Transformed by grace
The story of John Newton is generally well known. He was a captain in the African slave trade during the 1700s and eventually had a conversion to Christianity. He later joined with his friend William Wilberforce to bring about the end of the British slave trade.
Mar 27, 2014
By Daniel S. Mulhall
The story of John Newton is generally well known. He was a captain in the African slave trade during the 1700s and eventually had a conversion to Christianity. He later joined with his friend William Wilberforce to bring about the end of the British slave trade.
Newton is most commonly known for writing the hymn “Amazing Grace,” a song that many mistakenly believe tells the story of his conversion from slave trader to Christian. While “Amazing Grace” (original title “Faith’s Review and Expectation”) mentions elements of Newton's transformation, the song was published in 1779, some nine years before he came out forcefully against slavery in his book “Thoughts Upon the Slave Trade.”
Newton’s conversion took a long time and wasn’t very dramatic. While he had a distinct conversion moment – he became a Christian when a ship he was on almost sank during a storm and he felt saved by prayer – little actually changed in his life for some time. He continued to work in the slave trade after initially finding faith in God, and even was the captain on two other slave ships. Only gradually, over years, did Newton develop his religious fervour.
While it may be disappointing to learn that Newton’s transformation from sinner to saint wasn’t instantaneous, his life is a more realistic example of Christians who accept Christ, are baptized but wonder if anything has changed in their lives.
When we want to make a change in our lives, we often do something small, like buy new clothes, start a diet or take up a new hobby. These often bring about outward changes but seldom make a difference to our interior.
To make any significant changes, we must undergo a real conversion. We must change from who we currently are into what we hope to become. This takes time. The word that best describes this conversion is “transformation,” which suggests a radical change that orients our lives in a new direction. It changes who we are and what we do. When we are transformed we develop a new character that is greatly different from what we were.
Pope John Paul II made this point clearly when he spoke to aboriginal Catholics in Alice Springs, Australia, in 1986. The pope noted during his visit that faith is not like a hat or pair of shoes: it can’t be put on or taken off at will. Instead, Christianity affects us to the roots, to the core of who we are. Conversion is the act of being transformed.
During Lent, we engage in activities aimed at helping us to become better followers (or disciples) of Jesus. We practice prayer in order to become better prayers, and we practice self-denial to learn to control our desires, and we practice acts of charity to learn to be more generous.
But what happens when we finish the 40 days of Lent? Do we return to our old lives as if nothing has happened, as if we’ve taken a vacation away, but now we are back to our original practices and habits? What happens to the prayer habit we developed during Lent? Have we developed a spirituality of prayer so that we continue the practice religiously or is it something that we continue to do only when we remember?
Have we developed an “attitude of gratitude” so that we remain joyful givers once Lent is over, or do we abandon the practice and give only when we are made to feel guilty? Have we disciplined our desires so that we can control our actions and behaviour, or do we remain creatures of habit, eating and drinking or playing games on the computer without being aware of what we are doing?
That is the difference between hearing the Gospel message and being transformed by it. As Jesus frequently admonished, let those who have ears hear. We believe, as Catholics, in the effectiveness of God’s grace.
We believe that God gives us a divine gift that touches us and empowers us to respond in kind. While we can’t earn this gift of grace, we can take it and use it through our initiative and be transformed by it.
While the song “Amazing Grace” may not be about an immediate conversion, its message is no less valuable. God’s grace is amazing. Through it we are transformed. Our faith can be moved from tepid to blazing hot, our commitment to justice and our practice of mercy can make us into different people.
While we may never have to make the dramatic transition from slave trader to slave freer that Newton made, each of us has room to grow and change.
That, ultimately, is the purpose of Lent: to be transformed through God’s grace into fervent disciples. Forty days won’t be enough time for the transition to be completed, but it’s a good start.
Remember, even St Paul, who experienced the Lord personally on the way to Damascus, needed three additional years of preparation before he was ready to share his faith in Jesus with others.
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