Grace for All

Don't worry, I haven't given up blogging for Lent, though the season and the lead-up to Easter can be pretty hectic.  At Mt. Bethel, we've just started a new sermon series entitled "24 Hours That Changed the World" based on Adam Hamilton's book by the same title.  It's proving to be an intriguing look into the last day of Jesus life, from his time in the upper room with his closest friends to his dying moments, alone on the cross.

Last Sunday we kicked off the series by looking at the Last Supper.  This was a traditional Passover Seder meal that Jesus and his followers shared.  It was, and is, a celebration of God's providence for his people and how He carried them out of Egypt and gave them freedom.  Jesus, that night, enjoyed this meal with his disciples and transformed this ritualistic meal into the Eucharist (Holy Communion) that we celebrate today. 

Jeremiah 31: 31-34 tells us about how the Israelites broke the covenant that God made with them in the Exodus and how there will come a day that God makes a new covenant with his people, one that will last and will be on the hearts of each person.  In his last meal on earth, Jesus instituted this new covenant with all of humanity.  He broke bread and offered a cup, both symbolic of his sacrifice on the cross and the medium by which God would draw every man, woman, and child to him.

Interesting about this whole night is that at one point, Jesus declared that he would be betrayed.  Of course, each of the disciples denied it, but Jesus knew that Judas would sell him out, that Peter would deny him three times, and that the other 10 disciples would desert him, leaving him to endure suffering and death all alone.  I'm sure that Jesus also knew that every person that ever chose to follow him, for that matter, every person who ever lived, would do just the same.  Each of us, at some point denies, deserts, and betrays Christ in word or deed.

Despite Jesus' knowledge of this, he went on to break bread with these men.  He went on to spend his last hours with those who would fall short.  He went on to wash their feet, to pray with them in the garden, and even to recieve a kiss from Judas, the one who would trade his life for 30 pieces of silver.

If anyone needs a definition of grace, this is it.  Out of love, despite ourselves, God loves us and sacrifices everything for us.  I'm grateful for that grace.

I'm also led to reflect on my own gracefulness. 

Ministry is hard.  The old rule is that polite company never discusses religion or politics.  Well, when you're in ministry, faith is a constant conversation and sometimes politics enter the conversation as well.  People have differing opinions.  Feelings get hurt.  People choose sides.  Lines are drawn.

I have served four churches in the last 12 years.  I can revisit those congregations and tell you who has stepped on the back of my head rather than helping me up and I can admit that I've harbored some unhealthy resentment toward some people.  Revenge is never far from the mind (or the heart) when you've been hurt, and I've had to learn to temper my own feelings when I come into conflict with others.

I ask myself though, how much Christlike grace do I show others when I've been denied, deserted, or betrayed?  Though I may literally turn the other cheek by not retaliating and I may take an outwardly pacifist approach to these conflicts, what's going on inside?  I'm guilty of having set limitations on how much I would do for someone who has hurt me.  I'm guilty of allowing my feelings to taint any future relationship I may have with those people. 

The very act of harboring those ill feelings is a betrayal of what Christ has done for me and for others.  It hinders my personal life and it hinders my effectiveness to minister to others.

For Lent, my prayer is that I may be as grace-filled as Christ.  If we all learned to be gracious, how different would the world be?