“Your very adamant message
Is grace, grace, grace.”
I take it as a compliment
Of the highest order,
“If I’m to err, I pray it will be
On the side of adamant grace.”
The study has seemed pretty easy,
All of us scholars,
Seeking Theo through logos.
The commentators say,
“The Pharisees are not dead.”
And I think,
“Sure– I see them all around,
Preaching doctrine,
Teaching standards,
Guarding long-held ways.”
But the good church boy
Takes a heart check,
A little broken, shows us
How he is still like them.
And somehow,
With his guard down,
I can see my own adamance,
Sweet-covered in grace,
Just makes a pretty package
Of the assurance of my ways.
And I catch my heart,
Guilty,
Of wanting to just be right,
To insist so hard
On the message of grace,
That I ignore
The One who gives it.
Pens set down, Bibles close,
The study ends.
And I see it a million ways:
The Pharisees are not dead.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I relate.
Thanks for saying so, Carrie. We grace-touting Pharisees can be the hardest to spot and I think we’re ever in need of seeing it.
I love it. And I think I know what you are talking about.
Thanks, Pravin– glad you hear me.
the pharisees are not dead….and i am one.
It can be an uncomfortable truth to swallow. But I think it’s better than not recognizing the truth at all.
Excellent post Tamara! I identify with this immensely. The Pharisees are, indeed, not dead. I believe I work with a good deal of them.
Thanks, Kevin. I think it’s easy to see the Pharisees all around us; the hard and disturbing thing is to see them in ourselves.
Point taken.
Pharisees exist in lots of faiths. Thanks Tamara! It’s an excellent post indeed.
Thanks, Christine. That’s a great point– we can think of the Pharisees as ancient, hardened Jewish leaders, but the truth is, they’re sometimes current, sensitive Christian bloggers too.
After reading this, I see it too – how I have become so concerned with just being right, wanting to have the best message, the best theology, that I have forgotten Him. Thank you for these words of truth.
Grateful that spotting my own plank has helped you to see your specks. There’s such grace in growing together, even in an online community like this.
What is it with that drive to be right?? Yes, ma’am, you’ve hit the nail right on its not-very-pretty-little-head. Thanks for doing that so gently. Thanks for nailing it.
P.S. Are you leading this study as a church sponsored teacher? Seems to me that in an earlier post you spoke of working from the inside of a church that still wrestles with women in leadership of any kind, or am I remembering wrong? Either way, I (as you well know) am delighted that you’re using your God-given gifts to help others learn and grow. And, of course, that always starts with the teacher, doesn’t it? That learning and growing bit?
*big smiles* Thanks for your kindness.
I’m not the teacher; it’s a community group, and we lead and learn together. It’s a sweet joy.
Yes.
Times like these help me realize how much a group of people seeking Christ can find his heart, together, in ways we could never do alone.
Amen. It’s the beautiful Church in microcosm.
Goosebumps again. How hard it is to see the pharisee inside of me! So well written, friend. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Always grateful for those goosebumps, Leigh, that let me know you get me. xo
It’s tough, because the truth is, we all need rules to live by, guidelines to keep us from making stupid mistakes that hurt ourselves and others. And, I’m sure each of us can probably give examples from our own “I’ll never do that” list. And then, in our insecurity/lack of faith in ourselves, we constantly compare our own “never do that” list to the lists of those around us, and what do we do when we notice differences? We tend to assume that we are wrong or that they are wrong….. even though we know in our head that neither list is set in stone.
Ironically, even when we show grace, isn’t that because it’s on our list of things we’re supposed to do? Dohhh! Does that mean I’m being self-righteous as I act graciously?
Yeah, I’m a Pharisee too. It is soooo hard to really live with our freedom in Christ on a moment by moment basis rather than as guiding principle that defines the rules we live by.
sort of butchered that last sentence….
It is so hard to live with our freedom in Christ on a moment by moment basis rather than using our freedom in Christ as a guiding principle to define rules that we live by.
That’s a really interesting distinction to think about. Thank you!
THIS.
Goodness, friend. THIS!
Thank you, friend. Grateful you hear me.
We are all Pharisees, even those of us who think we aren’t. So hard to just follow Christ and leave the baggage at home.
Been there all too often