Kingdom Grace

Luke 4: 21-30

Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

One of the most beautiful words of all time is “gracious” and my favorite images of Jesus are those of a gracious man and a gracious God. In this Gospel, everyone was ‘amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth’. One would wonder what kinds of words they were used to hearing. Condemnation? Judgment? Words that belittled them? Words that evoked fear, anxiety and guilt? At first they spoke well of him and then, because Jesus knew how their minds would rationalize away any possibility that he could be a source of grace, he short circuited them by telling them where their thoughts were heading and they ended up wanting to hurl him off a cliff. He knew they would ultimately reject him not only because they thought they knew who he was but also because they thought they knew what the Messiah would look like.

Jesus reminded them of how the prophets Elijah and Elisha at two different times in Jewish history were only able to perform miracles for foreigners, even though there were Israelites who were also suffering. This was a pointed statement about the people’s lack of openness to receive God’s grace and favor. He knew that even if he did perform some miracles for them, their attitudes wouldn’t change. They were too hung up on their own perceptions and too busy feeling threatened to accept the profound simplicity of grace and love.

We, too, need to constantly revisit our perceptions of who God is to see if we have the inner freedom to accept that our God is indeed gracious.

In order to understand the graciousness of Christ, it might help to bring it down to our level and explore what it means for anyone to be gracious. We have all run into people whom we would define as gracious. Gracious people are those who are deeply aware of other people. Authentically gracious people are people who know so well they are loved and valued by God that they are able to stop thinking of their own needs and agendas and are able to completely appreciate the people they encounter. Because they do not require recognition from others to tell them how worthy and valuable they are, they are able to fully value others and focus on them. They listen. They are compassionate. They build others up. They make others the center of their attention. They offer hope.

I want to emphasize that authentic graciousness is not just a type of outward action, though it encompasses that. It is outward action built on an inner conviction of being loved, on believing in one’s priesthood and on knowing one has been called, anointed and sent. Gracious people make an impression. They leave us wanting to be in their presence more. They exude a peace and an inner certainty we would all love to have in our lives.

Jesus was a gracious man. He knew who he was and who he was called to be. He was convinced of the Father’s love for him and convinced that the Father’s love was for all. He had no anxiety about his own needs and status but was completely aware of the needs of those around him. This made him an extremely attractive and fulfilling person to be around – except for those who thought they knew him. They couldn’t get past their rational minds or their religious expectations. Even though they found him engaging at first, they refused to even consider the idea that their judgments and religious expectations might be wrong. They could not receive his grace.

They demanded miracles to prove something to them but, as I mentioned before, Jesus knew that miracles would not make a difference. Why? Because if they could not even respond to the graciousness of God, they certainly weren’t going to respond to miracles. Being connected to a gracious God means being in a love relationship with him and it is this gracious relationship that changes people on a gut level, not miracles.

But we know who Christ is and we don’t block radical inner change because we’re a little too rational and have set-in-stone religious expectations about the Messiah…do we? Unfortunately we do. The difference with us is that generally it’s not Christ we want to hurl off a cliff – it’s ourselves. We know ourselves too well. We have grown up with this very human person called “Me” and cannot even begin to believe that this less than extraordinary person, so similar to every other ordinary person, could be graciously and unconditionally accepted and loved, let alone be called to be an Anointed One. We are too afraid to let go of religious perceptions that have taught us that we are simply ordinary mucked up sinners – and nothing else.

God can (and does) throw miracles our way constantly but there often remains a huge inner resistance to opening up to astounding grace. Miracles are wonderful things and are like precious reminders of his presence and love but if we review the large and small miracles that have come our way through our lives, we would have to admit that they are not what fill us up or heal us inside. We still succumb to the temptation to throw ourselves off a cliff rather than cast ourselves into the gracious arms of the Father.

There is only one thing that will fill you and heal you deeply and that is looking into Christ’s eyes, allowing yourself to see Grace Without Borders and completely accepting that it’s meant for you, as you are, where you are. That’s what grace is. A truly gracious person does not require another person to shape up or change in order to receive the gracious person’s attention, approval and love. Rational thinking tells us that we’re unworthy and that we’re failures. Rational religious thinking will deny who we really are and throw us off a cliff in a rage. Grace is completely irrational. Grace is unconditional. Grace cannot be earned; it can only be received with gratitude.

Grace is the display of love’s beauty. 

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.