The Council of Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1-10)

Then after fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles—but privately to those of repute—so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain. 3 Moreover, not even Titus, who was with me, although he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised, 4 but because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, that they might enslave us— 5 to them we did not submit even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain intact for you. 6 But from those who were reputed to be important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those of repute made me add nothing. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised, 8 for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles, 9 and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, we were to be mindful of the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do. 

Fourteen years after his conversion (Acts 9:1-9), Paul went to Jerusalem for a meeting with church leaders after receiving a revelation from God.  He wanted to make sure that the Gospel message he preached was consistent with that of the church in Jerusalem because there was some disagreement within the Christian community about whether the Jewish customs and traditions applied to the early church.  He took with him Barnabas, a Jewish Christian, and Titus, a Gentile convert who was not compelled to be circumcised when he converted.  

Some of the “false brothers” were secretly brought in to try to convince the community that the Gentile converts had to follow Jewish customs such as circumcision.  Through faith in Christ, Christians had been freed from slavery to the Law and the false brothers were trying to bring believers back under the yoke of the Law which cannot lead to salvation. Paul resisted their demands and insisted that the truth of the Gospel must be preserved.  

Paul reassured the Galatians that God shows no partiality and that the leaders in Jerusalem, including Peter, James (the brother of Jesus), and John, conveyed no additional knowledge to him.  They acknowledged him as an apostle to the Gentiles just as Peter was an apostle to the Jews.  They recognized that through grace, the same Spirit was working in him and in them.  They extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas in partnership, confirming their support for the respective missions to the Gentiles and the Jews.  They told Paul and Barnabas to remember to provide assistance to the poor.

Almighty God, grant us the grace to understand the Gospel as Jesus intended, the wisdom to discern and reject false teaching, and the strength of faith to not be swayed by errant thoughts or beliefs.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.