No, not the dodgy theology that says sin more to get more grace, but just the abundance of stuff on/about grace and the intense mystery of what it must really be.
This morning I have read no less than four entries in theological 'dictionaries' on grace. So, the SCM dictionaries of Christian Theology, Ethics and Spirituality and the Oxford Companion to the Bible. I could also read McGrath on this topic but not Grenz because I lent him to someone else, but my brain is already overflowing with what people think meant by the word 'grace' or the Hebrew and Greek words thus translated (hesed, hen, eleos and charis).
So
Charis - gift, rejoicing, charm, beauty, kindness, goodwill, gratitude, favour, boon, gratification, delight
Hesed - mercy, love, covenanted love
From these comes a doctrine of grace as
- undeserved election
- new birth
- adoption
- incorporation in the body of Christ
- bearing of fruit (charismata/'graces')
Or, forgiveness coupled with participation in the divine life
Or, forgiveness and ongoing transformation/empowerment
And then, if this wasn't enough to boggle the old mind, a whole list of varieties of grace:
- uncreated grace
- created grace
- habitual/sanctifying grace
- actual grace
- elevating grace
- healing grace
- prevenient grace
- efficacious grace
- sufficient grace
And all that before we get onto the topics of 'means of grace' or 'irresistible/resistible grace' and the shenanigans they cause.
I feel like rather than a couple of sermons, I have a whole undergraduate module here! So, what am I going to do with it all?
Firstly, to acknowledge the mystery (I seem to be getting fond that word at the moment) and complexity of the concept. Then something about open-handedness of this gift - but even that is impossible to explain adequately (and I have no desire to go through the Calvin/Arminius debates). Then something along the lines of it as transformative and leading to action as well as attitude. I think the first week will introduce the theme and concentrate on the 'vertical' (us to God) dimension and the second week on the 'horizontal' (us in the world) dimension. So in week 1 we'll pick up threads from Romans (where else?!) although there will be some other stuff too. In week 2 probably the story of David and Mephibosheth and/or the John 8 adulterous woman (thanks Angela and Julie).
All in all, then reading has served it's usual purpose of confirming that there is a simple sermon to be preached on any topic - and it will simply be inadequate. And now, back to trying to write the first sermon...
Comments
Just to add to your semantic field:
'Hesed' in Ruth is variously translated 'kindness, loving-kindness, faithfulness and loyalty. It's of major thematic importance (per Sakenfeld) and intriguingly refers to the actions of both divine and human actors in the story. The human charcters both give and receive (and even incarnate?) the kindness of God. See 1:8 and even more tellingly 2:20. One of the themes that impressed me strongly was the way that human relationships, generously lived, embody and enact the generosity of God. Maybe true graciousness does just that.
As a more tentative extension of ideas, the Greek word 'kalos' is another term that seems to fit into this taxonomy of attractive ethical attitudes and actions. William Barclay describes how 'kalos' too started out as a description of physical form (handsome, gracious, fair), which eventually became a metaphor for morally attractive goodness. "Kalos", he says (unlike agathos), "adds to the idea of goodness, the idea of beauty, of loveliness, of graciousness, of winsomeness".
So go on - do something beautiful (if you'll permit me a Kendrickism!) folk might catch God's reflection in the ripples.
Thanks Andy, learning some Hebrew is on my every increasing 'to do' list!
I like the idea of catching God's reflection in ripples - sort of Fiddes-esque!