Surprised by Grace

Hi Everyone-

Sorry it's been a bit longer than usual between blogs, it's Reading Week at school, which means I don't have classes (although homework continues) ... so Carla and I are in Tucson visiting friends and enjoying the sun.  I hope you're doing as well as we are.

One of the passages in the Bible I've long considered one of the most inspirational is Jesus talking about the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46).  I don't want to post the whole passage, but the gist is in the end Jesus will come and there will be the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  He says to the sheep that when he was hungry they fed him, when he was in jail they visited him, when he was naked they clothed him, etc.  And conversely he says to the goats they didn't.  Both sides reply by saying, what do you mean?  I don't remember feeding you?  To which Jesus says, "‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’"  In other words, a point he's making is that in loving and providing for those in need we're also loving and providing for Jesus.

At some level I've found myself thinking, silly goats, don't they know that to love people is to love God? ... Duh!

So, on my checklist goes: 1) Feed, clothe, visit, etc. the unfortunate ... So, when I do this I feel good.

Then, recently I was reading a book by Barbara Brown Taylor, and she points out that both the sheep and the goats are surprised by what Jesus says.  The sheep are just as surprised at the goodness of their actions as the goats are at the less awesomeness of their inaction.  I think perhaps this passage shows that at some level we should be ignorant of our own good works.  Perhaps we should be so busy doing good that we don't even notice it?

I think today I'd sum it up by saying it's all grace.  It's all grace from God that loves and saves us, which leads us to act towards others with grace.

Barbara Brown Taylor goes on to say, "One thing the sheep know how to do that the goats have never tried: to look, to see, to seek Christ in the last, the lost, the least. ... Charity is no substitute for kinship.  We are not called to be philanthropists or social workers, but brothers and sisters.  We are called into relationship ... We are called to look at each other and see Christ."
When we're in a healthy relationship I'd say we tend to do good things and take care of the other person without a second thought.  We act out of grace, without even thinking.  In some sense it'd surprise us if someone else pointed out a good deed we did for a friend.  This makes me think of Carla during the accident.  She stayed to take care of me for 6 months, losing her house and job and being separated from her son in the process ... A heroic act if I ever saw one, but her response is, "that's what anyone would naturally do."  She acted out of grace.  She saw me with grace.

 Let me put it this way, Carla saw me with grace colored glasses.  And I think Barbara Brown Taylor is saying we should wear them when we look at everyone.

So, perhaps in the Sheep and the Goats Jesus is calling us to wear grace colored glasses.

What do you think?

Grace and peace,
Lang

If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.