05649
Dec. 6, 2005

The ways of grace

We who share a belief in one God are called
to transform the world through justice, compassion

by Naamah Kelman

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of background articles leading up to the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Feb. 14-23, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Two PC(USA) journalists will help cover the Assembly: Eva Stimson, editor of Presbyterians Today, will serve on the WCC staff as co-editor of the daily Assembly newspaper, and Jerry L. Van Marter, coordinator of the Presbyterian News Service, will serve as a reporter for Ecumenical News International, a Geneva-based religious news agency.

JERUSALEM — We look to God for the strength, wisdom and courage to change the world. We pray to God to renew our hope and nourish our spirits so that we can be partners in transforming the world. We reach to God to feel love and comfort, so that when we fail to change our world, we have it in us to try again.

        We of the three monotheistic faiths — Judaism, Christianity and Islam— share a God of compassion and justice. And the two must go together: Compassion without justice may heal, but will not mend nor move us toward our goal; justice without compassion may fix a wrong, but will not help us hold onto each other. We serve a God who can move us, heal us, inspire us, compel us.

        In the Jewish tradition, we cling to two key pillars: creation and redemption. Creation is both the original act of the world’s creation and the ongoing idea of renewal — of the soul and of the world. Redemption is the original act of exodus from slavery and the ongoing hope of freedom.

        While God is the source for these transformative powers, we must become partners with God to ensure that renewal and redemption are at work in the world.

        On the sabbath these two forces are brought together. We are commanded to rest, not to relax; we seek the energy to take on a new week, and the world, with the force of creation and redemption. Maybe this week we can heal our families, communities and neighborhoods. Even better, maybe we can reach out beyond our familiar frameworks and seek the other.

        Has there ever been a time in human history when we did not yearn for God’s grace? No! Do we need it now as much as ever? Yes!

        Today the scale of events is terrifying. Global connections have made us a world village. Technology has unleashed unprecedented healing powers and powers of destruction. We cannot keep up with the catastrophes facing humanity. They make us numb with fear. We also feel helpless in the face of poverty, disease, violence and corruption. God’s grace fights despair.

The audacity of acting like God

        The theme of the WCC’s 9th Assembly next February reminds me of that wonderful Jewish parable about how we must act like God. Of course, as soon as the rabbis say this, they gasp at the audacity. How can we humans be like God?

        They answer: Just as God visits the sick, we must visit the sick. We know this because God “appears before Abraham” in Genesis 18, shortly after Abraham’s circumcision. The rabbis deduce that Abraham is recuperating, and God has come to “call.”

        The rabbis seek scriptural proof texts that God feeds the hungry, clothes the naked (Adam and Eve in the garden), consoles mourners, etc., and that we, therefore, must walk in God’s ways. These are the ways of God’s grace.

        Of course, the most powerful proof text is Genesis 1:27. The text makes it clear that we were created in God’s image, all of us. I must treat you as if you represent God’s image on Earth. But no one has a monopoly on suffering, just like no one has a monopoly on holiness. We join hands as God’s representatives on this glorious planet.

        So we start with those near us in pain and suffering, and spread our work from there. Our mission, according to our prophets, is to do justice while caring for the orphan, the widow, those in our societies who are most helpless. To build an equitable world.