Gal 1:11-19 · Matthew 13:54-58 · Colossians 2:1-7 · Luke 10:1-15 — Friday, October 23, 2026

A daily note from the team at OCABS.ORG, drawing on the published works of Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, with citations to his books and lectures. Readings: Gal 1:11-19; Matthew 13:54-58; Colossians 2:1-7; Luke 10:1-15. Paul's account of his call in Galatians 1 insists that he did not derive his gospel from any human source. Fr. Paul shows that the three verbs of vv.13-14 form one unit describing Paul's zeal in Judaism, and that this unit is deliberately echoed in v.23, where the same verbs for persecuting and ravaging recur, so that Paul's hearers see his conversion as a single, decisive break rather than a gradual change of mind. The notice that after his call he "didn't immediately confer with flesh and blood" but withdrew to Arabia, and only after three years paid a brief, unofficial visit to Peter and James, is meant to show that his authority came directly from God and not from the Jerusalem apostles. Matthew's version of the Nazareth scene softens Mark's language, dropping the reference to Jesus' kin and calling him the carpenter's son rather than naming him as the carpenter himself, a shift Fr. Paul reads as reflecting a largely Gentile community. Despite the softened wording, the outcome is the same as in Mark, for Matthew reports that "he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief." Fr. Paul notes that this rejection by his own people parallels what Paul the apostle experienced from his Jewish kin, since the term for carpenter, tekton, appears elsewhere only in this Matthean parallel and recalls the architect language Paul uses of his own apostolic labor. In Colossians, Paul tells the community that he struggles for them so that their hearts may be united in love and reach the full riches of understanding, the knowledge of the mystery of Christ in whom all treasures of wisdom are hidden. Fr. Paul explains that this true wisdom stands against the "persuasive speech" of Greek rhetoric, which merely persuades without regard for truth, and against a later-named "philosophy" that is empty deceit. Paul's own absence is no obstacle, for he is with them in spirit, rejoicing at their order and the firmness of their faith; having so received Christ, they are to walk in him, rooted, built up, and abounding in thanksgiving rather than in their own effort, since it is God who works in them. The root pair of the day · י-ד-ע yod–dalet–ʿayin, יָדַע yadaʿ · و–د–ع wāw–dāl–ʿayn, مُسْتَوْدَع mustawdaʿ · know; learn to know; perceive. Basar and bushshira hold together two senses that meet in Galatians: flesh, as in Paul's refusal to confer with flesh and blood, and good tidings, as in the Good News he received by revelation. Colossians echoes the first sense when Paul speaks of being absent in the flesh yet present in spirit. Greek sarx renders the flesh, while the root's tidings-sense underlies euangelion itself. cf. The Consolation of Consonants Sources: Tarazi, Galatians: A Commentary, p. 40; Tarazi, Galatians: A Commentary, p. 40; Tarazi, Galatians: A Commentary, p. 39; Tarazi, Galatians: A Commentary, p. 40; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 4, Matthew and the Canon, p. 193; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 4, Matthew and the Canon, p. 193; Tarazi, The New Testament: An Introduction, vol. 1, Paul and Mark, p. 114; Tarazi, Colossians and Philemon: A Commentary, p. 64; Tarazi, Colossians and Philemon: A Commentary, p. 62; Tarazi, Colossians and Philemon: A Commentary, p. 61. The note on ocabs.org Opening music: Taksim Arbi, Bichi Slama, oud (Tunis, Archives de la Parole, 1930s), public domain. Source: gallica.bnf.fr / BnF. The digital voice Fāṭima (فَاطِمَة) is named in honor of the learned women of al-Andalus, particularly Fāṭima bint Yaḥyā al-Maghāmī, Fāṭima al-Sharrāṭ, and Fāṭima bint al-Muthannā, whose legacies embody the Andalusian traditions of scriptural scholarship, jurisprudence, education, and wisdom.