We Are a People Experiencing Grace
It’s how we see ourselves! A people who have received a multitude of gifts. That’s what grace means – a gift.
Just a little background: the word grace comes from the Greek word, charis. We get words like charism, charisma, charm and charismatic from it. If you think of someone who has charisma, they have a gift of attracting others.
Specifically, we talk about ourselves as experiencing the grace of Jesus.
There are so many ways this happens, and many stories. Grace is always a surprise, nothing you can conjure up or should take for granted. It sneaks up on you. It can be seemingly mundane daily occurrences of things like breathing, thinking, touching, feeling. If you’ve ever had a health scare, you know that one of the immediate experiences is one of gratitude for the life you have!
The gift of life and health we acknowledge is one that is there all the time, but our awareness of it that leads to gratitude can often be surprising.
Grace is always BIG, even when it is a small act, because it is the presence of Jesus in our midst, whether we name him or not. God wants to give gifts, good gifts to his creation. And does!
I want to share three gifts with you that I have experienced at Emmanuel.
When I first arrived almost three years ago, one of the real challenges was where to live.
The goal was to rent out our home down south and move into the community. But the process of doing that meant we needed some interim lodging so I could get started with the work. Before I arrived, I asked a member of the staff – who might have a room or something we could rent. It didn’t take long before I was having a phone conversation with a member of Emmanuel and setting up a meeting to check out some guest “quarters”.
The first part of the gift was that it was perfect and the family was incredibly accommodating.
The second part of the gift was that they communicated to me that they did not have any desire to be landlords. (You can figure out what that meant!)
The third part of the gift was something that unfolded over time. What we thought would be a few weeks, lasted more than six months! At every turn the gift kept being renewed with no pressure to move on.
The fourth part of the gift was that the genuineness of it has led, to what Dee and I trust, is a lifelong friendship. It was truly a gift with no strings attached. The generosity was a constant renewal of the real gift of friendship.
It translated into a gift of time, where we found a place to live in Camarillo that has exceeded expectations and it was possible because of the time we were given. Time is the fifth part of the gift! (Also, the answer to a famous riddle – anyone know where it is found?)
The second gift is like the first in that it has to do with friendship, but came about in a different way.
Soon after I arrived on the scene, one of our elders invited me to lunch. Three years later we are still having lunch about once every 4 to 6 weeks. The gift isn’t that this person won’t let me pay, though I am always grateful for this, but it is what happens at lunch.
For three years now, our conversations don’t end without the question, “How are you?” It’s not a casual question, they really are interested in my well-being. It is a question not related to my work as pastor, it is not about program – it is concern for me.
There have been days when I respond superficially, but most of the time it is an opening for me to be candid about my life – without any conditions. I didn’t know if I would meet anyone who I could do this with at this stage in my life.
The gift of being cared about and listened to is huge. I hope it goes both ways. Not many in my profession get this gift. It is rare in the church. Ironic, isn’t it?! The place we tout as being somewhere you can be yourself, no strings attached, no conditions, just the love of God overcoming anything – can for many, including pastors be illusive.
The church is often just the opposite. This gift of being cared about is rare in our culture, but we seem to have it in our midst!
The third gift was the most surprising.
Dee and I have gotten to know a few couples and families in the last three years. One of those couples went through a major health deterioration over the last couple of years that resulted in death this last spring. It was a slow and fast death. I wish I had been a better friend in the time we had.
But here is where the gift happened. It was on or near the last day before our friend died. Talking had become difficult. Faith did not always come easy for this person. And they shared that with me. They shared their fears about dying. They shared their hope. I pray I was of some help in return.
The grace I was given was trust. This person trusted me with the biggest challenge any of us will face. This person trusted that I would receive the doubts and fears without judgment. I was so honored. It is a grace to be trusted. It was the most surprising of gifts I have been given.
Award winning author, Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door; A Swiftly Tilting Planet) wrote a book called Trailing Clouds of Glory. It’s a book that examines children’s literature for traces of God and the things of God.
God leaves his signature everywhere and if we are attentive we can see it.
Why would Paul write this to the Philippians?
Because in those characteristics the very person of Jesus is present.
They are “trailing clouds of glory” – glimpses of God in the here and now.
I live a truly, undeserved, grace-filled life. I can’t make the grace happen in my life, I simply receive it. For it to have its full effect in my life, it must be passed on in the here and now.
Do these stories sound like something that has happened to you?
Do they sound like something you would do for someone else?
Do you have stories of grace that are happening right now?
We would love to tell your stories and the stories of what God is doing in our midst. Let us know!
