Who Do You Think You Are? : It's All About Grace

Welcome to Making Waves! This blog will be used as a resource for any of you that wish to continue diving into the Word after the sermon on Sunday morning, or for those unable to attend Pelham UMC that wish to still read the sermon given on the previous Sunday. 

Logan and I and both of our families have been so appreciative of the warm welcome we’ve received here at Pelham. It’s been a fun two weeks of getting accustomed to the town around here. I can say that I believe I have found and tried all of the Mexican food venues around town. If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I desperately love Mexican food. This is one topic I could talk about for hours. Before I get off on any more of a tangent, let’s dive into the Word. These are the words of Jesus, during one of his sermons.

            12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants[a] any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another."

                                                                                   -John 15:12-17 (NRSV)

Will you please pray with me?

God, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together, be forever glorified in Your presence. Amen.

I’d like to start out with a story. Some of you may have heard this story before, but for any of you that haven’t, you’re in for a treat. The name of the story is The Runaway Bunny.

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Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away.

So he said to his mother, “I am running away.”

“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you.

For you are my little bunny.”

“If you run after me,” said the little bunny,

“I will become a fish in a trout stream

and I will swim away from you.”

“If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother,

“I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.”

“If you become a fisherman,” said the little bunny,

“I will become a rock on the mountain, high above you.”

“If you become a rock on the mountain high above me,”

said his mother, “I will become a mountain climber,

and I will climb to where you are.”

“If you become a mountain climber,”

said the little bunny,

“I will be a crocus in a hidden garden.”

“If you become a crocus in a hidden garden,”

said his mother, “I will be a gardener. And I will find you.”

“If you are a gardener and find me,”

said the little bunny, “I will be a bird

and fly away from you.”

“If you become a bird and fly away from me,”

said his mother, “I will be a tree that you come home to.”

“If you become a tree,” said the little bunny,

“I will become a little sailboat,

and I will sail away from you.”

“If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,”

said his mother, “I will become the wind

and blow you where I want you to go.”

“If you become the wind and blow me,” said the little bunny,

“I will join a circus and fly away on a flying trapeze.”

“If you go flying on a flying trapeze,” said his mother,

“I will be a tightrope walker,

and I will walk across the air to you.”

“If you become a tightrope walker and walk across the air,”

said the bunny, “I will become a little boy

and run into a house.”

“If you become a little boy and run into a house,”

said the mother bunny, “I will become your mother

and catch you in my arms and hug you.”

“Shucks,” said the bunny, “I might just as well

stay where I am and be your little bunny.”

And so he did.

“Have a carrot,” said the mother bunny.

I love that story. It’s such a powerful allegory for grace . This week, we are beginning a new series. As some of you may have noticed from the title, the name of this series is, “Who Do You Think You Are?” We’re going to talk about what those words before the word “Church” mean in Pelham United Methodist Church. For many of you, this may just be a fun review, but for some of us, this may be the first time we’ve really thought about what exactly it means to be a United Methodist; aside from the fact that we all seem to know how to cook, and we all definitely know how to get together and eat. But, believe it or not, there is more to Methodism than just the size of the Fellowship Hall. Today, for instance, we are going to talk about the backbone of our denomination: Grace.

No matter what book you read, or what sermon you hear, if a United Methodist has created it, then it finds it's heart in grace. Have you ever heard the term “christian-ese?” It’s a play on words that summarizes the phrases that we love to say as Christians, though the words rarely mean anything to someone who has never been to church. Phrases like, “Oh, bless her heart” or, “Pastor, I just felt so atoned during your sermon” or, “we had the best Eucharist this past Sunday” or, “I just really showed that woman who cut in front of me at the Wal-Mart some grace.” Sometimes we don’t even know what these phrases really mean, we just say them because it makes us feel all good and fuzzy. Grace is one of those words. The beautiful melody of Amazing Grace is enough to send tingles down your spine, but you don’t really feel the power of that song until you have been someone who has experienced grace.

So, what is it? Well, for starters, the word itself comes the Greek word charis, which means “gift.” But even that doesn’t really begin to describe it. We tend to think of grace as being just that. A gift. But, just like a Krispy Kreme loyalty card, grace is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s not a one-and-done situation. It’s a relationship between God and us. But it IS a gift to us, every single day. It’s not something that WE do; we don’t just go and grab us some grace at the Wal-Mart, but instead God gave and continues to give us grace. Think back to The Runaway Bunny. The Mother Bunny never stopped watching over and loving the Child.

So, let’s dive a little deeper. The founder of the United Methodist denomination was named John Wesley. He had this idea that salvation, otherwise known as our life with God, was not a rigid to-do list. It’s not an order of things to get done and do, instead Wesley saw it as a flowing river or pathway. He called it the Way of Salvation. Within this Way of Salvation, grace is a key component that he broke down over the course of our Christian lives. He explained through a metaphor of a house (see image 1). We can also see it through a timeline (see image 2); I’m going to do both of these to really drive the point home.

