November 30th is the day we remember Andrew the Apostle. The lessons for his feast are interesting. I am particularly interested in the juxtaposition of Romans and Matthew.
The Romans reading contains a phrase about the confession of Jesus as Lord, and that confession brings salvation. It reminded me of a conversation with my mother, as a child. I remember her explaining to me the relationship between belief and salvation. As a child, I wanted it to be more complicated. The idea that our acceptance was free through grace, and grace was sufficient, troubled me. It challenged my sense of fairness. It wasn’t until later that I was able to make the distinction between free and cheap.
There are several dimensions to the concept of salvation. Part of it is about being saved from eternal death. The Christian hope is eternal life after death, and beginning to appropriate life and freedom, now. Salvation is about delighting in God’s presence. Salvation is, in some sense, about worth. It is about being valued by God.
We, of course, wrestle with salvation. We always seem to be looking for assurances for our salvation and them struggling to believe it is given us by God’s grace. The other side of the coin is how we like to muse about the salvation of others. Can a-blank-be saved? As some argue about the unacceptability of others to God, it is too easy to see those deemed “damned”, as it were, as having no worth. Then it can become license and justification, for all manner of poor treatment.
Ultimately, salvation is something of a mystery. We know and affirm Jesus’ revelation as the Christ, and recognize that he offers the way. We have ways, we describe the process-atonement theories, but at the end of the day, salvation is God’s business. God is the ultimate arbiter of worth, and God makes God’s rules.
The hope for salvation is only part of the life of faith. I wouldn’t want undermine salvation, but I wonder of we expend too much energy worrying about what happens when we die. This brings me to the call of Andrew. We have no way of knowing what Andrew knew about Jesus prior to his call. The Gospel of John places Andrew around John the Baptist, so it is possible that Andrew knew something about Jesus, before his call. However, Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t mention Andrew, until his call.
The offer made to Andrew is that of following, to fish for people. Andrew hears the call and responds to it. He leaves his past, and makes Jesus his present and future. I find it unlikely, that Andrew appreciated the gravity of his response. In the Gospels, it is clear that the disciples don’t fully understand Jesus, until after the resurrection. They may never have fully understood, but through faith, they gained understanding.
I guess my point is that Andrew had no roadmap, but by responding to the grace-filled invitation to follow Jesus, he finds salvation. Maybe, that is the proper understanding of God’s grace and salvation. We are not equipped to earn God’s grace, and the salvation offered in grace. We are called to be alert for it, and respond, when it is offered. There is work to do, when we accept God’s call, because we become bearers of grace. The challenge is allowing God to manage, that that belongs to God, and for us to follow.
The Romans reading contains a phrase about the confession of Jesus as Lord, and that confession brings salvation. It reminded me of a conversation with my mother, as a child. I remember her explaining to me the relationship between belief and salvation. As a child, I wanted it to be more complicated. The idea that our acceptance was free through grace, and grace was sufficient, troubled me. It challenged my sense of fairness. It wasn’t until later that I was able to make the distinction between free and cheap.
There are several dimensions to the concept of salvation. Part of it is about being saved from eternal death. The Christian hope is eternal life after death, and beginning to appropriate life and freedom, now. Salvation is about delighting in God’s presence. Salvation is, in some sense, about worth. It is about being valued by God.
We, of course, wrestle with salvation. We always seem to be looking for assurances for our salvation and them struggling to believe it is given us by God’s grace. The other side of the coin is how we like to muse about the salvation of others. Can a-blank-be saved? As some argue about the unacceptability of others to God, it is too easy to see those deemed “damned”, as it were, as having no worth. Then it can become license and justification, for all manner of poor treatment.
Ultimately, salvation is something of a mystery. We know and affirm Jesus’ revelation as the Christ, and recognize that he offers the way. We have ways, we describe the process-atonement theories, but at the end of the day, salvation is God’s business. God is the ultimate arbiter of worth, and God makes God’s rules.
The hope for salvation is only part of the life of faith. I wouldn’t want undermine salvation, but I wonder of we expend too much energy worrying about what happens when we die. This brings me to the call of Andrew. We have no way of knowing what Andrew knew about Jesus prior to his call. The Gospel of John places Andrew around John the Baptist, so it is possible that Andrew knew something about Jesus, before his call. However, Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t mention Andrew, until his call.
The offer made to Andrew is that of following, to fish for people. Andrew hears the call and responds to it. He leaves his past, and makes Jesus his present and future. I find it unlikely, that Andrew appreciated the gravity of his response. In the Gospels, it is clear that the disciples don’t fully understand Jesus, until after the resurrection. They may never have fully understood, but through faith, they gained understanding.
I guess my point is that Andrew had no roadmap, but by responding to the grace-filled invitation to follow Jesus, he finds salvation. Maybe, that is the proper understanding of God’s grace and salvation. We are not equipped to earn God’s grace, and the salvation offered in grace. We are called to be alert for it, and respond, when it is offered. There is work to do, when we accept God’s call, because we become bearers of grace. The challenge is allowing God to manage, that that belongs to God, and for us to follow.
No comments:
Post a Comment