Sunday, April 24, 2016

Nothing in Our Conditioning Prepares Us for Grace

In the book, Addiction and Grace, the following words by Gerald G. May resonate strongly with what I have discovered and continue to discover about God's grace :

"Grace is only truly appreciated and expressed in the actual, immediate experience of real life situations...it can only be 'lived into.'

"Living into the mystery of grace requires encountering grace as a real gift. Grace is not earned. it is not accomplished or achieved. It is not extracted through manipulation or seduction. It is just given. Nothing in our conditioning prepares us for this radical reality. Some would say that early childhood experiences with our parents is important in determining how we come to accept grace in later life. If we had loving, trustworthy parents rather than rejecting or unreliable ones, we would grow up more willing to accept God's grace as a gift. I do not think this is so. We all have trouble accepting the radical giftedness of God's grace, no matter what our childhood experience. God's grace is simply not part of our conditioning. Nor can we make it so, though we are sure to try. All our attempts to control the flow of grace will be frustrated because, like God, grace will not become an object for attachment. 

"Because grace is a pure gift, the most meaningful of our encounters with it will probably come at unintended times, when we are caught off-guard, when our manipulative systems are at rest or otherwise occupied. But still we can pray for grace, actively seek it, and try to relax our hands to receive it..."

Jesus, You are full of grace and truth; come to us and empower us to receive this radical gift of grace!



Saturday, April 16, 2016

The Story of the Enabler Father

We've grown accustomed to hearing the word "enabler" as a negative word describing someone who is enabling a loved one to get away with behavior that isn't healthy.

Jesus' famous story of the 'prodigal son' paints a picture of a father who today would be called an enabler. He doesn't hold his wayward son accountable; in fact, when the son asks prematurely for his inheritance, the father gives it to him in spite of the fact that the request implies that the son has little consideration for his father. Then later when the son returns, the father receives him with celebration with not a word of scolding but pure joy and welcoming.

If we judged this father's actions by our standards, we would call him a weak father. And perhaps he is; but if we call him a weak father, then we are calling the heavenly Father weak. And perhaps He is...

But what if God's weakness is stronger than our idea of power and strength? What if God's foolishness is wiser than our idea of wisdom and knowledge?

Could it be that God enables His children to come to Him through being an Enabler who lavishly and joyfully receives us without pointing out what we've done wrong and what we need to get straightened out?

If so, then those who have named this story "the story of the prodigal father" are correct, because the father in this story doesn't conform to our rules.

In the Luke 15 story Jesus doesn't tell us what life was like after the homecoming, because that's not Jesus' point in telling it. He is showing us what Father is like, and if we get that, then we will be enabled to know what should come after the homecoming celebration in our particular story.

Maybe another title for this story could be "The Story of the Enabler Father"...

Sunday, April 03, 2016

The Happy Ones, According to Jesus

In the Beatitudes from Matthew 5, Jesus tells us who the happy ones are:

Matthew 5:3-10 (NRSV):
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

A good exercise to practice is to rewrite a portion of scripture in your own words. I have rewritten this portion in the following way:

3 Those who "own" nothing are the happy ones, because when nothing belongs to them, they own everything that God values.
4 Those who grieve and are sad over loss in their life are the happy ones because they have gained the capacity to receive comfort from the One who best understands loss. 
5 Those who accept themselves, enjoying who they are and who others are without competition or rivalry or envy are the happy ones, because someday they will inherit all that belongs to them in God.
6 Those who want God's justice system to prevail more than they want any human ideas of justice (including their own) are the happy ones, because the day will come when they will understand well what God's justice is like and find it to be fully satisfying for all.
7 Those who gladly extend mercy to the undeserving are the happy ones, because they will receive mercy when they don't deserve it!
8 Those who are honest and sincere at the core of their being are the happy ones, because they are the ones who will see and understand God fully one day.
9 Those who work to heal fractured and hostile relationships in a rivalrous and violent world are the happy ones, because when they do this, people see and acknowledge God's family likeness in them.
10 Those who face difficulties and misunderstanding because they have made choices in line with God's kingdom values are the happy ones, because that very kingdom and its ways belong to them!

You may want to write your own version. A good exercise would be to meditate on this portion with imagination, asking the Spirit of God to etch these realities deeply on your heart and mind until Jesus' measurement of what counts overrides the loud voices around us that continually tell us what counts.



Thoughts for Lent (9) - On Changing Our Minds

In this reading from Walter Brueggemann's  A Way Other Than Our Own , the author issues an invitation to us as the final week of Lent be...