I have a lot of very devout Christian friends. It’s so interesting to read and consider their concepts of God, religion, faith, good, and evil. The vernacular used in Christianity varies in many ways from the vernacular used in Judaism. I am most intrigued by the concept of grace in Christianity.
I have noticed that in Judaism, grace is often used as a verb. For example, in Mishkan T’filah, the prayerbook by the Union for Reform Judaism, the word “grace” is on 17 pages (an increase from 14 pages in the old Gates of Prayer). Most of the references to grace refer to it as a verb. For example,
And when darkness descends,
may it be Your will to grace me
with another dawning of light.
Gracing can be replaced with “generously give.” It seems to describe a particularly godly act of giving.
What this reminds me is that Jews are very action-focused. We believe in doing good. In our short time on this Earth, we are meant to act for the good of our brothers and sisters.
On the other hand, I often hear my Christian friends speaking of doing things “with grace.” Grace is a noun. I find this such an interesting difference. When I put my proper journalistic foot forward and googled “grace christianity” I came upon and entire wikipedia page dedicated to the concept of grace as understood by various Christian perspectives. What struck me so much was the very first sentence. It says,
In Christian theology, grace has been defined as “the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.”
It seems to me the fundamental difference here is that grace is something utterly godly that no human can obtain. The separateness of God and humankind is emphasized. The concept of grace seems as though it is meant to humble the Christian.
Again, this is what I’ve gathered from Facebook statuses and a wikipedia page.
Christian friends, is this your concept of grace? How do you usual incorporate this quality into your spiritual life?
Jews, have you noticed this difference? What is your interaction with grace? Is it a common word in your spiritual life? If so, how do you incorporate it into your life????
And You Shall Love 