There but the Grace of God...Really?

The actual phrase is something like, "There but the grace of God go I." K, the grammar can change it around. Like another popular refrain, this little phrase is to be found nowhere in the Bible. Its source is a matter of widespread conjecture, but it has been a popular phrase for decades, and probably since the late 1800's. The words may sound poetic (they are not in Shakespeare either), but it's what this phrase says about God's grace that's ugly.

Because it teaches that God's grace is with those who avert a disaster, but not for those who suffer tragedy, I have no use for it. Further, I have to conclude that those who use it do so in ignorance, since I have no idea of their intentions. A clergywoman, from a wheelchair, taught me this: that when we use this and phrases like it, we show ourselves to be clueless about the amazing grace of God in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or the recipients of God's grace. Too, we declare those who suffer various calamities, from terminal illness to death row to accidental death, to be outside the grace of God.

Jesus tried to answer this question in different ways. About the man born blind in John 9, Jesus' disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus' retort was "Neither this man nor his parents sinned." Do you hear that? God's grace is not about who is in or who is out. It IS about God, the creator of the universe, being available to all living things! (Psalm 104) Elsewhere, Jesus is clear about it: tragedies do not happen to anyone because the people involved are worse sinners (Luke 13)

So while we are comfortable putting parameters on life, having bad things happen to bad people, having good things happen to good people, we cannot have life- or God's grace- on our terms. Wealth doesn't protect us, for example (Prov. 18:11) We live in the terrible freedom of our own choosing and sometimes the consequences simply cannot be known. We may find it difficult to handle happenstance, but it does no good to make up goofy stuff about God's grace that just isn't true. All this may make us feel better for the moment, but it leads to a denial of the God who doesn't play by our rules anyway.

No, God's grace is with all of us, all of the time, even those of us who don't know it. God is there when we reach out to him no matter the circumstance. There is nothing (not even our own small mindedness) that will be able to separate us from God's love in Jesus. (Romans 8). This is the faith worth living for- and dying for.

The Power of Quiet

In most books I read, there's at least a short paragraph or two that is so useful and helpful that it was worth reading the entire book just to receive that new insight. Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking, was enjoyable and interesting because the author not only shares her breadth of wisdom about introversion, but also, she does while sharing her own journey from Wall Street lawyer to best selling author and prophet of quiet reflection

Cain explains where the American cult of extroversion and our misunderstanding of introversion originates. No field of study is left out of the discussion: from religion to pop psychology, from Harvard Business to Dale Carnegie, from Asian American High School students to FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt and from biology to personality theory, Cain coalesces her impressive knowledge, much of it from first person interviews and observations.

Introverts, which, according to the book, comprise up to 50% of the American population, exist today not because of an anomaly of evolution. Where extroverts are driven by the belief that the early bird catches the worm or that opportunity only knocks once, the survival credo of the introvert is about betting on a sure thing and looking before you leap. Typically extroverts live by action and introverts by reflection. See the brilliant chapter 7 on why Warren Buffett has prospered.

But the best of this book is when Cain takes on the myth that being or acting like an extrovert is synonymous with creativity. Cain maintains that, although the New Groupthink elevates teamwork above everything else, solitude is the key to creativity. The best ideas often do not come from brainstorming in a group, which often stifles individuality and honesty. The best work spaces are not necessarily open for all to see and hear. And the the best way to get work done is not necessarily in a team.

Many skills, from chess to music to designing computers, are perfected in hours of what the book calls "deliberate practice." You don't get to be a soloist through more and more group rehearsals: you do it on your own because you can only work on what is challenging you when you're alone, for as long as it takes. One, intense concentration requires it, but other people can be a major distraction. Two, you practice on your own because you are self- motivated anyway. Finally, when you're alone, you can go directly to work on what's challenging you the most. That cannot happen in a group or class setting.

Most of Cain's book is really excellent, and I found her descriptions of her experiences at various extrovert shrines very entertaining and even humorous. Her observations of Saddleback Church and a Tony Robbins seminar are not only funny, but also provide an excellent critique of how so many churches and self - help gurus become part of the same cultural matrix elevating the outer persona at the expense of the interior life. Churches have to find a way to affirm witness as authenticity and action instead of the right words.

Much is said these days for the corporate spiritual practices, things we can do together. But not all things are best done with others! For Christians, prayer would be that core practice that requires deliberate, intentional alone time. Quiet. Centering. That is where we encounter and choose to overcome the blocks to greater freedom and movement. Even our own demons, whatever they may be. "Throwing this kind of spirit out requires prayer," Jesus taught his disciples. (Mark 9:29 CEB) Was Jesus speaking about those forty days alone in the desert wilderness with his own temptations? (Luke 4) It would seem so.

Why Jesus?

Why read Why Jesus?

Bishop Will Willimon has written a concise and helpful introduction to Jesus- with wit and wisdom. Readers will benefit from his breadth of knowledge and depth of insight. This is a solidly biblical presentation of Jesus Christ. To do this, he uses only 137 pages and all of the notes are Scripture references, with most from the Psalms and the Gospels/Acts.

But the book could also be titled Why, Jesus? In each chapter, Willimon includes several "asides to Jesus," making it more of a three- way session between the author, us, and Jesus. Too, the technique encourages the reader to ask questions, to admit or surrender their doubts. "I've spent my whole adult life studying the parabolic teachings of Jesus. And yet I confess that, to this day, I really don't know for sure why Jesus told the parable of the dishonest manager who swindled his boss and who, in turn, was goofily praised by his boss. I don't know what to do with such a patently absurd story. Why, Jesus?" p.32

Thus, the more I read, the more I discovered that my thoughts were transformed into prayer. This is what the spiritual discipline of study is meant to bring to us. Using the words of another servant as catalyst and spark, you begin to receive blessings and wisdom that make the printed words bread for the day to come. One example of blessing is Willimon's brief reference of "green grass" in the middle of the desert, the setting of the Feeding of the Five Thousand stories. All four Gospels are referencing Psalm 23 (the Lord making us lie down in green pastures) and Isaiah 35 (the Messiah making the desert bloom). pp.67-68

Why Jesus? So I can get what I want or because Jesus works or because I've tried everything else? Willimon argues that framing the answer this way is misleading: "Jesus is God's means of getting what God wants out of you...Jesus is God's self-appointed means of getting down to us...Really now, if you were dreaming up a useful god to fulfill your every wish and run your every errand, would you have dreamed up Jesus? No way." p. 116

Willimon answers for himself, why he is a Christian: "Because Jesus called me. To be a Christian is to be someone put here by the great delegator. If the world doesn't like the idea of your being a follower of Jesus, a Christ- bearer into the world, you can say 'Take it up with Jesus. This whole thing was his idea. I tried to beg out of his assignment, but you know Jesus; he won't take 'no' for an answer." p.117

Call it Celtic or post-modern, for Willimon, Jesus is followed before he's known. Christian practice precedes understanding. And even then, it's a matter of faith, not certitude.