Ragamuffin: grace

Everyone is invited

N

ot long ago Bono, the lead singer for U2, stated in an interview with beliefnet.com the following: “The most powerful idea that’s entered the world in the last few thousand years is the idea of grace - grace is the reason I would like to be a Christian.”

Phillip Yancey tells the story about a woman and her fiancé. They went to the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Boston and planned their wedding reception. They both had expensive tastes so the bill totaled $13,000. Soon after the planning was all done the groom got cold feet and backed out of the wedding. The woman, who ten years before had spent some time in a homeless shelter, knew that the Hyatt contract was binding so she decided to use her meal and money that was going to be spent on the wedding to treat the down-and-out of Boston to a night on the town. She got everything rolling by changing the menu to boneless chicken in honor of the groom, and then she sent invitations to the rescue missions and homeless shelters across the city. That night people who were accustomed to peeling half-eaten pizza off cardboard now were dining on chicken cordon bleu. Hyatt waiters in tuxedos served hors d’oeuvres to senior citizens propped up on crutches. Bag ladies, homeless persons, and addicts took one night off from their hard life on the sidewalks and danced to big band music. It was a party to remember. It was a picture of grace.

Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven will be that kind of party. Everybody is invited. You are invited - it’s an invitation of grace. That is the idea of grace. That is why I am a Christian!

Ragamuffin appears every Monday on theRubicon. Find past Ragamuffin posts and a bio of Capt. Jay Davis here.

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