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Birthday Grace
One of the most difficult parts of the Christian faith to understand (or explain) is the concept of grace. It is also the foundation of our belief and why we call the Good News good news. In this article, I am not referring to “grace” as a blessing before a meal. I am writing to you about the grace of God. Some theologians capitalize “grace” to indicate the difference. But, this author doesn’t want to add confusing punctuation into an already difficult theological discussion so I will write it with lower case.
So what is grace? It is God’s gift of love, mercy, and forgiveness. It’s a gift because it is given. The gift is unmerited, unearned, undeserved, non-transferable, non-refundable and given to all. A gift is free to the recipient but not to the giver. It’s also a gift because the recipient does not have to accept it. Lastly, unlike modern-day gifts which can be re-gifted, returned, or refunded, God’s grace is only for the recipient and thus cannot be re-anything-ed. It can be unused, unopened and ignored but it cannot be returned. It is a gift that waits patiently to be received. Like love, it is not arrogant or rude; this gift does not insist on its own way; but rather it is patient and endures all things.
God’s grace of love, mercy and forgiveness is given because it is the nature of God. God’s grace is God. And yes, God is incomprehensible, hidden, and is inaccessible light. God is creator. God is also redeemer and sustainer. God is unfathomably huge, in other words, but, God’s nature can be slightly grasped by understanding that God is love, mercy and forgiveness.
If you are thinking that this grace thing sounds an awful lot like Jesus, you are on the right track. Jesus is the embodiment, the incarnation, the living-out, the proof, the hands and feet and voice of God’s grace. Everything Jesus did was out of love, mercy and forgiveness. … except for the walking on water thing, that may have been for a different reason which is still beyond our understanding. Or, because he is God’s grace, which is a gift that can be left behind or ignored, he may have arranged for water transportation but the captain decided to leave without him so he took off on his own to catch up with the disciples; which then, would mean Jesus walked on water because of love and presented (gifted) himself to his followers.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, he did not leave us orphaned but gave us the Holy Spirit; which is also a gift, which is also love, mercy and forgiveness. That Spirit is still with us today. That Spirit of love, mercy and forgiveness is felt by many at All Angels – online, on the campus, and most especially with the people. In other words, All Angels is also a gift.
I have avoided writing about the “uns” of grace. The gift is unmerited, unearned, undeserved. This is the aspect of grace that sets us – The Way or Christianity – apart from the other major world religions. Unlike a merit badge in scouting, we – all of humanity and specifically you and me – did no merit-based action to receive God’s grace. We all have worked for a living and earned a wage. We did nothing to earn grace. King Charles was born into royalty. By the mere fact that he outlived his mother, he is deservedly king. Yet, he did nothing to deserve God’s grace. None of us have done, could do, or can do, anything to deserve God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. It is not a birthright, or a right of gender, of status, of accolade, of citizenship, of education, of beauty, strength or wealth, or of poverty, fasting, self-denial or of low estate. It is a gift, to you, to me, to everyone.
I just celebrated another anniversary of my birth. I received many wonderful cards, notes, hugs, gifts and texts. I had little to nothing to do with my birth. My mom, on the other hand, had a lot to do with it. Yet, I’m the one who gets the congratulations, cards and gifts (and yes, key lime pie too). If you are having difficulty with the concept of God’s grace, try thinking about your favorite birthday ever. Did you deserve it? Earn it? Or, was it a gift simply because you were born and are loved. That is God’s grace. God loves you, God forgives you; not because you deserve it; God loves you because God is love – incomprehensible, invisible, unresting, unhasting, not wanting, not wasting, unending Love. And that is Good News.
-Rev. Dave
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