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. – Gal. 3:28

We should not miss the bold character of the words of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. The unity that Paul is describing comes from a bold theological understanding of the incarnation and it has radical social implications. He is speaking as a free Jew male into a context where social and ethnic categories are clearly marked. The type of unity that Paul is calling for is no mere sentiment of appreciation for each other. Instead, this unity acknowledges and questions the power dynamics imbedded in the divisions that society makes. Moreover, it is a type of unity by which each participant cares and works for the wellbeing of the other as if it were his or her own wellbeing. This is unity in solidarity!

One of the most striking examples of solidarity I have ever witnessed took place in El Salvador, when we were partnering with a local church and the city council of Alegria to build houses for impoverished families. Suzannah, my wife, and I were continuing the work that Lyn and Larry Pearce had done with our local partner for years in El Salvador. Oscar and Sabas were  the community workers of our local partner at the time. Before the team of volunteers from Canada arrived, they had worked for months with the local community, facilitating conversations in which people shared their stories and their needs. During these conversations, the bonds of the community grew stronger as the theme of solidarity was emphasized to get these houses built.

After witnessing these conversations, I knew that all the families participating had real needs and faced significant hurdles to build a proper house, but what I saw during a visit to one of the families left a deep impression on me. A young woman with her teenage daughter and three small children lived inside a makeshift tent made of pieces of black plastic. They had no land. They built this tent on a steep, rocky part of the mountain on the outskirts of town. There wasn’t even a proper space to lie down, so the family slept sitting up. We talked with the mother about the logistics of the construction, helped the kids fetch water and prayed with them. That day, as Oscar, Sabas, and I got in the truck to drive back to town, we remained in silence. Then I finally asked them, “How did you decide which families would get their houses built first?” They replied, “We didn’t. The participating families decided together to prioritize the poorest among them.” Solidarity means action towards shalom!

As I mentioned before, Paul’s understanding of unity in solidarity not only has profound social implications, but it also reveals Paul’s truly amazing understanding of the incarnation. The incarnation means that God’s action to save us from our fallen state went beyond feeling sorry for us and decided to make our problems, our sufferings, his own. Yes, we are one in Christ because we are gathering in him as the Son of God, but also because he is one of us. There would have been no salvation without God’s solidarity (shown in the incarnation). Therefore, there is no discipleship without solidarity.

Pause and Reflect

1. How does the example of the families in El Salvador prioritizing the poorest among them illustrate the concept of God’s solidarity with us through Christ?
2. In what ways does Paul’s call for unity in Galatians 3:28 challenge contemporary social and ethnic divisions within your own community?
3. Reflecting on the author’s experiences, how can Christians today practice solidarity in ways that mirror God’s action through the incarnation?
4. How does the understanding of unity as described by Paul deepen your perspective on the relationship between social justice and Christian faith?
5. How might the principle of solidarity, as seen in the essay, influence the way you engage in community service and support those in need?