The Ragamuffin Gospel. Brennan Manning

Manning, Brennan. The Ragamuffin Gospel. Multnomah Publishers. 2000.
Comment. Henry
Brennan lives in Louisiana. His ministry arises out of Willie Juan Ministries. He was trained as a Catholic priest. His presentation is a radical (ragamuffin) view of the gospel that focuses squarely on God’s mercy and love and Christ’s demonstration of that mercy and love to ‘ragamuffins’ during his earthly ministry. This is a delightful thought- provoking read.

God’s grace and love is unconditional, without respecter of person. It is good news! “Creation discloses a power that baffles our minds and beggars our speech.” (36) In the gospel of grace there is no dichotomy between God’s power and his love.
The gospel is powerfully y portrayed in Jesus’ meal-sharing, a custom of his day reserved only for those who were intimate. Jesus’ actions communicate love, acceptance, and forgiveness. “Repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it what we do because we have been forgiven.” (74) The gospel is all about love that drives out fear. Fear keeps us from honesty. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. Believe it! “Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder.” Joshua Abraham Heschel. Practicing “evangelism by concussion” (121) is part of the gospel.
When our actions do not match our words we become guilty of severe hypocrisy. Freedom that Christ offers has always been threatened by those who feel that such a gift is too difficult to handle without outside control and/or management. Christ’s freedom is very empowering. Such freedom is not without failure which leads to growth and maturation.
“Christianity (the gospel) is not primarily a moral code but a grace-laden mystery; it is not essentially a philosophy of love but a love affair; it is not keeping rules with clenched fists but receiving a gift with open hands.” (204)
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