Sitting on the recliner recovering from an Achilles rupture affords me ample time to read. One book I picked up recently was Anne Lamott's Grace Eventually: Thoughts on Faith. I have never read one of her books before. I picked this one up at Barnes & Noble because it was "Bargain Priced," looked interesting, and had grace in the title. My favorite word.
Anne Lamott is a self-described progressive, feminist Christian. Her background is on the other end of the spectrum from my own. She grew up with atheistic parents dipped in liberal political causes and spent the early years of her life in the sexually-free, nature-loving hippie movement. I, on the other hand, grew up with church-going, Republican, pro-Reagan, parents and spent the early years of my life memorizing verses for VBS and being good. I am also male.
So it was interesting reading someone approaching Jesus, grace, spirituality, politics, and life from a totally different angle.
Lamott is honest and sees the mundane aspects of life in a sort of Seinfeld-ish way. Walking her dog leads to moments of insight. Vacationing with rich, self-absorbed friends spurs blunt feelings of jealousy and indignation. Raising her son as a single parent reveals her inadequacy and provides stories of classic parent-child conflicts. Feeling overweight and under-beautiful plague her even as she realizes their unimportance.
Yet through all of life's ups and downs Lamott tries to show love to others and see through the eyes of grace.
Except when she talks about George Bush. The best she can do for Bush is try not to hate him…though she seems to enjoy failing in this attempt…over and over.
Lamott is enamored with politics and political issues which in some sense surprises me. Right wing Christians are usually the ones blasted for being so politically involved and narrow-minded. In the end, I guess the issue, for both right and left, is not political involvement but political involvement that one disagrees with.
Ironically one of my favorite quotes by Lamott (though I can't say that I know of any other ones by her) is "You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." I wonder if she sees the irony of this statement in her own political animosity.
But I like Lamott. I like her honesty. I like the way she writes. I like her dependence on grace. Even though I struggle to understand her perspective and wonder how much she grasps God's holiness.
Reading Lamott reminds me that there is such a fine line between grace and license. Yes, we all fall short. Yes, we are all sinners. Yes, we are all inadequate, broken, desperate for mercy. We are prodigal sons running from our Father and finding ourselves alone in the pig sties of life. But grace is not permission to stay there but rather freedom to leave, to return home…without condemnation.
I fear that in Lamott's effort to avoid being a Pharisee (in a legalistic black and white world), she swings the pendulum so far that she becomes a Gnostic (in an ambiguous, nebulous, always gray world).
Reading Lamott reminded me that the Christian life really is like walking a tight rope. Between legalism and libertarianism. Between certainty and mystery. Between soberness and joy. Between discipline and grace.
And in politics it is learning to walk between left and right. Or perhaps "above left and right."
When Jesus entered the world, He also entered into a political hotbed. Pharisees. Sadducees. Herodians. Zealots. He disappointed and angered all of them. To the Pharisees, he was too liberal, hanging out too much with sinners and tax collectors. To the Sadducees, he was way too conservative, preaching holiness, judgment and the righteousness of God. To the Herodians, he was a threat to the status quo. To the Zealots, he was too peaceful and accommodating to the status quo. In the end, no one in the political realm liked Jesus. He didn't fit any label. He didn't endorse anyone's agenda…except God's. And for that, He was crucified.
I wish I knew exactly what that meant in living in America…today…in 2010…with Obama as president…with national health care on the political horizon.
I struggle to live in that tension between being a citizen of heaven and a resident of earth, between being involved in politics (which affects so many lives) and being focused on the gospel of grace (which is the hope of all lives).
Reading Lamott helped some. It reminded me of that simple saying, "Don't judge another person until you walk a mile in their shoes." Since I don't know Lamott's heart and I haven't lived her experiences, I have to approach her with humility and grace. Just like I would any other person…swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19).
That is incarnation. That is what Jesus did in entering our world. He did not deny His identity or lose His holiness, but He came in humility…He came to serve…He came to sympathize…and He came to save.
And those open to grace…and eager to change…received Him.
Whether they grew up as a hippie or a "saint."
