God’s grace is not a matter of privilege

A Sermon preached by The Rev. Tom Pumphrey

At St. Mark’s Church, Honey Brook, PA February 25, 2007

Luke 13:22-30 (NRSV) Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Jesus said to the people “Strive to enter through the narrow door…” Many will begin to say “we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets,’ But he will say to you ‘I do not know where you come from...’ Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the Kingdom of God. Indeed some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” With these words, Jesus tells us that God’s grace is not a matter of privilege. God’s grace is about covenant relationship.

In our culture, we are familiar with the criticism of privilege. Some people judge others based on the school they go to or their rank in the business world. Entire television shows heap attention on people solely in proportion to their social connections or their celebrity status and their association with the rich and famous. If you are rich enough to buy an African village, you can skip all the standard background checks involved in adopting a child. If you are a big enough company, you can neglect environmental standards in a third world country. We are rightly uncomfortable with this kind of abuse of privilege, and the injustice provided by systems of privilege. We would be rightly angry if God’s grace were also a matter of privilege.

Two hundred years ago, the system of slavery created a sense of privilege among white people in the western world. Whether you were a slave ship captain or a member of British Parliament, you benefited from the system of slavery because of your privilege. But two men who were just such people actively fought against their privilege. John Newton, a slave ship captain, and William Wilberforce, a Member of Parliament, decided to fight against the slave trade. Two Hundred years ago, the transatlantic slave trade was abolished, and through the tireless efforts of men such as Newton and Wilberforce, slaves in the British Empire were finally freed in 1833, decades before freedom reached American slaves. These were men who discovered in their own lives that God’s grace is not a matter of privilege. They discovered God’s amazing grace given to them in covenant relationship—and they responded with their own deep commitment to God.

John Newton’s own words sum up his experience, and his rejection of an attitude of privilege. We recognize Newton’s words in one of our hymns: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”

Newton and Wilberforce knew that God’s grace is not a matter of privilege. We also would be turned off by the idea of treating God’s grace as a status symbol to wear, or a ticket punched for the train to heaven, or simply a policy of eternal “fire insurance.” God’s grace may be free—freely given by God—but God’s grace is not cheap. God’s grace is a precious, precious gift. Jesus’ words this morning challenge the assumption that God’s grace found by those with mere “association” with Jesus. “You taught in our streets, we ate and drank with you,” they said. But they had no covenant with Jesus, no relationship of commitment.

Sometimes we see this in the church. Though we welcome (as we should) those who are merely curious about God, we also invite everyone to a deeper and deeper relationship with God—whether you are brand new to church or a long-established member. Sometimes this is intimidating to those who don’t expect it. I received an email from a woman who wanted her wedding at St. Mark’s. She was offended at the idea that at least one of the persons desiring to be married in the church should be a baptized Christian. If the church is about privilege, then she is right to be offended. But if the church is about a covenant relationship with God, a relationship embodied and begun in Baptism, then isn’t her question a little out of place?

Jesus calls us to strive to enter through the narrow door—the tougher road, the more challenging path, rather than simply trying to take the easy way. Jesus calls us to a deeper commitment than merely a casual association with the church. Someone once said that you have as much chance of becoming a Christian by sitting in a church as becoming an automobile by sitting in a garage. God calls us to a more active and living faith—one that is alive in relationship with God. We strip God’s grace of meaning if there is no ongoing personal transformation in our lives. God’s grace is not a matter of mere privilege. God’s grace is about covenant relationship with God.

In today’s Old Testament reading (Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18), God makes a covenant with Abram, the man who will become Abraham. God makes promises to Abram, and in this covenant, Abram is also bound to God—connected to God for a lifelong and dedicated relationship with God. A Covenant is relationship of dedication and commitment that is shared between two parties. We call our Baptismal creed and promises the “Baptismal Covenant” because it describes the ongoing committed relationship of the Christian life.

The Baptismal Covenant calls us to a life of prayer, a life constantly aware of God’s presence. The Christian life is a relationship with God through Holy Scripture and through prayer and worship with the Christian Community. The Christian life is service to God in serving others—relationship with God in relationship with others. The Baptismal covenant is not about rights and privileges, but about a life in committed relationship with God.

God’s grace is not merely a status symbol casually worn. God’s grace is the life giving power of God’s presence. God’s grace is forgiveness for those who feel unworthy. God’s grace is truth for those trapped by self-deception. God’s grace is life for those caught in the spiral of self-destruction.

And for the comfortable? What is God’s grace for those who think themselves privileged and without need of God? God’s grace is a wake-up call. God’s grace is Jesus’ call to strive to enter by the narrow door. God’s grace is a feast waiting for us that we can’t yet smell. God’s grace is the abundance waiting for us when we seek that narrow door that is open to us. That door of the Christian life may be narrow and challenging at times, but it is open to us. God wants our commitment—our willingness to give our whole lives to God. In that commitment—that covenant relationship with God, we discover the power of God to enrich and enliven our lives more than we thought possible.

John Newton, privileged slave ship captain, experienced this amazing grace. William Wilberforce, privileged Member of Parliament, knew this amazing grace. Countless people freed from slavery, and countless others freed from addiction and depression and freed from the banality and futility of their lives know this amazing grace of God in their lives.

St. Paul, in today’s New Testament reading, says it well: Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory…Therefore, my brothers and sisters, stand firm in the Lord in this way…” (Philippians 4:1)