January 2009
M T W T F S S
« Dec   Feb »
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

Archives

Recent Comments

“O momentary grace…”

Shakespeare was a pretty flash playwright and poet that graced the theatres of the 17th century with his particular skill. One of his most quoted lines is that from Hamlet; “To be, or not to be; that is the question.”

Perhaps a little less well known is another arty line from one of Shakespeares first plays, Richard III;

“O momentary grace of mortal men, which we more hunt for than the grace of God.”

Interestingly, I came across a forum where members debated what this might have meant.  After some back and forth they concluded that man seeks the favour of man, more than of God.  I agree with this, but would qualify it further.  I think the grace man pursues from himself is fleeting (momentary) and vain, lacking any enduring power and with no eternal reach.  To borrow a phrase from Phillip Yancey it is almost an “ungrace” (see Phillip’s book “What’s So Amazing About Grace?“).

Shakespeare, in the late 16th century, put his finger on something which, I think, continues with us today; the pursuit of praise and opportunity from friends and peers as some sort of worthwhile trophy, while the real prize sits in the wings of life’s stage.

4 comments to “O momentary grace…”

Leave a Reply

 

 

 

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>