If Grace is True 3-10-24
If Grace is True
Ps 107:1-3, 17-22; Eph 2:1-10
Ps 107:1-3, 17-22
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress; he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.
Eph 2:1-10
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Prayer – God of grace, we come this day wondering if grace is indeed true. So much of what we learned and believed perhaps doesn’t coincide with grace. We act as if grace is a deserved present for our prayers, our scripture reading, our work with your people. It is hard to believe and even accept that your grace is beyond our understanding. Help our unbelief and trust that at the end of the day, your grace is indeed true – amen.
I grew up believing that we, all of us, you, me, everyone was destined, maybe even pre-destined, for either heaven or hell. I was taught that only those who confessed their sins and accepted Jesus as their Savior before they died would live with God forever. All the rest would suffer hell’s eternal torment. As a child, I never questioned this formula. It was simple and clear. As an adult, I’d held on to this belief despite life’s complexities for a long time, until it no longer theologically made sense to me. How could a God of unconditional love put conditions on eternal peace? That was the conundrum that struck me.
As I got further and further into ministry, watched God’s grace unfold in many lives while watching others stay stuck in this toxic belief that they would never be, or do, enough to get to heaven, I began to question this long held belief that destiny ended in one of two ways and where did God’s love and grace fall in the divine economy. There were many times when I wanted to defy the formula that I’d been taught, I wanted God to be gracious to everyone, with no strings attached for everyone, including me.
I imagine most, if not all of us, have been a prodigal at some point in our lives. Some people think God sits on a throne, holding fast to holiness and justice, waiting for us to be enough, do enough, or simply beg, borrow our way into heaven. But the more and more I reflected on the prodigal homecoming, I realized God is never content to sit and wait on the throne. God was standing at the door, watching, waiting, expectantly, hopefully, filled with compassion. And when seen in the distance, God rushed out to welcome the prodigal home, not even allowing a confession of brokenness, not an apology needed, just love filled gladness and eternal acceptance. And I knew it was true.
The second thing that opened my eyes was being asked to do a funeral for a 19 yo young man who died from drugs. A good funeral should speak of grace and this young man’s parents wanted me to speak truth of his life and of his death. Which was more important in that moment, life or death? Now by grace, I don’t mean an expected reward earned by good people. Neither do I mean a divine gift offered grudgingly to a chosen few. I don’t mean any notion that slips easily and naturally into our tidy formulas. By grace, I mean to throw out the formulas completely and rely on God’s unfailing commitment to love.
As I thought about how to remember a young man who in many opinions had wasted his life on drugs, perhaps a tiny drop of grace soon became a coursing flood. For several years God had been eroding my obsessive devotion to ‘not being good enough’, in other words, to judgment – both self and towards ‘those people,’ punishment and wrath. God had been seriously wearing away my inadequate understanding of God’s amazing grace. The life and stories of Jesus had slowly undercut all of my theological formulas I’d accepted uncritically. The dam ruptured, and grace swept through, softening the ground that had long been cracked and dry.
Now I have a new formula – it too is simple and clear. It is the most compelling truth I’ve ever known and every day I say and breath it and believe it to the core of my being. It has changed the way how I talk about God. It has changed the way I talk about myself. It has changed how I see and attempt to treat other people. It brings me untold peace, joy, and hope. This truth is the best news I’ve ever heard, ever believed and ever shared – God’s love, God’s grace is bigger than anything we, any of us, even those people, may say or do, and at the end of the day, if grace is true, then perhaps, me, you, and countless others may be surprised by who we see in heaven. And I’m good with that.
Now you may be wondering if Mike has totally lost it today – is he talking about universal salvation? Now by salvation, I mean much more than a ticket to heaven. I mean much more than being cleansed of our sins and rescued from hell’s fire. I mean even more than being raised from the grave from the grave and granted eternal life. By salvation, I mean being freed of every obstacle to intimacy with God. We will know as we are known, and love as we are loved – that is the way of Jesus and the garden and of God’s never-ending grace – if grace is indeed true.
