"Sin and grace, absence and presence, tragedy and comedy, they divide the world between them and where they meet head on, the Gospel happens."(F. Buechner "Listening to Your Life" p. 109)
When I first read this quote, I thought that's a lot of dualism And I personally dislike dualism, either or choices and categories that fall in so neatly. Perhaps I'm too much of a slave to ambiguity. There is a lot of gray area in my gray matter.
As a preacher, I need to not get stuck on just pointing out sin while ignoring grace. And vis versa. I should proclaim the presence of God, while acknowledging those times when it seems more like an absence. To point to what is tragic in the world and what is comedic. That life isn't just a bad joke, or necessarily a barrel of laughs either.
For me all those things do not capture the whole truth about life and about our relationship to God and others. The Gospel for me usually is most clear in the ambiguities and in the gray areas between the false dualism we create.
Blessings,
Ed
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