For each one will  bear their own load..

Let the one who is taught the word share in all good things with the teacher.

Do not be deceived, God is not made a fool of. 
For whatever a person sows, they will also reap
because the one who sows sows into their flesh,
will reap corruption from flesh. 

The one who sows into the Spirit,
will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 
So let us not give up doing good, 
for we will reap in its own season
if we do not give up.

Therefore now while we have season, 
let us work good to all, 
especially to those of the household of faith. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

For you have been called to freedom,
brothers and sisters,
only do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but keep serving one another, through love. 

For all the Jewish Law is fulfilled in a single phrase:
Love your neighbour as yourself.

If you bite and devour one another, 
watch out lest you consume one another. 

So I say to you, keep walking by the Spirit,
and then you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the flesh desires against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh
for these oppose one another,
so that you cannot do whatever you want to.
And if you are led by the Spirit
you are not under the Jewish Law.

But the works of the flesh are evident: 
immorality, impurity, indecency,
idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, strife, jealousy, rages, selfish ambitions, dissensions, division, envy, 
drunkenness, carousing 
and similar things, 
which I am warning you about, 
(as I did warn)
that those who do these things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is:
love, joy, peace, 
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 

Against these there is not a law.

And those of Christ have crucified the flesh
together with the affections and desires. 

If we live by the Spirit, let us line up with the Spirit. 

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

Look I Paul am telling you
that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, 
Christ will not profit you.

But, again I am bearing witness 
to every man
who allows himself to be circumcised
that he is a person under obligation to keep the whole Jewish law. 

You have been cut off from Christ, 
who are trying get yourselves right, by law, 
you are falling from grace. 

For we are waiting 
by the Spirit
from faith
for the hope of ‘being right’.

For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision is of value 
nor uncircumcision
but faith
working through love. 

You were running well.
Who cut in on you
so that you don’t obey the truth?
The persuasion is not from the one who calls you.

A little yeast makes the whole batch rise.

But I am confident in the Lord,
that you think nothing else.

But the one troubling you will bear the judgement,
whoever they are. 

But I , sisters and brothers- 
if I am preaching circumcision
why am I still being persecuted?

Then the scandal of the cross has been rendered ineffective.

I wish those who agitate you would cut the whole lot off!

God be in head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.

Tell me:
those wishing to be under law, 
do you not hear the law?

For it has been written that Abraham had two sons
one from the slave woman
and one from the free woman.

But 
the one from the slave woman
has been born according to the flesh
and the one from the free woman
has been through the promise. 

These things are spoken of allegorically. 

For,
these are two covenants, 
one from Mount Sinai
bearing children for slavery
this is Hagar.
But Sinai is a mountain in Arabia. 
But she corresponds to Jerusalem, now. 
For she (Jerusalem)  serves with her children. 

But Jerusalem above is free,
she is our mother,
For it has been written:
Start to rejoice, barren woman, who has not given birth,
Begin to burst out in song and shout, who have no birth pains.
Because the children of the deserted woman are many,
more than those of her who has a husband. 

But, you, 
sisters and brothers
are children according to the promise of Isaac.

But just as then the one born under the flesh,
persecuted the one according to the Spirit,
it is like this now. 

But what does Scripture say:
‘Throw out the slave woman and her son,
for the son of the slave woman will certainly not inherit 
with the son of the free woman.’

Therefore sisters, and brothers
we are not children of the slave woman
but of the free woman. 

For freedom, Christ has set us free
So stand firm and
do not bend your neck again 
to the yoke of slavery. 

Lord God,
your feed us with the living bread from heaven.
You renew our faith
increase our hope
and strengthen our love.
Teach us to hunger for Christ
who is the true and living bread
and live by every word that comes from your mouth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Become like me,
because I became like you,
sisters and brothers
I beg you. 

You did not wrong me in any way. 

And you know that because of a weakness 
        I preached the gospel to you at first. 
And your trouble in my flesh
you did not despise or reject,
but you received me
          as an angel of God, 
          as Christ Jesus. 

So where is your blessing?

For I bear witness to you that
      if it was possible 
       having dug out your eyes
you would have given them to me.

So then have I become your enemy speaking the truth to you?

They seek you eagerly 
not nobly
and they want to exclude you
so you would seek them. 

But it is a noble thing to be sought 
nobly
at all times,
and not only
when I have been with you. 

My children, I am suffering birth pains, again,
until Christ is formed in you all.

I have wished to be present with you until now
        and to change my tone of voice,
because I am perplexed by you. 

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

But then you,
          while you did not know God
were slaves to the things by nature not gods,
but now
            having come to know God, 
    (or rather having come to be known by God)
how can you turn again to the weak and poor elemental forces
which once again you want to serve?

You observe days and months and seasons and years!

I fear for you, that somehow I have been working in vain for you.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

Now, I say,
for as much time as the heir is under age,
in no way do they differ from a slave
even though they are master of everything –
but they are under a guardian
and trustee
until the age set by the father.

So we also,
when we were under age
were enslaved by the elemental forces of the world

But in  the fullness of time,
God sent out his Son, 
(a) having been born of a woman
(b) having been born under the Jewish law~
(b) so that he might set free those under the Law
(a) so that we might receive adoption. 

And because we are sons and daughters, 
God sent out the Spirit of his Son
into our hearts 
calling 
‘Abba Father.’

So that you (each one!) are no a longer slave
but a son or a daughter.

And if a sons or a daughter
then an heir
through God.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

But before the coming of the faith 
we were kept under guard by Law
being imprisoned
until the coming faith was  revealed.

So that the Jewish Law became our child-minder
until Christ, 
so that we might be declared righteous
on the basis of faith.

And the faith having come
we are no longer under the child-minder. 

For you all are daughters and sons of God,
through faith,
in Christ Jesus.

For as many as you were baptised into Christ,
put on Christ.

For there is no Jew nor Gentile, 
there is no slave nor free
there is no ‘male and female.’

For you all one in Christ Jesus. 

If you are Christ’s
then you are the seed of Abraham
and inheritors
according to the promise.

Be thou a bright flame before me,
Be thou a guiding star above me
Be thou a smooth path below me
Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
Today – tonight -forever
Amen.

St Columba