During my week at home I was wrestling with the issues of grace and works. Now most moments were filled with baby care and transporting big brother to his baseball practices and games, so the reflections were during 'tummy time' and working on learning to sit. (I knew I was preaching on Ephesians 2:1-10 and John 3:14-21.)
The key themes of both readings included the idea of fallen humanity, that all flesh is at enmity with God. The sad truth is "the world" is not what it was meant to be. Even worse, we are not what we were meant to be. One verse, "we were by nature children of wrath" is completely at odds with the assumptions of many Christians today. [They say, "God made me this way so I must be okay."] Paul goes on to say repeatedly that "by grace we are saved" because God is kind and merciful. In John, we hear the famous line "God so loved the world that He sent His only Son." John explains that Jesus was not sent to condemn the world but to save the world. We are saved by faith. However, the bad news, many do not believe and they perish.
How to understand the paradox (better, the mystery)? Grace, works, mercy, salvation, faith, unbelief, condemnation, perishing... All the words are in relationship with one another but there is tension. How exactly does it all work? There are many theories, many contradicint one another. I offer my take:
If it is all grace then what we do does not matter (so say many Christians). But in truth, if our behaviors do not matter than what is the point of giving of our precious time, talent and treasure? If God does not care then it is silly to spend ourselves for others. On the other hand, who can stand before God? Our pile of good deeds pales before the huger pile of missed opportunities and the festering pile of evil which we have also done.
How then can we understand this mystery of salvation as a gift and salvation as a journey of faith and faithfulness? Well, the movie the Poseidon Adventure popped in my head and I will use it to illustrate what I think the Bible actually teaches. The movie, a blockbuster hit which was part of a series of 1970's disaster films with huge casts, came out forty years ago. (If you need a refersher go to Wikipedia) In a nutshell, a luxury cruiser is flipped over by a wave and floats upsidedown in the ocean. People have to figure out how to stay alive.
First of all, Poseidon is a pagan god, so the film name reminds us that we live in a world under demonic influence. As I have shared before, the Bible often equates the seas with chaos and demonic powers. Boats are a symbol of the church and also the world. (Ironically, my last post reflected on these same themes) The people in the ship have a decison to make. They are 'lost' with no hope in their own capacity to get out. All the exits are now under water. They will die. This is a perfect illustration of the human condition. We are in need of rescue. We need someone (Someone) to intervene. Certainly much of the Bible is written from this perspective (as opposed to God being totally in control of everything). We cannot save ourselves. Nothing we can do. Yet....
As the people who survived the ship flipping over ponder their situation there are two groups. One decides to stay put. They hope someone will come to them. This is more wish than hope. It is not a thorough assessment of the situation. Upside down ships do not float forever. It is best to climb higher. A small group decides to climb. Unfortunately for those who stay behind, an explosion leads to rushing waters which take the lives of all of them. Passive faith does not save.
But for those who leave the journey is not easy (because up is down and down is up). They climb in response to faith. They believe there is a place where rescue can occur (in the part of the ship which is thinnest). They hope and believe, so they act. The road to salvation is "The Way" (and the leader of the group is a priest, who ends up sacrificing himself to save the group; Christ typology). The journey is brutal and several characters die. A reminder that the road is not easy something illustrated repeatedly in the parables of Jesus.
While on their way they encounter another group. They debate which way to go. Just like real life, there are numerous theories about the way to salvation. Just like in real life all ways are not The Way. The other group, headed in the wrong direction, is never seen again.
When the remnant reach their destination, they are found and the movie ends with a helicopter taking them off to life. It is a gift that they are rescued. They worked hard to get to the place, but the place would not have been enough. Someone had to cut a hole through the ship (even though the thinnest part it is still too thick for them to penetrate). The rescue is a grace. There is nothing the characters can do to make the rescuers come to their aid. Just like God, His choice to save is His choice. But, even if we cannot save ourselves, our choices and decisions and actions determine things, too.
Jesus says, over and over again, that we are accountable for what we do. Too often we equate dependence on God with inactivity. Or, conversely, too often we assume our activity is the whole story. I doubt the Poseidon Adventure was intended as a parable of faith and works (although the priest does preach a sermon on "God helps those who help themselves"). Too much emphasis on our activity debases the role of God. But in a time when people seem to presume mercy and minimize sin, perhaps we need to look a bit more at our duty to climb higher, to follow the Way and to act out our trust in our daily behavior.
Can we save ourselves? No. But we can respond in faith, we can journey in faith, we can climb through the obstacles until we reach the place where God calls and Jesus leads. Once we arrive, we can await, injoyful hope, our deliverance. We are saved by grace, but never doubt our works matter.
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