RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 1 “Brennan Manning does a masterful job of blowing the dust off of shop-worn theology and allowing God’s grace to do what only God’s grace can do—amaze.” —MAX L UCADO Bestselling author of Come Thirsty and The Gift for All People “I found deep comfort in realizing that Jesus loves even me, a ragamuffin, just as I am and not as I should be; that he accepts me, though I am most unacceptable. I came to this book hungry; I tasted and saw afresh that our God truly is good and that He is, after all, for us.” —MICHAEL C ARD Musician, recording artist, and author “So much religion is conveyed to us as bad news or bland news that we are immensely grateful when it is spoken freshly as good news. This is a zestful and accurate portrayal that tells us unmistakably that the gospel is good, dazzlingly good.” —EUGENE P ETERSON Author of The Message RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 3 RagamuffinThe Gospel Brennan Manning MultnomahBooks RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 4 THE RAGAMUFFIN GOSPEL published by Multnomah Books The author is represented by Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard St., Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920 © 1990, 2000, 2005 by Brennan Manning International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59052-502-9 Cover photo by Ben Pearson Photography Interior design and typeset by Katherine Lloyd, The DESK Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from: The Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Other Scripture quotations are from: The Message © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. The New American Bible (NAB) with Revised New Testament © 1986 and Revised Psalms © 1991 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. All Rights Reserved. Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York. Multnomah and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc. Printed in the United States of America ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission. For information: MULTNOMAH BOOKS 12265 ORACLE BOULEVARD, SUITE 200 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80921 09 10—60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 5 Contents Foreword by Michael W. Smith - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 Testimony by Rich Mullins - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10 Acknowledgments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12 A Word Before - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13 1. Something Is Radically Wrong - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15 2. Magnificent Monotony - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33 3. The Ragamuffin Gospel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 51 4. Tilted Halos - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 73 5. Cormorants and Kittiwakes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 89 6. Grazie, Signore - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 106 7. Paste Jewelry and Sawdust Hot Dogs - - - - - - - - - - - - 126 8. Freedom from Fear - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 145 9. The Second Call - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 163 10. The Victorious Limp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 178 11. A Touch of Folly - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 195 A Word After - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 208 The Scandal of Grace: Fifteen Years Later - - - - - - - - - - - 212 19 Mercies: A Spiritual Retreat - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 227 Notes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 261 RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 7 Foreword by Michael W. Smith I probably first heard the word ragamuffin while sitting in school listening with less-than-rapt attention to an English teacher reading from a Dickens novel or some other three-inch-thick book. The word really didn’t grab my attention. The next time the word came into my life was through music. My friend and fellow singer-songwriter Rich Mullins assembled a ragtag crew of musician friends and dubbed them the Ragamuffin Band. They celebrated the unconditional love of God, and the more their lives and music exemplified the idea of ragamuffinness, the more intriguing and appealing that word became to me. Then I discovered Brennan Manning’s The Ragamuffin Gospel, the same rich treasure chest where Rich had found the word. The first time I sat down with the book, I devoured it. Between the words of its pages I found a new freedom. I 7 RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 8 8 The Ragamuffin Gospel discovered how little I had to do to deserve and receive the love of God and that He loved me more than I had ever imagined. Suddenly, instead of fearing and denying all of my real or imagined shortcomings, I could embrace my humanness. I could see God pursuing me through it and in spite of it. Here was the purest picture I’d ever seen of God’s relentless pursuit of His raggedy creation. Not that I could sin more so grace might abound (see Romans 6:15), but grace abounded more because I could find it in the darkness as much as in the light. God wanted me just as I am. I am loved. Brennan took every cliché I had ever spouted or had had spouted at me and turned it into gold. Ever since that first magical moment of discovery when the radical message of the unconditional, immeasurable, life- changing love of God jumped out at me from the pages of The Ragamuffin Gospel, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it. I can’t even remember how many copies I have given away. Much like the gospel, once it captures your heart, you can’t wait to have it embrace everyone else’s. Since then I’ve met hundreds of other Ragamuffin fans. Our stories are all pretty much the same. For the first time in our walks of faith, we found something so old and so basic that it seemed stunningly new and profound. We are all ragamuffins, and we are all endlessly wrapped in God’s arms of grace. Recently I attended a two-day retreat led by Brennan Manning. Brennan’s gentle spirit was the perfect reflection of what I needed to learn, and the retreat was a refreshing time of reminding us of the truth that God is always with us and for us. The touchstone was, “Abba, I belong to you.” Lovingly, RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 9 foreword 9 Brennan drilled into us that message—the father-love and acceptance we are so prone to forget. I found myself repeat- ing those words over and over again long after the weekend had passed. It was not unlike the weeks after I first read The Ragamuffin Gospel. I found myself marveling out loud at those wonderful, powerful glimpses of the Creator and His unfathomable love for me. Some books are a great read. Some have taught me life- long lessons that have made my life more of what I’m sure God intended it to be. And, of course, some have impressed my friends but gathered dust on my shelves. The Ragamuffin Gospel was and is different. It transformed me. I will never be the same. Don’t let the cover fool you: This is a dangerous book. It will shake you to your core and shuffle every idea you’ve neatly arranged in your brain. As for me, I welcomed the intrusion. Thank you, Brennan, for awakening the ragamuffin in all of us. And to you lucky readers about to plunge in, drink deeply. You are in for an incredible experience! RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 10 Testimony by Rich Mullins I owe Brennan Manning thirty dollars for lecture tapes I bought from him on an IOU. I’m not writing this tes- timony because of that debt. I simply mention it because indebtedness is a condition indicative of ragamuffins—a condi- tion we all share, until we lose ourselves in the liberating, healing, invigorating truth to which these pages bear testimony. My introduction to Brennan Manning’s work came on a drive south from Manhattan, Kansas, through the edge of the Flinthills. It is a beautiful drive, best accompanied by the music of Aaron Copeland. Or by pure silence. When a friend put a tape of one of Manning’s lectures in my truck’s tape player, I objected. But my friend said, “Just give it ten minutes.” Five minutes later, I steered the truck onto the shoulder of the road. My eyes were so full of tears, I could not see to drive. I have attended church regularly since I was less than a week 10 RagamuffinGospel_int.qxp:RagamuffinGospel.int-fnl 3/30/10 4:43 PM Page 11 testimony 11 old. I’ve listened to sermons about virtue, sermons against vice. I have heard about money, time management, tithing, abstinence, and generosity. I’ve listened to thousands of sermons. But I could count on one hand the number that were a simple proclamation of the gospel of Christ. That proclamation is the message I heard that day. And it did what the gospel can’t help but do: It broke the power of mere “moralistic religiosity” in my life and revived a deeper acceptance that had long ago withered in me. In our society, we tend to swear unyielding allegiance to a rigid position, confusing that action with finding an authentic connection to a life-giving Spirit. We miss the gospel of Christ: the good news that, although the holy and all-powerful God knows we are dust, He still stoops to breathe into us the breath of life—to bring to our wounds the balm of acceptance and love.