Now many of us, including me for a long time, experienced God’s love but misunderstood grace. We’ve thought of it as a trophy rather than a gift, a personal achievement rather than the work of God. We’ve thought it was something we had to earn despite hearing it is a gift that couldn’t be earned. So, for years, perhaps you like me, often vacillated between reveling in God’s favor and fearing God’s wrath. I’d been told of God’s love but warned of God’s high expectation and the consequences of failure were equally emphasized. Sunday school tales of Adam and Eve’s ‘fall’, the flood’s destruction, and God’s quick retribution for the slightest infraction only reinforced my fears. Lot’s wife took one look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. I spent way too much time and energy being afraid that I’d displease God with my thoughts, words and actions and he’d destroy me, that I missed out on far too many grace-filled moments. It just didn’t resonate with me.
One of the signs of spiritual maturity is when we stop believing everything we’ve been told and begin to question and reflect and ponder and work out what it is we really believe. I’ve learned that asking why is never being unfaithful. Why we believe is every bit as important as what we believe. Perhaps intuitively if not theologically, I began to pay more attention to the ‘way of Jesus’ rather than the theology about Jesus. Jesus was a friend to everyone he met; he met people where they were and loved them as they were; he was forgiving when others weren’t, and his understanding of people, including the disciples, was beyond measure. Hearing that Jesus was all that stood between me and God’s wrath didn’t ease my anxiety. It was as if God wanted to destroy me while Jesus had died for me. I found myself wishing God could be more like Jesus.
And then I began to realize that perhaps Jesus’ ministry was in fact to reflect God to all of us who had misunderstood God. I began to see Jesus was God’s emissary who came to show us who, and what, and how much God loves us. And I finally began to accept that the grace I experienced and observed in Jesus was in fact the grace of God. The divine parent who Jesus spoke of as Abba Father was the very same Father who loves me and you, each and every one of us, regardless of what we believe, say or do. This assurance of love and grace and mercy freed me from all of those fears, enabling me to voice these hope filled words – that if grace is indeed true, then we have nothing to worry about, on earth or in heaven.
The God I’ve experienced is the God of Jesus – a God of unlimited patience, infinite love, and eternal faithfulness. Jesus described a God who waits long through the night, with the light lit and the door open, confident that his most defiant child will one day realizes his love and will turn toward home. Jesus revealed a God who loves the unlovable, touches the untouchable, and redeems those thought beyond redemption – even offering bread and cup of forgiveness to those who turned their backs on him. It seems that we’ve forgotten the very one Jesus came to reveal. BUT, if that is grace, if that grace is true, it is true for everyone – then everything changes, everything.
God whispers God’s love into every ear. God isn’t interested in declaring God’s love to a select few. God doesn’t limit his presence to Vatican City, to the halls of seminaries, to the offices of preachers, or to church altars. God doesn’t restrict his communication to the Bible only; nor defines his presence to any single denomination or religion. God speaks to ALL PEOPLE, particularly when they’re not inclined to listen. God doesn’t stand with his back turned until we ask for him. God doesn’t play hide and seek, expecting us to seek him only. God doesn’t hang out on a throne waiting for us to come begging for forgiveness or praying a particular prayer. God’s grace was never intended to bless only a few – it was and is a more extravagant grace intended for ALL PEOPLE.
I’d like to close with these words of theologian and Presbyterian minister, Frederick Buechner, about GRACE --
“After centuries of handling and mishandling, most religious words have become so shopworn nobody's much interested any more. Not so with grace, for some reason. Mysteriously, even derivatives like gracious and graceful still have some of the bloom left.
Grace is something you can never get but only be given. There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth. A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?
A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do. The grace of God means something like: "Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you."
There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only when you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too,” that is, if grace is true – thanks be to God – amen.