Abundant grace in Christian faith

Genetic research is taking us into uncharted territories. The Archbishop of Canterbury has discovered that he is the son of a high profile personal secretary of Winston Churchill. The Archbishop’s mother was the wife of someone else.

Georgetown University, one of the great universities of the Roman Catholic Church, has recently acknowledged that it was a slave owner and sold slaves to keep the university financially afloat. Slaves were given to the university by faithful parishioners.

These two reports are plain examples of the way things ought not to be. The examples are a part of history. There is no way to return to the realities and make them right. What was done is done! Yet in the Israelite/Christian/Muslim traditions there is a standard of justice that is held out as an ideal. Shalom (peace) is that life experience that ought to be achieved by every human being. Peace and justice are achieved when everything is the way it ought to be for everyone. How do we human beings achieve this lofty goal?

This is the great issue with which the ancient Israelites wrestled. In the Old Testament writings, a variety of answers are proposed. At times they were enacted. A variety of punishments were proposed for offending citizens. Killing and initiating wars was all too often tried. Joshua and David were especially good at this proposed solution. Required religious rituals were created. Restitution was among the proposals to make thing right. None of these all too popular approaches worked to bring shalom to the masses.

In the midst of all the proposals were a group of solutions that were very different and entirely gracious. In the proposed Year of Jubilee, debts were canceled, slaves were set free, and sins were forgiven. The plan for the Israelite nation called for the establishment of cities of refuge, where guilty persons could find shelter and safety. Their laws of hospitality were a model of generous sharing.

Punishment and killing did not produce Shalom in Israel. Trying the higher, gracious way was somehow not attractive.

Jesus from Nazareth in his teachings drew heavily from the Old Testament writings. However, he clearly rejected the penalty, punishing, killing, warring alternatives to establish justice and shalom.

A short review of his Sermon on the Mount makes the picture clear. These are the words of Jesus. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers. Love your enemies and pray for those who do evil toward you. Do to others what you would have them do to you. Do not judge anyone. Turn the other cheek. Go the second mile. Let your light shine.

Add to these aphorisms Jesus’ parables. The good father welcomed his wayward son and gave him a party. The Samaritan crossed the road, gave a beaten man aid and arranged for his well-being. The despised tax collector asked for grace and went on his way as a forgiven man. Street people were invited to a grand banquet.

Add to this picture Jesus’ comment to Peter about forgiveness. Is seven times enough? Jesus’ response was seventy times seven.

Jesus gave no place to violence or penalties in the search for shalom and justice.

Against this background of Jesus’ teaching, the response of the Archbishop of Canterbury takes on special meaning. “There is no crisis and no resentment against anyone. My identity is founded in who I am in Christ.” The response of the archbishop clears the air. The archbishop is still the son of an adulterous mother and a philandering father, but the facts are of no consequence. Grace has done its work.

The case of Georgetown and slavery is a bit more complicated. All participants, slaves and slave master, are dead and gone. Consequences have spread over generations and across the nation. Georgetown is exploring options to make amends. To me, this is a wrong path. I would appreciate more a confession of the wrong doing even though it occurred almost 200 years ago, claim the grace of Christ and then continue on its educational task of being one of the finest Catholic Universities in the world. Grace puts the past in the past and then presses on to its future, free of its guilt and shame.

Christianity betrays itself when it decides that penalty, restoration or some form of penance can make people and society whole rather than grace and a guilt free future.

The United States is not a Christian nation and has no commitment to Christian thinking. However, we Christians have an obligation to share the wisdom of our gospel message. Our nation needs our message and witness. The present presidential election process is an example of the chaos created when grace and forgiveness are not valued. All political candidates have abundant dirt in their closets. So what?

I am much more interested in thoughtful discussions about the possibilities that shalom and justice can bring to a gracious nation.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net. This column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications.