Full of Grace? Or Running on Fumes?
A Systematic Approach to Understanding Grace
Click below for the audio version of this week’s reflection. Enjoy!
I’m by no means the expert when it comes to knowing how to lead an entire denomination. I don’t know what techniques work in every situation, and I don’t know what absolutely every Christian needs to know or to hear. I don’t know how to lead the kind of worship that brings absolutely everyone closer to God and to one another, and I don’t know how to preach a sermon that appeals to absolutely everyone equally. I don’t know how to engage in social media in a way that gets me tens of thousands of followers (although, if you want to find me on Facebook and Instagram, please do! And, as they say, like, comment, and share!). But I do know what people have told me they appreciate, and I do know what I have witnessed: The people of God know they are imperfect, and they want to know that they are loved anyway. We’re people. Sometimes we get it right, and sometimes we get it wrong. Most of us want to work toward getting it right more often than we get it wrong. And even when we miss the mark, we are still worthy of love, acceptance, and affirmation.
There’s a word for this. It’s called grace. We define grace as the favor God has for us as his beloved people, and we receive grace because God is good and gracious. Grace is freely available! Freely given! It’s offered to us by a loving God! There isn’t anything we can do to earn more grace, and there isn’t anything we can do to receive less grace. We don’t receive grace like some kind of “Jesus brownie points”, and we don’t earn increases in our annual allotment of grace like some sort of merit-based salary increase. We receive grace because God wants us to have it. God, by his very nature, is gracious.
What does it mean to say that grace is “unearned and undeserved”? We don’t want to travel down the rabbit trail of thinking, “well, if I can’t earn more grace, and I won’t lose any grace, then I guess I can do and say anything I want to!” Years ago, when I served as a chaplain in a Utah hospital, a friend and coworker who belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teased me. She said, “you belong to the church where you can do whatever you want!” And that isn’t exactly true. But to some, it can seem that way. Why? Because of the Episcopal theology of grace. Unlike the LDS church, the Episcopal Church doesn’t give us something called dogma. There isn’t some kind of “rule book” that gives us instructions for absolutely every scenario we can imagine. We do have the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and church and diocesan canons. But, as the Rev. Cn. Chuck Milhoan, a deacon friend of mine says, we don’t use them commonly. While there are certainly non-negotiables (like the Nicene Creed and the importance of the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist), there are a variety of ways that Christians interpret church teachings and traditions. The Episcopal Church isn’t “the church where you can do whatever you want.” But it is a church where you have to do a whole lot of individual and community discernment. And for some, that can make it challenging to be an Episcopalian.
Megachurches in the United States these days are, well, mega. In the United States these days when someone uses the word Christian, there’s a good chance that the image appearing in someone’s mind is that of an attendee at a megachurch (or at least a smaller church that follows a similar, fundamentalist theology). Christians who attend megachurches and other non-denominational churches usually refer to their theology as based in Scripture. While all Christian theology ought to be based in Scripture, fundamentalist understandings of this concept are often quite specific. When they say Scripture, they most often mean the King James Version of the Bible. As an Episcopal priest, I have absolutely no problems with the King James Version as a legitimate English language translation of the Bible. But it is by no means the only good translation. It has its place. But the Scriptures were not written in English. And they were not written for an American (or otherwise English-speaking) audience. All translations have their limitations.
This brings us to my criticism of the kind of fundamentalist Christian theology that is often referred to as Evangelicalism. This kind of theology doesn’t do justice to advances in context, language, understanding, or continued revelation from God. While a fundamentalist Christian might see Leviticus 18:22, which they say condemns same-sex relationships, they might fail to recognize that Jesus spoke of the importance of loving our neighbor; even our neighbors who are different than us (Luke 10:25-37). They might also refrain from acknowledging that the same book of Leviticus also says that we should be put to death if we disagree with our parents. Does any of us agree with our parents 100 percent of the time? I should think not! And yet, none of us is sitting on death row, preparing to eat our final meal for that offense. We know that verse is contextual and outdated. When read Scripture in context, it is clear that there are reasons rules were created. For example, in Leviticus 19:10, we’re also instructed to not eat shellfish. But I love shrimp, oysters, lobster, crab, scallops, clams, and mussels! Am I committing a sin by going against the Bible? I say no. Because there’s a really good chance that when this rule was written, humans simply didn’t know how to enjoy these types of foods safely. It is very likely that someone ate an oyster out of season and got really sick and maybe even died. Well, guess what? That sounds like a really good reason to not eat shellfish! But now that we know how to eat it safely, it doesn’t seem to be so problematic.
In the Summary of the Law, found in the 12th chapter of Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells us that all scriptural laws ought to be viewed through a lens of loving God and loving neighbor. In other words, if a law is written that it might honor God and honor his people, then it’s a law we ought to follow. And for those reasons! On the school yard, we might hear this expressed simply as, “Don’t do anything that will hurt yourself or someone else!” There’s a commandment telling us not to commit adultery. Why is adultery wrong? Because it hurts a spouse! In the interest of not behaving in a way that hurts someone we love, then this is a good rule to follow!
Philosophical differences exist between systematic theology (the kind of theology practiced in most Episcopal and other mainline traditions) and fundamentalist theologies. One such difference appears in the understanding of grace. Fundamentalist theology encourages a very black and white understanding of grace. Systematic theology, on the other hand, encourages us to take more into consideration. Fundamentalist theology says, “Here’s a list of all the sins. Don’t do these things, and you’ll be in a state of grace.” Systematic theology says, “You already have access to grace. You’re not going to get more, and it isn’t going to be taken away. Take the grace that has been given to you and do something good in the world with it.” To use a rather harsh term in my criticism of fundamentalism, I believe that kind of theology promotes cheap grace.
Fundamentalist theology communicates an exclusionary understanding of grace. “I’m in the club, and you’re not.” “You’re either with me or you’re against me.” “You’re a sinner and I’m not.” “I’m saved and you’re not.” Now, perhaps that isn’t the verbiage used. In fact, sometimes it’s quite the opposite. Fundamentalist preachers will quite frequently quote Paul’s First Letter to Timothy, in which he says of all the sinners, he is the worst (1 Tim 1:15). And while that is a perfectly appropriate attitude for a preacher to have, it’s common that fundamentalist preachers’ words and actions don’t seem to match. They might say they are the worst sinners, but then turn around and preach fire and brimstone against the behaviors of others whom they perceive to be sinful. Preaching about the so-called dangers of LGBTQ+ rights, the availability of women’s healthcare and human sexuality, and even the structure of the “traditional family unit”, demonstrates that those “sins” are far worse in their eyes than any they might have committed. And while many insist that they take the Bible literally, they seem to ignore that pesky part when Jesus reminds us to take the log out of our own eye before we worry about the speck in someone else’s (Matthew 7:4-5). In this kind of message, it sounds an awful lot like the only people entitled to grace are those who share those same beliefs.
Christian nationalism is dangerous. Christian exceptionalism (and American exceptionalism) is dangerous. God’s grace flows freely, and it has absolutely nothing to do with where we live, where we were born, what color our skin is, or even what we believe. Healthy Christianity isn’t practiced as a safeguard or some kind of insurance policy. We don’t practice our faith so that we can stockpile more grace. Instead, it’s something we practice because we acknowledge the grace of God. God’s grace inspires us to want to strive to live good lives and to do good things. Grace isn’t a reward/punishment system.
Sometimes people find it easier to have the answers handed to them. Sometimes people like to know what all the rules are in every situation, and that if they follow all of them (or at least the ones they accept), then they know they’ll be ok. It isn’t exactly easy to do systematic theology and to discern what kinds of behaviors are appropriate or not, what kinds of policies to support or not, or what politicians to vote for or not. Healthy systematic theology requires us to do the difficult lifting for ourselves, and to apply what we know to how we live our lives. The tricky piece is, as we gain more knowledge, our stances might change. And humans are notoriously uncomfortable with change. Don’t believe me? Then try moving the location of a candle in the sanctuary and see what happens. I guarantee you, someone will be noticeably uncomfortable. Fundamentalist thinking gives adherents all the answers! The target sits where it sits, and people know what to aim for. Systematic thinking requires us to sight and resight our scopes to focus on a potentially moving target. It can be challenging and even frustrating! But through it all, we are assured of grace.
How much grace do we possess? The Scriptures say the Virgin Mary is “full of grace” (Luke 1:28)! Dear reader, you are blessed with an abundance of grace! Me? As far as I know, I might be running on fumes! But nonetheless, each of us is a recipient of grace. Grace, as Paul writes, abounds (Romans 5:20). During these trying times, I encourage us to try our best to recognize the grace that exists in the world around us. Sometimes it can be difficult to notice. Sometimes it can be easier to fall into a reward/punishment way of looking for grace. Sometimes it can be more appealing to believe if I do a certain thing or say a certain thing, then I’ll receive grace. But we don’t earn grace. We can’t. We simply receive it. It’s just there for the taking. And we are inspired to live good lives because of that grace. Not as a means of earning it. Or, as one of my mentors, the Rev. Dr. Peter J. Van Hook used to say, “God loves you and there isn’t anything you can do about it.” Welcome that love. Welcome that grace.
Tim, what a GREAT article; it provides such a wonderful understanding of our Lord’s grace 🙏🏻💗