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just a couple weeks ago i had the great
privilege of meeting dr stephen davis
who is a retired professor of the
philosophy of religion at claremont and
in advance of the meeting i read his
book on christian philosophical theology
which was very interesting and one of
the chapters in that book is on a basic
division between the religions of the
world what he calls religions of karma
and religions of grace
so religions of karma are are very
prominent of course in the east
and a karmic religion has a lot to
recommend it and that's why these
religions have been so strong for so
long
what's the law of karma but a kind of
cosmic law whereby
good acts are rewarded
and wicked acts are punished now maybe
not immediately remember john lennon's
song instant karma is going to get you
is sort of playing on that because karma
might not be instant it's usually
delayed
and it might not even be in this life
might be in the next life
but karma will assert itself good deeds
are rewarded evil deeds are punished as
i say it satisfies our sense of
justice it seems right and fair
well to that we contrast religions of
grace and now these can be found
in the abrahamic religions i think
largely of of the west very much
including christianity biblical
religions are religions of grace now
what's going on here
well
not so much everybody gets exactly what
he deserves
but rather you know as as the bible says
everyone's sinned and fallen short of
the glory of god i mean
as paul says there's nobody righteous i
mean not one of us
nevertheless god
gifts us
with his
forgiveness with his love
with the gift of eternal life
that we don't get what we deserve right
as a religion of karma we get something
that we don't deserve
think now of maybe the most famous line
of christian poetry ever which we sing
all the time in christian churches
amazing grace how sweet the sound that
saved a rats like me right well in a
purely karmic religion
wretches don't deserve to be saved a
wretch deserves a wretched fate right
but yet amazing grace
how sweet the sound that saved that gave
a gift to a wretch like me
so there's a religion of
grace and of course you see it on
display throughout the bible think of
jesus great story of the workers hired
at different times of the day you know
one works eight hours one works five one
works two one works for a half hour and
yet
they're all paid the same yet there's a
gracious gift given to those who worked
only a short time it's not a strict
karma situation everyone gets what he
deserves
or think of maybe the most famous
parable of jesus the prodigal son
here's this kid that insults his father
takes his money squanders it on on
a dissolute living comes crawling home
what does that kid deserve in a karmic
point of view he deserves you know to be
punished rejected
and yet the father lavishes him with his
his grace right and in fact the older
brother in that story is kind of a
religion of karma type person you know
here's this this son of yours has run
off with your money and squandered it
i've been back home dutifully following
your will what do i get in return and
that's why a lot of people sympathize
with the older brother right
but a religion of grace says god doesn't
operate that way
okay okay
now before
we get all kind of self-righteous about
well don't we have a better religion
religion of grace
davis reminds us keep in mind there's a
there's a tension there's a difficulty
at the heart of all religions of grace
namely
not everyone seems to get grace
right that's the trick is okay it's the
free gift
and it doesn't appear as though everyone
gets it
rather we are dealing with a choosing
god or an electing god
and what reason can you find well you
can't
so
god chooses
abel not cain right how come
we don't really know we're not told
god
chooses
jacob not esau
god chooses moses not the pharaoh he
chooses david not saul in fact israel is
known as a chosen people how come oh
because they're the best and the most
righteous no on the contrary
the least of people
and yet
they were chosen
you say okay i get that's gracious but
it also doesn't seem real fair does it
that some get it and some don't
okay so how do you resolve this dilemma
well can i suggest a couple of texts
just to look at
the first one is from the 56th chapter
of the prophet isaiah now the prophet
isaiah
there's nobody in the whole biblical
tradition who is stronger on
the privileges and prerogatives of
israel than isaiah he knows that israel
is a chosen people right more to it he
knows that mount zion you know where the
temple is where god has chosen to live
is of supreme value
but now listen to him listen to isaiah
foreigners
who have attached themselves to the lord
to serve him and to love his name and to
be his servants
these i will bring to my holy mountain i
will make them joyful in my house of
prayer for my house will be called a
house of prayer
for
all
peoples see that's a key move here
was israel chosen
yeah was zion chosen the temple where
god has decided to live in a privileged
way yes
but is israel meant to revel in its own
prerogatives
no
is the temple meant to be this
absolutely exclusive place where only a
handful of special people get in
no
rather and here's the here's the hinge
israel was graced
so as to become a conduit of grace
to all the world
that through israel all the nations will
come to zion it'll be a house of prayer
not for israel alone
but for all the world
another great text is now from the new
testament
when jesus meets the cyril phoenician
woman right that famous scene so an
outsider a non-israelite the cyril
phoenician woman
classically a lot of tension between
those peoples and and israel
she comes up to the lord you know
seeking a favor could you do something
for my daughter and and the lord just
you know puts her off no i've come for
the lost sheep of the house of israel
when she presses him what does he say
it's not right that the food for the
children should be given to the dogs
and it seems to be if you want the worst
of a religion of grace like no look
these people are chosen they're the
special ones they get it you don't right
and that's there's the tension it seems
as though that's what's going on
but then she delivers her famous
one-liner one of the best in the whole
new testament right oh but master even
the dogs
receive the scraps that fall from the
master's table
he's so impressed by her faith he says
that he gives her what she wants
now what's the point here
the point is we ought to read the
prerogatives of israel as though they
are unique to israel
but rather so that all the world
symbolized by the syrian phoenician
woman might by hook or by crook
benefit from the grace given to israel
yes we have an electing god a god of
grace but god elects for the sake of the
world if that makes sense if we get
stuck at the first level then we have
this anomaly this problem of grace
so
the ultimate lesson of this
you know i i'll speak bluntly and
clearly now i thank god
i have a religion of grace i would say
i don't know about anyone else listening
but
i don't want to stand up in the harsh
wind of what i deserve you know what i'm
saying if it's purely karma out there
and i get what i deserve
god help me
i mean i'm infinitely grateful for a
religion of grace that i don't get what
i deserve but i've been given as a grace
my faith baptism
the mass the eucharist the sacraments
the revelation of christ i've been given
all that amazing grace how sweet to
sound that saved a wretch like me yes
right right
but now what do i do with grace
i give it away
i become a conduit now of grace to
others i've been elected yes thank god
i've been elected
for the world
i think that's the logic at the heart of
a religion of grace
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