That was one of the questions waiting in my inbox on December 29th. Suzanne Castle, a Disciples minister, worship designer, and coach for professionals or organizations, asked that question in her last email of the year to subscribers of her “The Sparkle Factor.” When I read it, I was on holiday watching the ocean float by. She asked subscribers to respond to the email. I did with the words below which, upon reflection, I would edit a bit, (in parenthesis), but I’m mostly in the same place today as I begin 2024.
Watching the sun rise over Bimini from the terrace of our cabin on Valiant Lady, I feel blessed and obligated. My companion and I decided a long time ago to live now, before retirement. Now, we think we have a decade or a bit more to give to the church (our denomination and the big “C,” Church.)
As an old GenX’er, I think of myself as a cynical realist (about our Nation, its politics, its economic caste system, geopolitics, and Christendom) who trusts the Pension Fund will be as good for me (and younger generations) as I’m told it has been for the youngest of the Silent Generation, and Boomer retired clergy.
As a church leader, I’m balancing what my mentors taught was ‘quality’ church with my experience and the newest incarnation of Discipledom (my denomination) that I find less Disciple (and more generic evangelical Christianity) each day. (There is a generation of clergy who believe that social justice is the only appropriate gospel, no matter one’s context, for times like these). When (theological and socially) conservative clergy tell me they feel like the church (Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)) has left them out or behind, I respond, “I feel the same way.”
I have a companion that values most of what I value. I’m loved for who I am and made better by our relationship of almost 35 years. I’m a better human being with her. We are professionals, despite bristling at that characterization, who enjoy life’s ups and downs together.
How am I really? I could be worse. I’m not sure how I could be better. Thanks for asking.
(Of course, I’m a cisgender, privileged, educated, Truth seeker, nuance-appreciating, critical thinking, historical system-observing, pragmatic, sometimes rule-bending, live-and-let-live white male. I’m supposed to be okay because of my skin color and sex at birth, even when/if, I’m not. I am more and less than my labels. I do my best to treat others as more than their labels in a time when everyone needs a list and is limited, self imposed or socially, by their labels. “Finally I understand the feelings of the few. Ashes and diamonds. Foe and friends. We were all equal in the end.”(1))
How are you? Really.
Note 1. Roger Waters and Pink Floyd, The Final Cut. “Two Suns in the Sunset.” (Harvest-Columbia) 1983.
There is an old story that’s been passed around by preachers and embellished over the years. Depending on where you are, it took place in a Waffle House, Huddle House, Denny’s, or a local greasy spoon. The characters change a bit, but the basic story goes like this. When you are in the American South, and you order a meal, expect to get grits. When you remind the server you didn’t ask for grits and that you are not going to pay for them, the server responds, “Grits just come with everything. It’s like grace. You don’t have to ask for it.”
Many of the clergy I talk with and listen to weekly are exhausted, and it is usually not a “good-tired.” If you think passing a camel through the eye of a needle is difficult, try being a mainline minister in a politically polarized Nation that is having an identity crisis and inflation: rhetorical, economic, racial, and religious.
I don’t know what brought you to worship, or what you carried into worship today. It might be exuberant joy, deep grief, apathy, or ambivalence. It could be that you came for the experience of hospitality, a safe space to be your whole self, or maybe it is that spirit memory of “you go to church on Sunday.” Whatever it may be for you, let us be a witness in this worship and with our lives of the good news of God, and remember: that the Lord’s mercies never cease; that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning; and the Lord’s faithfulness extends beyond our ability to see in a mirror dimly and recognize the image of God in others as well as in our own face.
As you are willing and your spirit able, please join me in prayer. Open our ears and our hearts, O God, that our meditations, words, and living are a reflection of our faith in You, who creates, who redeems, and who sustains creation and our lives. Amen.
Buckle up church, here we go.
I imagine that during your life, you’ve thought or said out loud, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”(1) It is meant as a humble reminder, but when I think on it a little bit more, like Pooh Bear, “think, think, think,” I end up in a bucket of overconfidence. Do I really mean God was/is with me more than any other person? No, I don’t mean that.
Was I luckier? Did I use a different playbook or manual that helped me assess a situation? Did I make a different choice, a better choice in a similar situation based on my life’s experience? Was there a mentor that I was imitating, following their example?
Think. Think. I don’t use that little saying anymore.
We are a culture that counts on grace now more than ever. You know the phrase, “Ask forgiveness, not permission.” It was the other way around when I was growing up. “Ask permission and seek forgiveness.”
