This past Sunday, May 19th, like many preachers, I used Acts 2:1-21 as my sermon text for Pentecost Sunday. And working through the preparation for, and preaching of, the sermon I was reminded once again of my limited understanding in the face of the mystery of the Holy Spirit.
I reference that in light of this follow up reflection on God's Grace. Having just recently finished Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Memoir, "All is Grace", I once again find myself potentially, extremely limited in my understanding of the Grace of God.
Read Brennan Manning, and perhaps like me, you will be compelled to consider whether the boundaries of your understanding need to be expanded. You may wonder, as J.B. Phillips suggested, if perhaps "Your God is Too Small."
So, thanks to Brennan Manning, and thanks to the humbling nature that Pentecost always brings to my theology, here are my "what ifs" for the week....
What if....
What if God's Grace is bigger than I have ever imagined?
What if God's Grace covers Muslims and Hindus, as well as Christians and Jews?
What if God's Grace extends to the unrepentant thief on the cross, as surely as it did to the one to whom Jesus said, "Today, you will be with me in paradise?"
What if God's Grace is sufficient for terrorists and pedophiles, bin Laden and Hitler?
You see my dilemma. I'm not arguing for universal salvation here, though I do think you can find some biblical backing for the idea. I'm firmly steeped in my own theological tradition that fully embraces the understanding that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the only gospel to which I've been intrusted, the only message that I have to offer. So, no need to share Scripture references with me that speak to Jesus as the only way to salvation. I know them well, and they are fundamental to my faith.
Yet, whenever a grieving family member has asked me my opinion concerning the eternal welfare of a recently deceased non-Christian relative, I find that the only answer that seems remotely satisfying or faithful is one that speaks to the mystery of God's Grace.
As a Christian Pastor, I seek to offer Christ through faithful preaching and teaching and by way of an authentic life of discipleship. And, would that all may come to the joy of experiencing saving faith through Christ in this lifetime. Would that all might know the freedom of being released from the shackles of sin, the horse-collar of regret, and the boulder-like weight of shame while walking among the living. All of that, I believe, is available through the One who came to save the world and to offer abundant life.
But, if one's eyes are closed in death without coming to faith in Christ. I have but one word of solace and hope to offer - Grace.
And so every now and then, I'm challenged to consider God's Grace in a new way. Every now and then, someone like Brennan Manning comes along, someone who is broken and bedraggled, beaten to a pulp by life, a combination of sinner and saint who has been given such a message of profound hope, and who owns such a child-like faith in the unshakable, unconditional love of God, that I cannot help but consider Grace in a new light.
What if....
What if, just maybe - I don't have all the answers to God's Grace?
What if, at the end of the day, God's Grace will redeem everything and everyone?
What if, in Jesus Christ, God truly is reconciling ALL things to himself, even the worst of scoundrels and most unrepentant of sinners?
What if, God really didn't send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that whole world, all of Creation, would eventually be saved through him?
What if, what Jesus did on the cross, really truly covered it ALL, everything, for everybody, for all time, whether they realize it or not, whether they acknowledge it or not, whether they believe it or not?
You see my dilemma.
On one hand, I do not align myself with a theology of universal salvation, and yet sometimes I just feel challenged to consider Grace in a broader, more radical, unconditional, inclusive, and may I say - absurd and somewhat disturbing way than my current theology allows.
You see, if the truth be told, the idea of God's Grace redeeming some folks is most unappealing to me. I find it hard to stomach the thought of salvation coming to those who have perpetuated all kinds of evil upon the weak and the innocent, and who have died with an unrepentant smirk on their faces. To consider God's Grace, in these instances, is not so much comforting to me as it is annoying.
I'm the grumbling worker upset that everyone is receiving the same wages at quitting time. I'm the Pharisee thanking God that I'm not like the sinner beside me who can't even lift up his head while he's praying.
You see my dilemma.
Before I bring these reflections to a close, I want to invite Brennan into the conversation - he's the one that stirred all this up for me after all!
"My life is a witness to vulgar grace - a grace that amazes as it offends....This vulgar grace is indiscriminate compassion. It works without asking anything of us. It's not cheap. It's free, and as such will always be a banana peel for the orthodox foot and a fairy tale for the grown-up sensibility. Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try to find something or someone it cannot cover. Grace is enough. He is enough. Jesus is enough." ("All is Grace, A Ragamuffin Memoir")
What if Brennan is right?
It might just mean that God's Grace is really a whole lot bigger than I thought.
Grace and Peace!
Pastor Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment