Radical Grace and Hospitality: The power of the Gospel
Binu B. Peniel
Grace
of God can be defined as God’s unmerited favor. It is God’s riches at God’s expense. When I was growing up in India the teaching and the philosophy of ‘Karma’
or duty and its influence upon one's life and the future existence was a powerful
aspect or understood to be a determining factor for one's destiny. I sometimes doubt how much
Indians 2.3% Christianity philosophically, ideologically, morally, and
theologically influenced by over 80% of Hindus in India. In other words, what is
the effect of 827 million people, over 24 million Christians? In this particular context, we need to understand the
finished work of Christ on the cross. Do I need to work hard for my salvation?
When we think about Christianity in India, one of my major concerns is also
related to the victimized mentality and the feeling of unworthiness by the
minority. The fundamental message of the gospel is based on God’s radical grace totally based upon trusting in God and
relying upon Him.
During my missionary journey in
India, when I shared the gospel with pre-Christians (unbelievers), I have observed
the excitement and a great release of burden in their eyes knowing the fact
that salvation is free. The farness of God is in contradiction with the nearness of
God, and it needs to be understood as the greatness of God.
The Greek word “Soteria” is
translated as "salvation" means more than forgiveness of sin; it also means welfare, healing, deliverance, preservation, safety, and prosperity.
It's a word that summarizes everything that Jesus provided for us through His
death, burial, and resurrection. I also see God’s hand in the use of Greek
language, which was the universal and profound philosophical language of the
first century, used by God, apostles, and the early church to explain this powerful
message. This is why I call grace is
radical and it has no ordinary explanation.
The concept of Radical grace or
hospitality is drastically different from ordinary practices and it always
stands outside the norm. Mostly when we hear the word radical we think about 'out of ordinary or revolutionary'. ‘I was
a stranger and you welcome me and love your neighbor as yourself are the
biblical basis for radical hospitality and grace. Radical hospitality creates a space of grace
in our family, in our churches, and in our personal space. Timothy Keller once said; Chance won’t happen
through trying harder but through encountering the radical grace of God.
It is not about the rules, when we
touch the pain of the world with the gospel of grace it releases hope and the
darkness departs and God’s light of grace reigns.
Fighting against injustice, poverty, discrimination is the mission of
God in the most radicalized world. Radicalized Islam is the most dangerous
threat of this century. The radical grace
and hospitality of the Christian church are the total opposite of radicalized
terrorism.
The message of the Gospel requires a
holy shift. Our true existence is not in
this world but in eternity. We travel distance not only in this world but also
in our dreams. Jesus’ encounter with sinful women narrated in St. Luke
7:36-50 is a perfect example of how Jesus exercised radical grace. In the text, Jesus is making a paradigm shift from radical judgment
to radical grace. Sex and sexual thoughts are considered evil and sinful by
the Pharisees even though every seven seconds men think about sex. In the
practical life of the Pharisees, they avoid touching their penis while
urinating. They don’t even accidentally touch a woman because touching a
women’s little finger was as serious as touching her genitals. While walking
down the street or rocky mountain they would stare at the ground or close their
eyes to avoid seeing any women – some even boasted about the wounds they got
from accidentally walking into walls and falling down the cleft. I was also
reminded about the controversial prayer at the time of Jesus’s days; Oh lord, I
thank you that I am neither a Gentile, a slave, a dog, or a woman. Jesus inaugurated the
radical moment of liberation for women.
In the postmodern socialistic world
of today, I don’t see any organization other than religious bodies (church) that
discriminate women from leadership and equal participation. The influence of the patriarchal context still exists in India as a domineering factor and even within the church. I am sure we
will not run out with a number of fingers in our hands if we count the number of
ordained ministers in India. If Mary, the mother of Jesus can be pregnant with
the incarnated word (LOGOS- I John 1:14) she can carry the mantle of the
written word (Bible). God is still looking for “little
Christ” or Christians who exercise radical hospitality and grace to liberate
the church and the world. While the
disciples of Jesus were in Antioch which was a pagan city, they were called "little Christ" or Christians to mock them, which turn to be a badge of honor.
Right after thanksgiving
celebration again as part of the Christian tradition people celebrate Christmas
and decorate homes with dummies of baby Jesus. We take Jesus out of the box
and put them back in the box. The real Jesus
was always out of the box with his teaching, living and ministry.
The power of the gospel is
transformative and revolutionary. Today my prayer is to let your kingdom come and
let your will be done. Every evil
hand, imperial systems and victimized and defeated mentality that is drawing our feet, hearts, minds, and our hands into poverty, setbacks, disappointments, discrimination, accidents, fake-love, discouragements, fear of failure, sadness, sorrow, and
narrow mindedness will die in the name of Yeshua (Jesus) and die by fire, die
by the blood of Jesus. Amen.
2015 (c) www.binupeniel.com
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