“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.