When we begin our lives, we start out on the porch, or in what Wesley calls “prevenient grace.” This is the gift of grace from God before we are even able to know it. There is this powerful poem in which the poet is 10,000 steps away from God. He looks at the divide between himself and his Creator. He knows there is NO way it is possible for him to take those 10,000 steps. He then hears God’s voice tell him that if he will only take one step towards God, God will take the other 9,999. That’s prevenient grace. God has already taken the steps towards us, he is inviting us in. We are always under the supervision of this form of grace, even though we don’t even know it.

Now what normally divides a porch from a house? A door. So, next we have the door between this life of not knowing God and of being inside the house of God. What is it that opens this door? Jesus. This is what’s known as justifying grace. Up until this point in our lives, we weren’t even aware of the amazing grace of God. But then we reach a moment in our lives when we realize the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice. This can also be known as Transforming grace. This grace is really so incredible, because this is the summary of the Bible story. It doesn’t matter whether you are reading the Old or New Testament, this encapsulates the undeserved, unmerited, and ultimately unexpected grace that leads us to new beginning because of and for God. There are two parts of this that are awesome: number 1, is that this can be instantaneous or can take us a lifetime. Think of the thief on the cross. TODAY you will be with me in paradise. God can work through us in His grace in just an instant or over our entire lives. The second awesome part of this is that it brings us that blessed assurance. We don’t need to be concerned over our brokenness. There is not a need to constantly take our spiritual temperature, pop some ibuprofen and watch our every step, because we didn’t deserve this grace to begin with.

The next step of grace is one that has divided us from our brothers and sisters since our founding: sanctifying grace. This is the house of God. This is being inside of His presence and being an extension of His grace. Just being saved and cleaned by the justifying grace of the last section isn’t enough; we are also called to following our calling of works through our grace. God does call us to a lifetime of ministry and works, as I mentioned last week. Now, I’m going to stop and cover my tracks before I go any further. Wesley and the Methodists have gotten flack for this belief for our entire existence. There are some who believe it to be “salvation by works,” which is something that is become a huge no-no in the Christian community. Wesley, United Methodism and myself are all stating right now that that couldn’t be further from the truth of sanctifying grace.  It isn’t salvation BY works, it is salvation AND works. As Methodists, we believe the two to be inseparable. Our works and good deeds are natural extension of God’s grace. If we are living within our true faith, then these good deeds aren’t voluntary. Instead, these good deeds become a natural reaction from our faith. As you can see on the timeline (see image 2), we have this ideal of this part of our lives to be a straight line up to heaven, right? But that’s just not realistic, is it? Our lives look much more like the second timeline (see image 3). We aren’t without sin and our lives don’t mirror the ideal of Jesus.

Now, if you thought that sanctifying grace got us in trouble, just wait for this final form of grace. Wesley speaks of perfecting grace. In Matthew chapter 5, verse 48, Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount by saying, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I don’t know about you guys, but when I read that, I want to start biting my fingernails. PERFECT? God, do you know who I am, do you know what I’ve done? But this is not an impossible command from Jesus; instead, it’s a miraculous promise. We have to go back to prevenient grace and remember that GRACE is NOT OUR doing, it’s ALL a sign of God’s power. So often, the Church with a capital C tries to limit God’s power, saying that certain things are impossible or not meant to be, but here’s the reality: God can do ANYTHING. His power is infinite. He can make the ordinary extraordinary. It doesn’t matter who we are or what we’ve done, because WE aren’t the ones doing any of it. It’s God’s power and God’s grace. We have trouble believing this because we are at the bottom of the timeline sometimes. We couldn’t feel farther from God’s love, but that’s what makes grace so awesome. It’s a journey towards perfection, not just a static one-and-done. God doesn’t want to slap a quick coat of paint on us and be done with it. He wants to transform us from the inside out. He wants to tear up the floors and rip down the walls and do a total home makeover.

You know, I find it so interesting how terrified we get when we talk about miracles. Whenever a non-believer questions our miracles, we become speechless. I most certainly believe in miracles. I believe in miracles because God is constantly working a miracle in me, and in you, too. Despite the many twists and turn of our lives, God is undeniably and mysteriously working in our lives. Grace is a miracle of God that is available to everyone and happening to those of us in this room this morning. We aren’t perfect, but we worship a God who is making us perfect, as He is perfect. In his book on United Methodist Beliefs, William Willimon recounts a conversation he overheard between a Catholic and a Methodist. The Catholic says, “Well, I’m a Catholic, you’re a Methodist, and that’s fine. Whatever works for you.” The Methodist replies with, “You must not know much about Methodists. It’s not working for me, it’s working on me. I’m not really a loving, peaceful person by natural inclination. If I’m going to act in a loving way towards people that I despise, God will have to make me that way.” And God IS working on us. Constantly. Unceasingly. Lovingly.

Image 1 - The House of God

Image 2 - The Ideal Timeline of the Way of Salvation

Image 3 - Nathan's Realistic Timeline of the Way of Salvation

Please feel free to post any comments for discussion, I will try my best to respond. If you have any private needs or prayers concerns, feel free to contact me personally at nathan@makingwaves.cc.

Blessings!