Grace is all over the place. Artists are painting, writing, or singing about it. They’ve been doing so for a long, long time. Grace is depicted as ironic, cynical, humorous, human, and beautiful. Go to your favorite music streaming platform and type “grace” in the search box. You will be amazed at how much grace people are singing about and the relationships associated with grace. Those relationships are: religious, romantic, and seeking justice. They are political. They are existential. It won’t surprise you that Taylor Swift has a song, “State of Grace.” Yes, it is a breakup song.
Our always-on, information overload, fear of missing out, 24/7 news cycle of polycrisis, WWE style of democracy, and monetize everything culture have preachers, believers, and nonbelievers of all kinds of religions digging into their sacred texts for reassurance or validation of long-held traditions and beliefs about their “right-ness” or grievance.
Rarely, do we wonder, “Could I be wrong?” For some, the changes in latitude and changes in attitude(2) of the last twenty-five years are long overdue and haven’t changed fast enough. For others, it is too much too fast. Wait your turn. Don’t take a slice of my pie.(3) Do the work. Be patient. Don’t tell me how I have to treat people who . . .
I’m a little dyslexic. Reading isn’t something I enjoy. Whether you enjoy reading or not, I recommend Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchmen.(4) It helped me begin to make sense of this past decade and reflect on some relationships with friends, colleagues, and family that need mending. And it has helped me think about the potential futures awaiting us.
You don’t have to know your Enneagram or Myers-Briggs personality type to feel the angst, the spinning disorientation of our time. The same is true for the Thessalonians.
The church in Thessalonica, like all the others that Paul or one of Paul’s disciples helped begin, they are reorienting their lives to a ‘higher power,’ a different kind of kingdom, and a different way of life a little bit at a time. The ruler of Rome embodies the political and religious title, the Lord. Cultural rituals and class identity define one’s place and participation in society. It’s hard; it can be dangerous to reorient your living in a society or a religious community for the powerless and the powerful alike.
Modern scholarship considers 1 Thessalonians as one of the seven (7) authentic Pauline letters: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, Philemon, Philippians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans.
I think I referenced the New Testament scholar Marcus Borg and his book, Evolution of the Word, from this pulpit before. Borg creates a chronological order of the New Testament, and it begins with 1 Thessalonians. Why? Saul, now going by Paul, is a convert to the Way, the first title given to disciples of Jesus. Paul’s travels, his evangelizing, and his letters are circulating among Christ-communities long before any of the gospels are written. These “churches” as they existed were people gathered in someone’s house, not structures we would think of today. The general time period is 50-60 of the common era. The Gospel of Mark, the first written account of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, didn’t appear until 70 CE.(5)
In the decade of his traveling, evangelizing, and letters, Paul is writing to communities, thinking that Jesus is returning soon. That didn’t happen. You can see the evolution of Paul’s theology in his authentic writings as he works out his language of faith while helping these new communities, in their context, with language for their experience of faith. He turns his attention to what it meant to live and participate in the Roman culture as a Christian, using the titles of Lord and kingdom and words like sin, law, works, righteousness, and grace with new meanings.
These days, words change meaning all the time and at Giga speed. And with a texting culture, we don’t use words nearly as much as acronyms, and those depend on your information source, news silo, location, or generation. But, maybe grace is different.
Grace (def) noun (according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
1. unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification
a virtue coming from God
2. approval or favor
mercy or pardon
a temporary exemption
an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
3. a charming or attractive trait
4. used as a title of address or reference
5. a short prayer at a meal
Grace as a verb means:
to confer dignity or honor
adorn or embellish(6)
You’ve probably heard of ChatGPT. This artificial intelligence understands the definitions and maybe even some of the depth of grace. I asked it, “Write a grace haiku.” It responded: Elegant and calm, Graceful as a dancer’s leap, Beauty in each step.
Then I asked, “Write a religious grace haiku.” It responded: Blessings from above, Grace surrounds us, pure and true, In faith, we find love.
The rock & roll band, U2, wrote a song years ago called, “Grace.” One lyric of that song is: Grace It’s a thought that Changed the world.(7)
That’s a confessional statement. The bandmates of U2 are products of catholicism and the political struggle in Ireland between Protestants and Catholics. Their music inspires the faithful, “The “Wanderer,” a song with Johnny Cash, and the ones who still haven’t found what they’re looking for.
As I look around these days, I would say that grace is a thought that “could” change the world, that “might,” change the world, but it’s more likely to change one person, one relationship at a time, one small part of a whole system. It is those relationships that could, that might, that can embed grace into systems of religion, government, and economics a little bit more each day. That’s one of the plot lines of the bible; God’s Grace is actually everywhere, working in the narrative and behind the camera.
Grace finds . . . Grace makes . . .
