GRACE AS GIFT

Fr Jim Cogley

Most people who go to church, say their prayers and lead a good life are very sincere. However, it is possible to be utterly sincere and yet be sincerely wrong in terms of how we understand the Gospel message. If my sincerity is the only basis of my belief, I have utterly missed the point of Christ being the Savior and in doing so have unwittingly substituted myself and my sincerity instead. If this be the case, my understanding of Christianity is that it is purely a religion of moral virtue. The idea of being in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ doesn’t come into the picture, while what does appear is Christ as a historical figure and a wonderful teacher who taught us how to live a truly moral life. Unfortunately, this is where so many devout believers are at, and are falling away in their droves, because their faith is based on sand and not the rock of a personal relationship with Christ.

Some of the most profound teachings on Grace as a free gift are to be found in Catholic teaching. Yet in popular practice the greatest aberrations are widespread. Generations of Catholics have been taught far more morality rather than spirituality resulting in a huge void of understanding as to the essence of the Christian faith. Certainly, morality is a big part of the message, but the question is, do we live a good moral life in order to be loved and one day get into heaven, or do we live this way because we are loved totally and absolutely? All of the New Testament attest to the fact that we love because he first loved first. An over focus on morality tends to put the cart before the horse and creates the false illusion that this is what makes me right with God and one day will get me into heaven. The essence of Christianity is to be found not in the word ‘effort’ but rather ‘response’.

Yet another aberration in our understanding of heavenly grace is in relation to suffering. Our misconception is that the more we suffer in this life the higher place we deserve in the next. Suffering certainly serves to awaken the human soul and is a necessary part of our spiritual journey. Yet not all suffering is redemptive and much of it is self-inflicted. Not all suffering that is offered up really goes anywhere since it has never been fully owned. This becomes obvious when working with the dying when so many unresolved issues come to the fore that have been offered up for a lifetime. Suffering can leave a person embittered and resentful with a heart that is hardened rather than open to life. It is always about what we do with suffering that makes the ultimate difference. There are many who have had their wings clipped and never flew again while others have been crushed and had both wings broken and yet have flown again to great heights.

While growing up a mystery was understood as something we could never understand and so there was no point in even trying, nor should we even question! Now we see it as something we can never come to an end of understanding. A mystery just keeps on giving. So, it is with the mystery of Divine, unconditional, unmerited and undeserving love. With God it’s difficult to get our heads around the fact that there is such a thing as a free dinner where any form of payment closes off access. We get a glimpse of this in the realm of human relationships. Love just cannot be bought by expensive presents, neither can it be found by always doing things for people. What these behaviors leave is a residue of obligation for the recipient to repay. This in turn leads to a two-way expectation and expectations are simply resentments under construction. The result is that the recipient just backs away with apparent ingratitude for all that has been given. So it is with Divine love, our best efforts can be the biggest obstacle to experience.

Teacher of Divine Righteousness, how to live in right relationship with God, is a not so familiar a title we attribute to Christ. Yet it is central to who he was and the message he came to bring. It stands at the core of so many of his parables like – A man gives a banquet, and he notices how certain guests go up front and occupy the seats of honour. They obviously have a sense of entitlement by virtue of family connections or their own perceived status in society. Pride is their weakness, and Christ points out the danger they face in being greeted by the host and being escorted to a much lower place. Like all parables this points to the divine order where the last shall be first and the first last. Humility is an absolute requirement where all vestiges of pride, merit and entitlement have no place leaving the host free to confer honor from his generosity and say to the lowly, ‘Friend come us higher.’