For both Greeks and Hebrews, the ancient world was po, po, po. One thing about entrenched generational poverty is that it makes any good fortune seem random, given that hard work over time so rarely seems to pay off. Poor people buy most lotto tickets because it's as good an option as any. And when folks in poverty see somebody doing well, they all say he or she was just lucky.
With that in mind, I'm wondering if ancient folks were capable of thinking in terms of "merited favor", at least, towards salvation? In other words, if you can't even imagine working or saving up for a better tomorrow, how could you possibly think in terms of making lifelong efforts to earn your way into eternity? I'm no theologian, but I suspect this is one more way of showing that biblical teaching only makes sense in a relational context.
Some random Galatian may never have seen a balance sheet get wiped clean, much less taken out or paid off their own loan, but they'd all seen mama get unhappy, and they'd all tried to find ways to make mama happy again. Likewise, some random Jew might lose favor within his community, but I suspect the right manner of winning his way back into the synagogue had a lot more to do with convincing those who felt most strongly about things that he was sincere - rather than with how well or how many times he performed the requirements.
In any culture, folks raised in generational poverty know that money always disappears as soon as somebody gets any, because a survival mentality makes all property communal. Because of this, poor folks also know that the people you bind yourself to are, by far, your most valuable resource. So once again, favor is social. You don't have to keep points. You just have to keep people happy.
I'm sure no theologian, but maybe this helps illustrate that God's Grace was never about failing to do enough and then getting full credit anyway. Grace is social. Favor is social. Forgiveness means letting someone back in when they had previously been out... and it comes by whatever grounds for acceptance the wronged party feels is appropriate.
We didn't fail to do "enough". We failed to be Jesus Christ. Only the Son ever totally pleased the Father. His sacrifice was enough BECAUSE GOD DECIDED IT WAS ENOUGH. That makes sense to an ancient mind, and that makes sense to me. "My God is pleased with Jesus Christ and I am lost inside of Him."
There are ways to keep Galatian mammas happy, and ways to keep Jewish synagogue leaders happy, and one way to keep God the Father happy. Be IN Jesus Christ, and stay there. (Thanks again and again for your endless mercy with my failures, Lord.)
Now, can all the Po Folks out there shout "Amen"?
Bill Heroman, Amateur Academic