One of the songs by the rock-n-roll group, “The Foo Fighters” reminds us that: In times like these, you learn to live again. In times like these, you learn to give again.(8)
In times like these, when the annoyance economy(9) profits from polarization, grace can be enough to see another perspective, to accept responsibility, to offer an apology, a do-over, a kind word, a listening ear, or a shoulder
Grace can be enough to offer a handout, a hand up, a safe space, or be the miracle for someone.(10)
It is easy to say. Somedays, it is hard to live. But, that grace is within you and all around us. You didn’t have to earn it. Sometimes, you ask for it. You have to be open to it. You can recognize it.
Youth and Adults who serve or have served on our Regional Youth Council, or anyone who has been on International Affairs Seminar when I’ve led the trip, have heard me ask, “Look back through your day. Find that moment when you are pretty sure you probably saw that sneaky presence of God.” At church camp, counselors might ask campers to identify a “God moment” in their day. Almost always, the base ingredient is a moment adorned in empathy and a brilliant flash of true humanity. Grace.
In her commentary about 1 Thessalonians, Dr. Amy Peeler offers this thought:
Paul’s practical advice to the Thessalonians is that faith and work are not mutually exclusive. They have been transformed by their belief in Christ, but that does not mean that regular life has come to an end. They are still responsible to be faithful in their vocations. For them to continue to grow into their stellar reputation, work needs to be an element right along with faith, hope, and love.
The average worship attendance of Disciples congregations across the denomination is 40. Disciples, don’t treat the budget or worship attendance as a survival guide. When we do, we operate out of scarcity rather than abundance, faith, hope, and love.
Remember Paul’s words from the text today. It is your work in faith. Your labor of love. Your steadfastness in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Christians of every kind and in every time, grace is bound up in that faith statement, “Lord Jesus Christ.” That little title has everything to do with a way of life here and now, Jesus’ way put into practice daily, and a belief, a hope, about a there and then “Christ,” in the presence of God.
Disciples, God’s grace and peace are present in this world through your fruit-full faith as individuals and as a congregation. The fruit of the spirit is a rare varietal, but it can take root in all kinds of people, believers or unbelievers alike. In a Christian context, I’m beginning to think of grace as the soil that nourishes what Paul will later identify as the fruit of the spirit. In a secular context, grace helps us do what is right, because it is right. It’s that Golden Rule stuff. Maybe that is what the ‘gratitude’ movement is all about.
How do I know this congregation is aware of and embraced by grace? Followers of Jesus do Jesus-like things. You are generous with your time, talents, and your dollars. You don’t participate in braggart culture. That’s what gracious congregations do. Many in the sanctuary volunteer in this congregation and the wider community. Some prepare dinners for grieving families. In all the places you go, no matter your generation, you set an example of a life following Jesus.
Meals on Wheels. Annual Thanksgiving Meal. Blue House. Bread Basket. Angle Tree. Senior Food Boxes. Ketchum Food Pantry. Blood Drives. Happy Feet. Carpentry Projects. The orchard on the property.
You are imitators of faith ancestors, but you are more than that. You are maturing, and questioning, and learning, and listening, and supporting one another. You are examples.
You have quality ministers who work alongside you, lead you, and represent you here, in the county, and in the Region. You share their time with so many beyond the church. That’s what gracious congregations do.
Your ministers are not just talking about loving and serving like Jesus. They are meeting people where they are along the journey in life, listening, encouraging, praying, and inviting. They are leading invitational lives and balancing their service with family life like all of you. That’s what gracious followers of Jesus do.
This is the hard part. Grace comes to us. It doesn’t require reciprocity. Grace comes to us. It doesn’t require reciprocity.
This week, I’ve been wondering what grace looks like in Israel and Palestine; in Russia and Ukraine? What does grace look like along the southern border of these United States and Mexico? What does grace look like in Congress and Oklahoma’s State legislature? What does amazing grace look like in this community? It looks like you, on your worst day and best day.
Disciples, grace to you and peace. There is ministry to do and gospel to be. Go do it. Go be it.
_______
Notes
This saying is often attributed to St Francis of Assisi as a possible summary of Paul’s description of himself in 1 Cor 15:8-10. John Bradford, a 16th-century reformer and martyr, seeing prisoners being led to execution is reported to have said, “There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford.” wiktionary.org, accessed Oct 18, 2023, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/there_but_for_the_grace_of_God_go_I
Jimmy Buffett, “Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude.” ABC Dunhill, 1977.
“Be the miracle.” In the movie, “Bruce Almighty,” God reflects on how Bruce, endowed with all God’s powers, had used those powers. God tells Bruce, you want to see a miracle. Be the miracle.
