Romans 4:1-12
St. Paul's illustration is circumcision. However, his subject is one's relationship with God. But it could be difficult if one doesn't refer back to one's 10th grade exercises in sentence diagramming. (I once enjoyed that exercise so much it never occurred to me to ask how it might be useful. Then to discover diagramming helps Bible reading -- at least Paul.) Circumcision originated as a practice in ancient Egypt. It came to symbolize something "sacramental" with Abraham's experience and the heritage that he left - later to be legalized during Moses' time. Eventually St. Paul used it to illustrate the deeply human inclination to confuse law with grace or behavior with attitude or achievement with worth.
My grandfather often found opportunities to say to his grandsons "The mark of a gentleman is he is able to accept a gift or a compliment graciously. What frequently we hear said is: "Oh, you're too good. You shouldn't have." What it says about our sense of self worth may be motivated by trying to be polite but it also might suggest something more "political" than polite "Oh, you shouldn't have...smacks of being "corrective" rather than appreciative.
But Paul isn't giving us a lesson in courtesy, Miss Manners' good manners. He is going to the deepest core of our relationship with God. God's love is not attached to any conditions. God's love is absolute and unqualified. It is there for us if we can accept it as a gift, not a reward for being good.
Sound easy? Kermit the Frog would probably differ.
No comments:
Post a Comment