The danger of Grace
I listened for the 4th time to last week’s podcast of On Being which features a conversation between the host Krista Tippett and the president of Union Seminar – a seminary with a long history of public theology – Serene Jones. Dr. Jones talks a lot about the concept of grace. Although she comes out of and continues to personally use a Christian framework for this concept of Grace, her understanding and vision of this concept follows in the tradition of many theologians from a wide range of faith frameworks.
Grace is commonly understood as the conditional love of God for all. For Dr. Jones, “God means love, and love is universal. And we are all loved. ‘That’s grace…”. She also posits, “…if you really believe this stuff about grace, if your really believe God loves everyone and the world, and forgives, ultimately, in mercy, everybody, it profoundly affects your politics. It affects how you engage everybody, how you look at time, how you walk through life. It’s thoroughly political, and in both the intimate and political ways, it’s public.”
It is clearly the “for all” part of the concept of God’s grace with which we struggle. What if indeed every human being is loved equally? What if God makes no distinction between people because of hurtful actions, race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, binary status, age or any other human construct. What if the person who rapes a child, the person who murders one or many, the spouse who cheats, the one who steals, the one who treats employees unjustly, the leader who is leader of genocide, the Rev. Dr. Jones, and me the psychotherapist; what if all means all? What If there really is not room for some exceptions to Grace? If that is true then, of course, Dr. Jones is accurate and grace is both political and public? That is revolutionary. We, as God’s disciples – worker bees – must treat all people with unconditional love. No longer can we claim that some people are “pure evil”. No longer can we claim that the person who robs us is undeserving of our love; that the person who rapes us is worthless trash who deserves to be thrown into prison like a piece of trash. No longer can we mistreat ourselves without violating this covenant God has established with us. No longer can we pretend as if behavior acts in a vacuum only at a particular point in time. No longer can we claim that profit which will benefit some while it hurt others is just the price of business; of maintaining a viable economy.
Of course, us humans are still going to be human and still in need of forgiveness and redemption. We will still have to grieve and mourn our own behavior. We will have to grieve and mourn together. Yet, we can no longer deny forgiveness and love even to those who daily abuse themselves and others. No matter what, we are called to accept and give unconditional love. All human systems must now be subjected to this test. Grace become the overriding principle? All interactions with others will be subjected to this challenge. I must daily ask myself, “Is love the overriding principle which guides my treatment of others?”
Dr. Jones is clear that hell exists. It exists here on earth when we disconnect from our own sacredness and the sacredness of others. It is the ultimate aloneness which is not different than periods of solitude.
The paradox is that if we respond to hurt with hurt it multiplies. If we respond to hurt with love – with Grace – love multiplies.
Written December 10, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
I listened for the 4th time to last week’s podcast of On Being which features a conversation between the host Krista Tippett and the president of Union Seminar – a seminary with a long history of public theology – Serene Jones. Dr. Jones talks a lot about the concept of grace. Although she comes out of and continues to personally use a Christian framework for this concept of Grace, her understanding and vision of this concept follows in the tradition of many theologians from a wide range of faith frameworks.
Grace is commonly understood as the conditional love of God for all. For Dr. Jones, “God means love, and love is universal. And we are all loved. ‘That’s grace…”. She also posits, “…if you really believe this stuff about grace, if your really believe God loves everyone and the world, and forgives, ultimately, in mercy, everybody, it profoundly affects your politics. It affects how you engage everybody, how you look at time, how you walk through life. It’s thoroughly political, and in both the intimate and political ways, it’s public.”
It is clearly the “for all” part of the concept of God’s grace with which we struggle. What if indeed every human being is loved equally? What if God makes no distinction between people because of hurtful actions, race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, binary status, age or any other human construct. What if the person who rapes a child, the person who murders one or many, the spouse who cheats, the one who steals, the one who treats employees unjustly, the leader who is leader of genocide, the Rev. Dr. Jones, and me the psychotherapist; what if all means all? What If there really is not room for some exceptions to Grace? If that is true then, of course, Dr. Jones is accurate and grace is both political and public? That is revolutionary. We, as God’s disciples – worker bees – must treat all people with unconditional love. No longer can we claim that some people are “pure evil”. No longer can we claim that the person who robs us is undeserving of our love; that the person who rapes us is worthless trash who deserves to be thrown into prison like a piece of trash. No longer can we mistreat ourselves without violating this covenant God has established with us. No longer can we pretend as if behavior acts in a vacuum only at a particular point in time. No longer can we claim that profit which will benefit some while it hurt others is just the price of business; of maintaining a viable economy.
Of course, us humans are still going to be human and still in need of forgiveness and redemption. We will still have to grieve and mourn our own behavior. We will have to grieve and mourn together. Yet, we can no longer deny forgiveness and love even to those who daily abuse themselves and others. No matter what, we are called to accept and give unconditional love. All human systems must now be subjected to this test. Grace become the overriding principle? All interactions with others will be subjected to this challenge. I must daily ask myself, “Is love the overriding principle which guides my treatment of others?”
Dr. Jones is clear that hell exists. It exists here on earth when we disconnect from our own sacredness and the sacredness of others. It is the ultimate aloneness which is not different than periods of solitude.
The paradox is that if we respond to hurt with hurt it multiplies. If we respond to hurt with love – with Grace – love multiplies.
Written December 10, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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